How to Resize a Photo to Passport Size Online for Free (2×2 in, 35×45mm)

Different countries use different sizes, and they're oddly specific:

United States — 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm). Head must be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (25–35 mm) from chin to top of head. White background. Specified in the US Department of State's photo requirements (Code of Federal Regulations, 22 CFR 51.20). The US is one of the few countries that uses a square format.

United Kingdom — 35 × 45 mm. Head height 29–34 mm. Light grey or cream background. Defined by HM Passport Office. Photos must be taken within the last month, which is stricter than most countries.

India — 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) for passport, but 35 × 45 mm for the Aadhaar card. White background for passport. Per the Bureau of Immigration and the Ministry of External Affairs guidelines. Don't mix up the two sizes — they look similar but a photo sized for passport will be rejected for Aadhaar and vice versa.

Schengen / EU — 35 × 45 mm for most countries. Germany requires a biometric template where the face occupies 70–80% of the frame. France specifies 32–36 mm face height within the 35 × 45 mm photo. Compliant with ICAO 9303 standards, which is the international specification for machine-readable travel documents.

Canada — 50 × 70 mm. Face height 31–36 mm. White or light-coloured background. One of the largest standard passport photo sizes. Canada also requires the photographer's name, address, and the date taken to be printed on the back.

Open the iFormat Passport Photo tool. Upload your photo — a selfie, a portrait someone took of you, whatever you've got. Select your country from the dropdown. The tool knows the exact dimensions, aspect ratio, head-size ratio, and background requirements for each country.

The tool crops and resizes your photo to match the official template. It adjusts for head position — centering your face and making sure the chin-to-crown ratio falls within the acceptable range. If the background isn't right, it handles that too.

Download the result and print it on 4 × 6 glossy photo paper. Most home printers can handle this, or you can get a 4 × 6 print at any pharmacy for under $1. The tool tiles multiple passport photos onto a single 4 × 6 sheet to minimize waste — you'll get 6 passport photos on one print (arranged in a 2 × 3 grid for US-size photos).

Stand in front of a white or light grey wall. Natural daylight from a window to your side works well — avoid direct overhead lighting that creates shadows under your nose and eyes. No flash; it causes red-eye and harsh shadows behind your head.

Hold the phone at eye level, about 4 feet away. Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera — the rear camera has a longer focal length which means less facial distortion. The front camera's wide-angle lens makes your nose look bigger and your ears look smaller (barrel distortion). Use a timer or ask someone to take it.

Look straight at the camera. Neutral expression — most agencies say no smiling, or at most a "natural" smile. Both ears visible if possible. Remove glasses unless you have a medical exemption (the US stopped allowing glasses in passport photos in 2016; many other countries followed). If you wear a head covering for religious reasons, most countries allow it as long as it doesn't obscure any facial features or cast shadows on the face.

Wrong dimensions. This is the most common reason. A photo that's 2 × 2.5 inches instead of 2 × 2 gets bounced. The passport photo tool eliminates this by cropping to exact specs.

Head too small or too large. The US requires the head to be 1–1.375 inches tall in the 2 × 2 frame. Too much space above the head or a tightly-cropped headshot both get rejected. This is the second most common rejection reason.

Shadows on the face or background. Even lighting matters. Shadows on the wall behind you are a common issue with indoor photos taken with overhead lighting. Stepping 2–3 feet away from the wall reduces background shadows significantly.

Wrong background colour. The US requires white. The UK allows light grey or cream. Using a coloured wall or a patterned backdrop will get rejected. If your wall isn't white, the background remover can strip it and replace it with the correct colour.

Low resolution / blurry. Passport agencies want crisp prints. Phone photos from the rear camera at arm's length (or slightly further) provide more than enough resolution — just make sure you're in focus. Tap to focus on the face before shooting.

This is the hardest variant. Babies can't sit still, won't look at the camera, and definitely won't hold a neutral expression. The trick most parents use: lay the baby on a white sheet, stand directly above, and shoot downward. The sheet becomes the background, and gravity keeps the baby mostly still.

Agencies are more lenient with infant photos — eyes don't have to be fully open for babies under 6 months, and mouth can be slightly open. But dimensions and background requirements are the same as adult photos. Some parents try to hold the baby and crop themselves out — this usually fails because the adult's hands or clothing enter the frame.

Take a lot of photos. Babies give you a usable expression for maybe 1 out of every 20 shots. A burst of 50 photos guarantees at least a couple that work.

Many visa and passport applications now accept or require digital photo uploads. Each has specific file requirements:

US passport (online) — JPG/JPEG only, 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 px, file size 240 KB or less.

UK passport (online) — JPG/JPEG, at least 600 × 750 px, file size under 10 MB.

India Aadhaar (online) — JPG only, 2 KB to 100 KB. See the Aadhaar photo size guide for the full spec.

If your photo exceeds the file size limit, the image compressor can target a specific file size. If it's in the wrong format, the image converter handles format changes.

If you need to remove the background for a digital submission that requires a transparent PNG, or if you want to compress the file to meet an upload size limit, those are separate steps you can handle after sizing.

For printing, stick with JPG. Set your printer to "actual size" or "100%" rather than "fit to page" — scaling changes the dimensions and defeats the purpose. Glossy photo paper at 300 DPI gives the best results. Matte paper is acceptable for most agencies but glossy produces sharper results.

Can I use a selfie for my passport photo?
Technically yes, but rear-camera photos are better. The front camera's wide-angle lens distorts your face slightly — your nose appears larger and your ears smaller than they actually are. Agencies don't explicitly ban selfies, but the distortion can cause issues with biometric matching at border control.

What file format should the digital photo be?
JPG for most submissions. The US State Department accepts JPG/JPEG only. India's passport portal also requires JPG. The UK accepts JPG or PNG. When in doubt, go JPG.

How do I know if my photo meets the requirements?
The passport photo tool validates against the official specs for your selected country. If the tool accepts it, the agency will too — the dimensions and ratios match the published requirements exactly.

Do I need to print on specific paper?
Most agencies require glossy or matte photo paper. Regular printer paper is too thin and the ink bleeds, making the photo look blurry. A pack of 4 × 6 glossy photo paper costs about $8 for 100 sheets — enough for a lifetime of passport photos.

How recent does my passport photo need to be?
The US requires photos taken within the last 6 months. The UK requires the last month. Most EU countries require 6 months. If your appearance has changed significantly (new hairstyle, gained or lost weight, started or stopped wearing glasses), take a new photo even if the old one is technically within the time limit.