Visa Photo Size Requirements by Country: Dimensions, Pixels, and File Size
You are filling out a visa application and it asks for a photo. The requirements say 35x45mm, 600x600 pixels, under 240KB, white background, JPEG format. Your phone photo is 4032x3024 pixels, 4 MB, with a living room background. This guide gives you the exact requirements for every major country and shows you how to get your photo right the first time.
United States visa and passport photo
Print size: 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm) — square.
Digital upload: 600 x 600 pixels (minimum) to 1200 x 1200 pixels (maximum). File size between 54KB and 240KB. JPEG format only.
Background: Plain white or off-white.
Other rules: Head must fill 50-69% of the frame (1 inch to 1 3/8 inches from chin to top of head). Eyes must be between 1 1/8 and 1 3/8 inches from the bottom. No glasses (as of 2016). Neutral expression. Taken within the last 6 months.
United Kingdom visa and passport photo
Print size: 35 x 45 mm.
Digital upload: At least 600 x 750 pixels. File size between 50KB and 10MB. JPEG format.
Background: Plain light grey or cream (not pure white).
Other rules: Head height 29-34mm in print. Mouth closed. No head coverings unless for religious reasons. Must be taken against an off-white or light grey background — the UK specifically does not want pure white.
Schengen / EU visa photo
Print size: 35 x 45 mm (standard across all Schengen countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, etc.).
Digital upload: Requirements vary by embassy. Generally 600 x 750 pixels minimum, JPEG format, under 500KB.
Background: Light grey, light blue, or white depending on the specific country. France prefers light grey. Germany accepts white or light grey.
Other rules: Face must occupy 70-80% of the frame height. Neutral expression, mouth closed. Taken within the last 6 months.
India visa photo
Print size: 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm) — same as the US.
Digital upload: 350 x 350 pixels (minimum) to 1000 x 1000 pixels. File size between 10KB and 1MB. JPEG format.
Background: Plain white.
Other rules: Both ears must be visible. Face must be centred and cover 50-60% of the frame. No border. India's e-Visa portal is particularly strict about dimensions and file size — photos outside the range are rejected automatically.
India's e-Visa portal rejections
The Indian e-Visa system is notorious for rejecting photos that are a few pixels or kilobytes outside the requirements. Resize to exactly 350x350 pixels and compress to under 300KB for the safest result. Upload a square crop with the face centred.
Canada visa and passport photo
Print size: 50 x 70 mm (passport) or 35 x 45 mm (some visa types). Check the specific application.
Digital upload: 420 x 540 pixels (minimum) to 720 x 960 pixels. File size 100KB to 4MB. JPEG format.
Background: Plain white or light-coloured.
Other rules: Face must be between 31-36mm in height (print). Full front view. Canada has specific requirements about frame size and head position that differ between passport and visa applications.
Australia visa photo
Print size: 35 x 45 mm.
Digital upload: 600 x 750 pixels (minimum). File size under 5MB. JPEG format.
Background: Plain light-coloured background.
Other rules: Head height 32-36mm. No glasses. Neutral expression.
China visa photo
Print size: 33 x 48 mm — note this is not the standard 35x45mm.
Digital upload: 354 x 472 pixels. File size 40KB to 120KB. JPEG format.
Background: Plain white.
Other rules: Head height 28-33mm. Both ears visible. China's requirements are among the strictest — the dimensions are non-standard and the file size window is narrow.
How to get the right dimensions
For most visa photos, the process is the same:
- Step 1: Crop to the correct aspect ratio. For 35x45mm photos, that is 7:9. For 2x2 inch (US/India) photos, it is 1:1 (square).
- Step 2: Resize to the required pixel dimensions. Use the image resizer to set exact width and height.
- Step 3: Check the background. Use the passport photo maker to replace your background with white or light grey.
- Step 4: Compress to the file size limit. Use the image compressor to get under the maximum KB.
Take the photo right and save yourself a retry
Stand against a plain white or light grey wall. Use natural daylight (face a window). Hold the camera at eye level, about 1-1.5 metres away. No shadows on the face or background. Portrait orientation. This saves you from background-removal headaches and rejection loops.
Make your visa photo the right size
Free passport and visa photo tool. Set exact dimensions, fix the background, and compress to any file size limit. Works for US, UK, Schengen, India, Canada, and more.