Document photo validity: how recent must your passport / visa photo be?
Most authorities publish an exact recency window, and six months is the most common one — but the range runs from a single month in the UK to no month count at all in Russia. This guide sets out the published window route by route, and flags where the rule is stricter than the six-month habit suggests.
Quick answer
Six months is common — the UK asks for one
Six months is the usual window: USA, Schengen, Canada, Australia, Japan, China and UAE all use it. The UK is the outlier — HMPO asks for a photo taken in the last month. Russia publishes no month count at all and tests instead whether the photo matches your age on the day you apply. Check your route before reusing an old photo.
Why the six-month rule exists
Six months is the practical period over which most adults' appearance does not change enough to confuse a biometric scanner. Within six months, weight, hairstyle and ageing are usually negligible. Beyond six months, the photo starts to drift from the current live face. The UK sets a far tighter bar — one month — so do not carry the six-month habit onto a British application.
Children and infants change much faster, so a photo that is technically inside the window can still be too old to look like them. Fewer authorities publish a separate child window than you might expect — the Schengen visa photograph sheet, for example, applies the same six months to children. Where no shorter child rule is published, use the general one and judge by the face.
Photo recency rule by route
| Country / route | Adult recency | Child recency |
|---|---|---|
| USA passport / visa | 6 months | 6 months |
| UK passport | 1 month — a rule, not a preference | Same 1-month rule for children; examiner guidance stretches to 12 months for adults and 6 for children only on delayed applications |
| Schengen visa | 6 months | No separate child window is published — the 6-month rule applies to children too |
| Germany passport | Captured at application since May 2025 | Domestic applications no longer take a ready-made photo, so recency is not the applicant's problem; missions abroad still take a recent paper print |
| France passport | 6 months | 6 months |
| China passport | 6 months | NIA and Chinese consulates both specify a photo taken within the last 6 months |
| India passport | Recent — no month count published | Passport Seva asks for a "recent" photograph; at a PSK the photo is captured on site anyway |
| Canada passport | 6 months | The studio must write the shooting date on the back of the print |
| Australia passport | 6 months | 6 months — no separate infant window is published |
| Japan passport | 6 months | 6 months |
| Russia internal passport | No month count | MVD order No. 773 sets no expiry — the test is that the photo matches the applicant's age on the day of application |
| UAE Emirates ID | 6 months | 6 months |
What "significant appearance change" means
What counts as a significant change is narrower than people assume. The US State Department names facial surgery or trauma, and adding or removing large or numerous piercings and tattoos — and says explicitly that growing a beard or colouring your hair does not qualify. For children under 16, ordinary growth does not require a new photo either. Beyond that published list, the working test is simple: a photo that no longer matches the live face is treated as outdated even when it sits inside the formal window.
How authorities detect old photos
Mostly by looking at you. The consular officer compares the photo with the live face at the appointment, and an applicant who clearly looks younger or different is asked to reshoot on the spot. On printed routes the shooting date can also be part of the paperwork — Canada, for instance, requires the studio to write the date on the back of the print.
Reusing a previous photo
Allowed within the recency window if the previous photo was taken to the same biometric specification. A USA visa photo taken 3 months ago can be reused for the next USA visa application. It cannot be reused for a different country, which will have its own size and head ratio. The Diversity Visa lottery is the exception to watch: a DV entry photo may not have been used in a previous entry.
Frequently asked questions
My passport photo is 9 months old but I look the same — will it be rejected?
On a six-month route it is formally out of date, and on the UK route it is far out of date — HMPO asks for the last month. In practice, consular officers exercise judgement; if you look identical, the photo may be accepted. The safer route is to retake: a passport photo costs €5–15, a rejected application costs more.
What if my appearance has not changed in years?
The recency rule applies regardless. A 2-year-old photo is rejected even when the applicant looks unchanged. The rule is administrative — to keep the photo database fresh — not strictly biometric.
How do authorities verify when the photo was taken?
Mainly by comparing the photo with your face at the appointment. Some printed routes add paperwork — Canada asks the studio to write the shooting date on the back of the print — and otherwise authorities rely on the applicant's declaration. A false declaration is a criminal offence in most jurisdictions.
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