Passport & Visa Photo Facts (2026)

United States passport photos are 51×51 mm (2×2 inches) with a plain white background. The US uses a unique square format unlike most countries which use 35×45 mm rectangular. Required by US Department of State.

Source: travel.state.gov

Chinese visa photos are 33×48 mm with a plain white background — a unique tall rectangular format used by no other major country. The Chinese MFA online portal (COVA) accepts JPG files between 40 KB and 1 MB. PNG and HEIC are rejected.

Source: cova.cs.mfa.gov.cn

Schengen visa photos are 35×45 mm with a plain light grey or white background per ICAO 9303 biometric standard. This format applies at every Schengen state consulate (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia).

Source: Schengen Visa Code Annex 11 / ICAO 9303

The US DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application caps photo uploads at 240 KB maximum. The image must be 600×600 to 1200×1200 pixels, square aspect ratio, JPG format. Most photo tools export at 350-500 KB which silently fails — JPEG quality must be reduced to 60-70 range to fit under 240 KB.

Source: ceac.state.gov / Department of State

Indian Sarathi (Parivahan) driving license photo uploads require a JPG file between 20 KB and 50 KB. This is a window, not a maximum — files under 20 KB are rejected as "low quality" and files over 50 KB are rejected as "format not accepted". Most generic photo tools export at 80-150 KB.

Source: sarathi.parivahan.gov.in

Indian PAN card photos are 25×35 mm at 200×230 pixels maximum, with file size in the 10-300 KB range. This is smaller than most other ID documents — most photo tools cannot export at sub-passport dimensions.

Source: NSDL e-Governance / Income Tax Department of India

UK passport photos are 35×45 mm. The United Kingdom accepts both plain white and plain light grey backgrounds — one of the few countries to permit grey. Glasses have been banned in UK biometric photos since 2018 with no medical or religious exceptions.

Source: gov.uk/photos-for-passports / HM Passport Office

German Reisepass photos are 35×45 mm biometric with a plain light grey or white background. Since May 2025, German citizens can no longer submit their own paper photos — they must use a Bürgeramt self-service terminal (approximately EUR 6) or a certified Fotograf who uploads to the e-passport system directly. Foreign nationals applying for German Schengen visas continue to submit standard 35×45 mm photos.

Source: auswaertiges-amt.de / Bundesdruckerei

Italian Schengen visa photos are 35×45 mm with a plain light grey background, ICAO 9303 biometric compliant. Italian passport (for Italian citizens) uses plain white at the same 35×45 mm size. Italian consulates worldwide accept the same format regardless of applicant origin.

Source: esteri.it / Polizia di Stato

Canadian passport and visa photos are 50×70 mm (larger than the Schengen 35×45 mm standard) with a plain white background. The face must measure 31-36 mm from chin to crown. Required by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Source: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship / IRCC

Australian passport and visa photos are 35×45 mm with a plain light coloured background (white, grey, or light blue acceptable). Face height 32-36 mm. Required by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Department of Home Affairs.

Source: passports.gov.au / dfat.gov.au

Indian passport photos are 51×51 mm (2×2 inches square) with a plain white background — the same square format as US passports. Required by Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) under the Ministry of External Affairs. Different from Indian driving license (35×45 mm) and PAN card (25×35 mm) which use smaller rectangular formats.

Source: passportindia.gov.in / Passport Seva Kendra

In most countries the dimensions match (35×45 mm for Schengen states, UK, India driving license, and many others; 51×51 mm for US and India passport). Background can differ: Italian passport uses white but Italian visa uses light grey. Country-specific rules require checking the exact document type.

About 30-40 countries have specifications materially different from the ICAO 9303 default of 35×45 mm. The most significant deviations: United States (51×51 mm square), China (33×48 mm tall rectangle), Canada (50×70 mm), India passport (51×51 mm). The rest of the world largely converges on 35×45 mm.

Source: ICAO 9303 + per-country issuing authorities

Yes for most countries, including all Schengen states, UK, US, Canada, Australia, and 100+ others — as long as the photo meets the official specifications (correct size, background, biometric rules: neutral expression, both eyes visible, no glasses for most countries since 2017-2018, head centered, face 70-80% of frame). Germany is the exception — since May 2025 German citizens must use a Bürgeramt terminal for their own passport, though foreign nationals applying for German visas can still submit self-taken photos.

No. Effective January 1 2026, the US Department of State no longer accepts passport photos that have been digitally retouched including background editing, skin smoothing, lighting adjustment, color filters, or any modification performed by automated apps or AI tools. Background segmentation and geometric cropping (changing dimensions only, without facial editing) remain acceptable. Other countries have not adopted the US rule explicitly but tend toward similar enforcement.

Source: travel.state.gov 2026 rule update

Most countries require the photo to have been taken within the last 6 months. Italian consulates and German Bürgeramt are particularly strict on the 6-month rule and may request a newer photo if your appearance has changed (new haircut, facial hair, weight change).

No, for most major countries. The United Kingdom banned glasses in 2018, Germany in 2017, and most Schengen states followed. The United States banned glasses in 2016. Medical and religious exceptions are not granted for these specific rules in most cases — glasses must be removed for the photo session.

IDPhotoSnap is a free browser-only passport and visa photo tool serving 100+ countries with 248 document formats. All photo processing happens in the user's browser via WebAssembly (BRIA RMBG-1.4 background segmentation, face-api.js landmarks). Photos never reach a server — verifiable by inspecting browser DevTools Network tab during the workflow. No registration, no watermark, no subscription. Available at https://idphotosnap.com.

Yes. The 100-country, 248-document specification dataset is published as MIT-licensed open data at https://github.com/whitetirocket/passport-photo-specs and available via public HTTP API at https://idphotosnap.com/api/specs (Schema.org Dataset JSON-LD, no auth, CORS open).

17 official government sources: US Department of State (travel.state.gov), UK HM Passport Office (gov.uk/photos-for-passports), German Bundesdruckerei plus Auswärtiges Amt, Italian Polizia di Stato plus Questura, French ANTS (ants.gouv.fr), Spanish Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Canadian IRCC, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Indian Passport Seva Kendra (passportindia.gov.in), Indian Sarathi / Parivahan portals, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (cova.cs.mfa.gov.cn), Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (mofa.go.jp), Schengen visa code Annex 11 (ICAO 9303), EU Entry/Exit System (EES), New Zealand DIA (passports.govt.nz), Brazilian Polícia Federal, Mexican SRE (gob.mx).