News and guides · 339 articles
What changed in passport, visa and residence photo rules — every update dated and sourced.
AustriaFor an Austrian national D visa and residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) you need a colour biometric photo of 35×45 mm to the ICAO standard: full-face, neutral expression, closed mouth, light plain background (ideally grey), without glasses that cause glare, taken no earlier than 6 months ago.
UAEFor a UAE visa and Emirates ID you need a recent colour photo on a pure white background, full-face, with open eyes, without glasses and without headwear (except religious/national).
IsraelFor an Israeli visa at the consulate you need 2 identical colour photos 5×5 cm on a white background, full face, without glasses, taken within the last 6 months.
IndiaA photo for the Indian e-Visa is a 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) square, with a 1:1 aspect ratio, JPEG from 10 KB to 1 MB, a light plain (preferably white) background, and absolutely no glasses.
ChinaA China visa photo has an atypical size of 33×48 mm (not ICAO 35×45) with a white or near-white background and a head height of 28–33 mm.
ThailandFor a Thailand visa you need a colour photo on a white background: printed 35×45 mm (or 4×6 cm for visa on arrival and extensions), and for the e-Visa on thaievisa.go.th — a digital file (usually JPEG).
VietnamFor the Vietnam e-Visa, upload a portrait photo of 4×6 cm (≈2×2 inches) in JPG format up to 1024 KB: front-facing, on a white background, without glasses, with both ears visible, taken within the last 6 months.
NetherlandsA photo for a Netherlands residence permit, MVV visa and passport must be colour, 35×45 mm, with the head (from chin to crown) measuring 26–30 mm for people aged 11 and over, a light grey/light blue/white background, no glasses, a neutral expression, and no older than 6 months.
SwedenFor a Swedish residence permit card, the photo and fingerprints are taken on site — at a Migrationsverket service centre or at the embassy.
RomaniaThe size depends on the type of Romanian visa: a Schengen C visa requires 35×45 mm (the ICAO standard), a national D visa requires 3×4 cm (30×40 mm) per the eviza.mae.ro list. Shared: light plain background, neutral expression, no glasses, no older than 6 months.
NorwayNorway (UDI) applies to the photo for a visa, residence permit and travel documents the same requirements as for the passport photo: face frontal, neutral expression, evenly lit background, no glasses or headwear, the head occupying about 70% of the frame.
BelgiumFor a Belgian residence permit (verblijfskaart / titre de séjour) you need a 35×45 mm photo to the ICAO standard: a light plain background, a neutral facial expression, mouth closed, photo no older than 6 months.
SwitzerlandSwitzerland requires a 35×45 mm photo, head from chin to crown 29-34 mm, top margin 5 mm, a plain neutral light-grey background with no shadows.
LatviaFor a Latvian visa, residence permit and passport you need a colour 35×45 mm photo: the face occupies 70-80% of the frame, the background is light (white for the passport and eID), the expression is neutral with the mouth closed, and the photo is no older than 3 months.
Document photo size varies by country: Schengen/EU — 35×45 mm, USA — 2×2 inches (51×51 mm), Canada — 50×70 mm, China — 33×48 mm.
A biometric photo is a facial image taken to the ICAO Doc 9303 standard and suitable for automatic recognition at the border: the head occupies 70-80% of the frame's height, the eyes sit within a defined vertical zone (roughly the middle of the upper half of the image), the facial expression is neutral, the background is a plain light colour, the lighting is even, and the image is sharp and free of obstructions.
For online applications what matters is pixels, file size and format - not "DPI".
There is no single standard: the USA accepts white or ivory, the UK accepts cream or light grey, while India, the UAE and China require white.
Lay the baby on a plain light-coloured sheet and photograph from above: only the child in the frame, with no hands, toys or dummy.
In most EU countries (the Netherlands, Austria, France) you prepare the licence photo yourself — the standard is 35×45 mm; in France an e-Photo with an ANTS code is also required.
Each country has its own student visa photo size: Schengen (national D) — 35×45 mm; USA (F-1, DS-160) — 2×2 inches (51×51 mm); Canada (study permit) — from 35×45 mm.
The size and background of a work visa photo depend on the country: UAE — 43×55 mm, China (Z visa) — 33×48 mm, Thailand (Non-B) — 35×45 mm, Schengen (national D visa) — 35×45 mm, USA (H-1B via DS-160) — 2×2 inches (51×51 mm).
KazakhstanA photo for a Kazakhstan visa, passport or residence permit must be 35×45 mm (3.5×4.5 cm); for digital submission — 413×531 pixels, up to 30 KB, on a light plain background, strictly full face, with a neutral expression and taken no earlier than 6 months ago.
GeorgiaFor printed Georgian documents, a passport and ID card require a 35 × 45 mm photo, while a residence permit needs 30 × 40 mm, on a white background, with a neutral expression and no glasses.
Pick your document and upload a selfie — we crop it to size, replace the background and check it. Free. The sizes come from the same official sources as the news.
