National D visa photo requirements: set by each country, not the EU

Legal difference: D visa vs Schengen visa photo rules

Many applicants, especially those who have previously obtained standard tourist visas, mistakenly believe that any visa for Schengen countries is processed under uniform rules. This is true only for short-term trips.

According to Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (Community Visa Code), the scope of this document is strictly limited: it establishes the procedures and conditions for issuing visas for transit through or intended stays on the territory of the Member States not exceeding three months in any six-month period. It is the Visa Code (Article 10(3)(c)) that establishes the requirement to provide a photograph in accordance with the standards set out in Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 or, where the Visa Information System is used, in accordance with the standards of Article 13 of the Code itself. The applicant's personal appearance is also regulated by Articles 13, 42, 43, and 45 of this document. However, these articles do not apply to a long-stay national D visa.

How does a D visa differ legally? The answer lies in Regulation (EU) No 265/2010, which introduced an amended version of Article 18 of the Schengen Convention. It explicitly states that visas for stays exceeding three months (long-stay visas) are national visas issued by one of the Member States in accordance with its national law or Union law. The only pan-European element remains the visual appearance of the sticker itself — it is issued in a uniform format under Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 with a mandatory letter "D" in the visa type field and is filled out in accordance with Annex VII of the Visa Code.

Additionally, an EU-wide rule establishes the maximum validity period for a D visa: it is valid for no more than one year. If a Member State allows a foreigner to remain on its territory for longer than a year, the long-stay visa must be replaced by a residence permit before its validity expires. At the same time, the right to free movement provided for residence permit holders is fully extended to individuals holding a valid long-stay D visa issued by a Member State.

Data limitations: official verification status

Before moving on to specific figures, it is necessary to outline the boundaries of the available data. Of the seven consular networks examined in this article, only two are officially verified — the Czech Republic and Poland. German, Austrian, Italian, Slovenian, and Romanian pages outlining visa photo requirements did not open during this verification: the websites auswaertiges-amt.de and bmeia.gv.at do not respond at all, while the resources esteri.it, gov.si, and oesterreich.gv.at return a 404 error at the checked URLs. We cannot describe the official requirements of these five countries in this article. For them, we provide solely aggregated data from our own database of profiles.

It is also important to note that the text of Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visas could not be opened during this check, so it is not reliably known exactly what it prescribes for the photograph integrated into the sticker. The text of Article 13 of the Visa Code concerning biometric identifiers was not read separately — we solely quote references to it from other regulations. National laws setting the D visa photo requirements (the Czech Act No. 326/1999 Sb., the Polish Act on Foreigners) were not opened during this check, so the specific numbers of their internal articles are not provided.

Furthermore, authorities are far from publishing all parameters. The checked pages of the Czech MFA do not state the background color, the acceptable age of the visa photo, or the required number of copies (according to Czech representations themselves, the number of photos varies from consulate to consulate and is not officially standardized). The amount of the visa fee for a D visa is also not mentioned on either the Polish or Czech verified pages.

Comparison table: long-stay visa photo for Germany, Czech, Italy, and more

Below is a summary table of parameters for a long-stay visa photo (for Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, and other European countries), based on our database of verified profiles and, where possible, confirmed by official quotes from the authorities.

Deep dive into official requirements (Czech Republic and Poland)

To understand how varied approaches to a national D visa can be, it is enough to look closely at two countries whose data is officially confirmed: the Czech Republic and Poland.

Czech Republic: strict metrics and dual jurisdiction

In its supporting documents section, the Czech MFA clearly demonstrates the dual legal nature of visas. On a single page, the authority lists two separate legal pillars side by side: the Visa Code (Regulation 810/2009, Article 13) for a Schengen visa and the national Act No. 326/1999 Sb. on the Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic for other types. This is exactly the fork in the road that causes confusion regarding photographs.

For a Czech long-stay visa, the photo size is set at 35 × 45 mm. The face must be photographed head-on and reflect the applicant's current appearance. The Czech authority introduces a specific measurement not found in most lists: the distance from the eyes to the lower edge of the chin must be at least 13 mm. In its official PDF guide ("Visa application photo requirements"), the Czech MFA provides two measurements for the same facial frame: the face must take up 70–80% of the image, which the authority literally translates into millimeters — a height of 32 to 36 mm.

The top-point rule deserves special attention: the Czech document mandates that the photograph clearly show the person's facial features from the lower part of the chin to the crown. It specifies: the crown is the physiological top of the head, not the upper boundary of the hair ("the crown (the top of the head, not the top of the hair)"). For voluminous hairstyles, the entire head including the hair must be visible without reducing the size of the face, if possible. The face must be centered in the frame. The applicant must wear civilian clothes, without sunglasses (except for the blind), and without headgear. Exceptions for head coverings are permitted by passport authorities only for religious or permanent medical reasons, but even then, the headgear must not obscure identification. No elements of a uniform may be visible in the shot.

Republic of Poland: lack of uniform parameters in the list

The Polish case is exactly the opposite of the Czech one. In the "Wizy" consular information section on the official portal of the Polish MFA (gov.pl), the photograph is named with a single word in the list of documents for a D visa — "Fotografię". The authority specifies neither size, nor background, nor resolution, nor the allowed age of the photo. The exact same requirement is stated for a C visa.

Why do the lists vary from country to country? The Polish MFA explicitly writes that the types of supporting documents may differ depending on the state where the visa application is submitted. For detailed information, the authority refers applicants to the specific competent consular office. This means you cannot just submit "any photo" — you must look for the local regulations of the specific consulate in your country of residence.

A Polish D visa entitles the holder to enter the territory of the Republic of Poland and to a continuous stay or multiple consecutive stays in this territory lasting a total of more than 90 days during the visa's validity period, but no longer than one year. Additionally, a D visa grants the right to travel within the territory of other Schengen area states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period while the visa is valid.

Another critical difference between a Polish D visa and a C visa lies in medical insurance. A C visa requires medical insurance for a minimum of 30,000 euros covering the costs of urgent return or treatment. For a D visa, Poland accepts either the same insurance of at least 30,000 euros or medical insurance within the meaning of Polish national legislation on healthcare services financed from public funds. A set of documents collected for a Schengen visa might prove excessive here, while a set meant for a D visa might be unsuitable for a C visa.

Database statistics: sizes, backgrounds, and time limits

Since the official pages of many authorities are unavailable or do not publish full data, we turned to our verified document database. Our database contains 241 profiles for documents from various countries.

Of the 241 profiles, 229 register a print size, and 17 different sizes are used in total. The most common is 35x45 mm (148 profiles). This is followed by 51x51 mm (16 profiles), 30x40 mm (14 profiles), and 40x60 mm (11 profiles).

Regarding backgrounds: 52 out of 241 profiles strictly require a white background. Another 23 profiles name a specific non-white shade (light gray or off-white). The remaining profiles simply ask for an even, light background without fixing an exact color. It is vital to understand that the absence of the word "white" does not mean the country permits just any background color.

The age limit of the picture is another critical parameter. In our database, only 32 out of 241 profiles officially record a maximum photo age: 30 profiles set a 6-month limit, and only 2 profiles require a picture no older than 3 months. The rest of the profiles simply do not list this parameter — the authority does not publish it, which represents a gap in public data, not proof that old photographs are allowed.

Why applications are rejected: real reasons for refusals

In practice, application rejections related to photographs happen for several concrete reasons that stem directly from the authorities' official requirements:

• Confusing the legal source: The main clash isn't about numbers, but the origin of the rule. For a C visa, the requirement is set by the Visa Code; for a D visa, it's a national law. Applicants often bring a "Schengen photo" expecting it to work for a D visa. However, there is no unified standard: the Polish MFA just writes "Fotografię", while the Czech MFA strictly requires 35 × 45 mm and at least 13 mm from eyes to chin. Both lists are correct for their respective countries.
• Measuring the face by the hair: The Czech Republic measures the face from the chin to the crown, not to the top of the hairstyle. A frame aligned "by the hair" (especially with voluminous hair) technically fails the millimeter test, and this is explicitly stated in the Czech guideline.
• Visual estimation errors: The Czech sample gives two measures for the same frame — 70–80% of the picture area and 32–36 mm. An applicant who adjusts the photo by estimating the percentage visually often exceeds the millimeter boundary, even if subjectively the "percentage looks right".
• Biometric recognition failure: The Czech wording for a rejection is strictly technical, not bureaucratic. The document states that high-quality photographs are necessary for the perfect reproduction of the image. If the requirements are not met, the applicant's biometric recognition will fail, and the image will not be correctly reproduced on the document. This is the authority's direct answer as to why they nitpick over millimeters in the first place.
• Errors in other documents (insurance and validity periods): The insurance requirements for D and C visas differ fundamentally. As shown in the Polish example, a policy from the Polish public healthcare system works for a D visa, but not for a C visa. Moreover, a D visa is valid for a maximum of one year. A person hoping to "extend a D visa" is planning for the wrong procedure: under EU-wide norms, the visa must be replaced by a residence permit before expiration if a stay longer than a year is authorized.

Preparation procedure: step-by-step guide

If you are preparing documents for a national D visa yourself, follow this algorithm:

1. Identify exactly which national law regulates the issuance of long-stay visas in your target country (e.g., Act No. 326/1999 Sb. in the Czech Republic). Do not rely on the EU Visa Code rules meant for short trips.
2. Find the photo requirements on the website of the specific consulate in your country of residence. Remember that a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as is the case with Poland) can delegate the right to set details to local institutions.
3. If you need to crop the file correctly, you can create a photo for a national D visa using a specialized online service that incorporates all known technical parameters.
4. When cropping, physically measure the distance from the bottom of the chin to the anatomical crown of the head. Ensure it falls within national standards (in the Czech Republic, strictly 32–36 mm).
5. Check your insurance: verify that your medical policy meets the requirements of a long-stay national visa specifically, rather than a standard short-term tourist entry.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the difference between a D visa vs Schengen visa photo?

There is no uniform standard. For a C visa, parameters are set by the Visa Code, while for a D visa, they are dictated by national law. The Czech Republic, for example, requires a distance of at least 13 mm from the eyes to the chin and a face height of 32–36 mm. If an old C visa photo does not meet this, biometric recognition will not work.

Why doesn't the official Polish MFA website specify a type D visa photo size?

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists only the word "Fotografię" in its basic requirements. The authority officially states that the types of supporting documents may vary depending on the state where the application is submitted, and it directs applicants to the rules of the specific consular office.

Is a 30,000 euro insurance policy sufficient for a national D visa?

It depends on the country. For a Polish D visa, both a 30,000 euro policy and medical insurance within the meaning of Polish legislation on healthcare financed from public funds are accepted. A document set strictly prepared for a Schengen C visa might be excessive or, conversely, insufficient for other states.

How do you properly measure face height for a Czech D visa?

The Czech MFA requires measuring the face from the bottom of the chin to the physical top of the head ("the crown"), and not to the upper boundary of the hairstyle ("not the top of the hair"). If you crop the image by the hair, the face in the photo will end up smaller than the required 32–36 mm.

Can a national D visa be extended for more than one year?

No. According to Article 18 of the Schengen Convention, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 265/2010, a D visa is valid for no more than one year. If a state allows a stay longer than a year, the visa must be replaced by a residence permit before its validity expires.