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Passport & Visa Photo Sizes by Country (2025 Reference)

Published August 15, 2025 · By VanishBG team · 8 min read

Passport and visa photo requirements vary by country, and getting them wrong is one of the most common reasons applications get delayed or rejected. This guide is a 2025 reference for the major countries’ photo requirements — dimensions, background color, head size, and how to produce them at home.

Quick reference table

Country / Region Photo Size Dimensions (mm) Dimensions (px @ 300 DPI) Background Head Height
United States (passport) 2 × 2 in 51 × 51 mm 600 × 600 px White 25–35 mm (50–69% of height)
United States (visa) 2 × 2 in 51 × 51 mm 600 × 600 px White 25–35 mm
European Union (Schengen visa) 35 × 45 mm 35 × 45 mm 413 × 531 px Light gray / white 32–36 mm (70–80%)
United Kingdom (passport) 35 × 45 mm 35 × 45 mm 413 × 531 px Light gray 29–34 mm
Canada (passport) 50 × 70 mm 50 × 70 mm 591 × 827 px White / light gray 31–36 mm (70–75% of height)
Australia (passport) 35 × 45 mm 35 × 45 mm 413 × 531 px White / light gray 32–36 mm
India (passport) 2 × 2 in 51 × 51 mm 600 × 600 px White 70–80% of photo
China (visa) 33 × 48 mm 33 × 48 mm 390 × 567 px White 28–33 mm
Japan (passport) 35 × 45 mm 35 × 45 mm 413 × 531 px White / light gray 34 mm (±2 mm)
Brazil (passport) 50 × 70 mm 50 × 70 mm 591 × 827 px White 50–70% of photo
Mexico (passport / visa) 31 × 39 mm to 35 × 45 mm varies 366 × 460 to 413 × 531 px White 70–80%
Russia (visa) 35 × 45 mm 35 × 45 mm 413 × 531 px White / light gray 70–80%
South Africa (passport) 35 × 45 mm 35 × 45 mm 413 × 531 px White / light gray 70–80%
Singapore (passport) 35 × 45 mm 35 × 45 mm 413 × 531 px White 25–35 mm

Always verify with the issuing authority. Requirements change, and some countries have additional rules (e.g., no glasses, no head coverings except religious, neutral facial expression). Check the embassy or passport office website before submitting.

Common requirements across countries

Despite the dimension differences, most countries share these rules:

  • Background: plain white or light gray, no patterns, no shadows, no gradients.
  • Facial expression: neutral, mouth closed, eyes open and clearly visible.
  • Glasses: most countries now prohibit glasses, even prescription ones. The U.S. banned them in 2016.
  • Head coverings: prohibited except for religious reasons (and the face must still be fully visible from hairline to chin).
  • Lighting: even, no harsh shadows on the face or background.
  • Recency: taken within the last 6 months.
  • Quality: sharp focus, no pixelation, printed on photo-quality paper if submitting physically.

Producing passport photos at home

You don’t need to pay $15 at a drugstore photo booth. Here’s the workflow:

1. Shoot the photo

  • Stand against a plain white or light gray wall (a white sheet works in a pinch).
  • Use natural daylight from a window facing you — avoid overhead lights that create shadows under the eyes.
  • Position the camera at eye level, about 1.5 meters away. Use portrait mode if your phone has it.
  • Look straight at the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed.
  • Take several shots and pick the best one.

2. Cut out the background

Even if you shoot against a white wall, the background won’t be the exact shade of pure white required. Use VanishBG to:

  1. Drop the photo onto the tool.
  2. The AI removes the original background.
  3. Composite onto pure white (#FFFFFF) — automatically the default on the white-background page.
  4. Export at the exact dimensions your country requires.

For U.S. passports, use the Custom preset with 600 × 600 px. For EU/Schengen, use 413 × 531 px. The dimensions are exact, the background is compliant pure white, and the whole process takes about 10 seconds.

3. Print or submit digitally

For digital submissions (most online visa applications): export as JPEG at 300 DPI, file size typically under 240 KB (check the specific embassy’s limit).

For physical prints: print at a photo kiosk (Walgreens, CVS, etc.) using the “passport photo” template, or print 4×6 inch at home and cut to size. Most countries accept glossy or matte photo paper.

Country-specific gotchas

A few countries have unusual requirements worth flagging:

  • United States: requires the head to be between 1 inch (25 mm) and 1-3/8 inches (35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. This is unusually wide; many countries specify a narrower range.
  • United Kingdom: requires the photo to be countersigned by a professional who has known you for at least 2 years (for first-time adult passports only).
  • China: requires the applicant to wear dark-colored clothing that contrasts with the white background. Light-colored shirts may be rejected.
  • India: requires a “registration” of the photo via a unique barcode in some application types — check the embassy’s online portal.
  • Schengen visa: requires the photo to be glued (not stapled) to the application form in a specific position.

Why most passport photo apps fail

Commercial passport photo apps typically:

  • Upload your photo to a server (privacy concern — passport photos are biometric data).
  • Charge per photo or per download.
  • Watermark free exports.
  • Don’t handle country-specific requirements accurately.

A browser-based tool like VanishBG sidesteps all of these: your photo never leaves your device, there’s no per-photo cost, and you have full control over the export dimensions.

Tips for a passport photo you won’t hate

Most passport photos look bad because of lighting, not because of the subject. A few small adjustments:

  1. Shoot in the morning or late afternoon when natural light is soft and warm. Midday sun creates harsh shadows.
  2. Use a reflector — a piece of white paper held below your face bounces light up and fills in under-chin shadows.
  3. Look at the camera lens, not the screen (if using a phone). Looking at yourself on screen makes you look slightly down, which is wrong for passport photos.
  4. Pull your hair back if it covers your hairline — many countries require the hairline to be visible.
  5. Don’t smile — most countries require a neutral expression. A slight closed-mouth smile is usually OK; an open-mouthed smile is not.
  6. Take 10 photos and pick the best one — even small differences in expression, lighting, and angle make a big difference.

Bottom line

Passport photo requirements look intimidating but are mostly mechanical: get the dimensions right, get the background to pure white, follow the head-height rules, and submit. A free, in-browser tool like VanishBG handles the background and dimensions in seconds, leaving you to focus on getting a decent photo of yourself — which is the harder part.

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Skip the upload. Skip the watermark. Remove backgrounds privately in your browser.

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