Image Guide

Passport and Visa Photo Sizes by Country (US, UK, Schengen, India, Canada, Australia, China)

By ToolFlic Expert Team Updated 8 October 2026 1214 words

Passport photos fail for three reasons in nearly every case: the head is the wrong height for the frame, the file is outside the portal's size window, or the background and expression break the rules. Dimensions themselves are simple — the specifications below cover the major English-language application systems.

Everything here is prepared with browser tools: the cropper for the exact ratio, the resizer for pixel dimensions, the background remover for a clean white or grey backdrop, and the compressor to hit the KB limits. No upload, no studio visit, and no biometric data leaving your device.

Sizes by country and application type

Print sizes are given first; digital uploads then need a matching pixel size at 300 DPI (pixels = millimetres divided by 25.4, times 300).

Authority / form	Print size	Head height rule	Digital upload
United States — passport & DS-160 visa	2 x 2 in (51 x 51 mm)	Head 1 - 1 3/8 in (25 - 35 mm)	JPEG, 240 KB - 10 MB, 600 - 1200 px square
United Kingdom — passport	35 x 45 mm	Face 29 - 34 mm (chin to crown)	JPEG/PNG, under 10 MB, 600 x 750 px minimum
Schengen (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands)	35 x 45 mm	Face 32 - 36 mm, ~70 - 80 % of height	Often 45 KB - 5 MB depending on the portal
India — passport (PCRC/PSK centres)	35 x 45 mm (51 x 51 mm for some overseas services)	Face centred, 25 - 35 mm	JPEG, typically 100 KB - 1 MB by portal
Canada — passport	50 x 70 mm	Face 31 - 36 mm (chin to crown)	Online renewal: 420 x 540 px minimum
Australia — passport	35 x 45 mm	Face 32 - 36 mm	JPEG/PNG, 300 KB - 15 MB
China — visa	33 x 48 mm (2 x 2 in for some visa types)	Face 21 - 33 mm, white background	JPEG, 40 KB - 10 MB
Japan — passport	35 x 45 mm	Face 32 - 36 mm	JPEG, commonly 10 KB - 10 MB

Always confirm against the official site of the embassy or portal you are submitting to before printing or sending — these specifications are updated periodically, and regional application centres sometimes impose their own file rules on top of the national standard.

Millimetres to pixels: the 300 DPI conversion that matters

Consulates print at 300 DPI, so a 35 x 45 mm photo is 413 x 531 pixels and a 2 x 2 inch US photo is 600 x 600 pixels. Prepare the file at those pixel dimensions and it prints at exactly the right physical size without scaling.

Formula: pixels = (millimetres / 25.4) x 300. Worked example for a Schengen photo: 35 mm / 25.4 = 1.378 in, x 300 = 413 px wide; 45 mm / 25.4 = 1.772 in, x 300 = 531 px tall. Enter those two numbers into the resizer after cropping to the 35:45 ratio.

The head-height rule that causes most rejections

Every authority measures the head, not the person: chin to crown must fall inside a band, and the face must be centred with a fixed amount of space above the hair. Because the head band is a range, the safest construction is to crop generously and then scale so the face occupies the middle of the frame.

Practical check before submitting: print the photo at 100 percent scale, then measure your own face with a ruler. If it lands inside the band for your country, the file will pass. If it is a few millimetres off, move the crop frame rather than resizing — resizing changes pixels, not composition.

Common composition failures: head tilted, chin raised, hair clipped by the top crop line, shoulders visible above the frame line, and the subject off-centre. All of these are fixable with one careful crop.

Background, expression, glasses and lighting

Background: plain light grey or white, no shadows, no patterns, no other person or object partially visible. If your wall is cream or casts a shadow, the background remover can replace it with a clean white layer before you resize.

Expression: neutral, mouth closed, eyes open and looking at the camera. No smiling with teeth showing — several authorities now reject open-mouth smiles outright.

Eyes and glasses: wear them if you wear them daily, but no glare on the lenses, no frames covering the pupils, and no tinted lenses. Some systems now require no glasses at all.

Lighting: even, frontal, no harsh shadow behind the head, no colour cast on the skin. Standing facing a window works better than any flash technique.

Prohibited: heavy retouching that changes facial structure, filters, uniforms (except religious daily attire), and photos older than six months.

Preparing a compliant file step by step

1. Take the source shot. Have someone else hold the camera at eye level, about 1.2-1.5 m away, against a plain wall. Selfies fail because the wide lens distorts the nose and face proportions.

2. Crop to the ratio. 2:2 for the US, 35:45 for UK, Schengen, India, Australia, Japan, 50:70 for Canada, 33:48 for China visas. Use the ratio presets in the cropper.

3. Fix the background if it is not already clean white or light grey.

4. Resize to the exact pixel dimensions from the 300 DPI calculation — 600 x 600 for the US, 413 x 531 for Schengen sizes, 590 x 826 for Canadian 50 x 70 mm.

5. Convert to JPEG if the portal requires it, then compress to sit inside the stated window (aim near the middle: if the range is 100 KB - 1 MB, target 250-400 KB).

6. Verify before submitting: ratio, pixel size, file size, background, and head band. Then keep a copy of the exact file that passed — the same photo is often reused for later forms.

Print at home or in a kiosk without scaling errors

For a single passport photo, print on 4 x 6 in (10 x 15 cm) glossy photo paper at 100 percent scale with scaling turned off — printer drivers default to "fit to page," which silently enlarges the head and makes the photo non-compliant.

To get several copies from one sheet, place your sized photo on a 2 x 2 inch canvas repeated across a 4 x 6 in sheet using the resizer with an explicit pixel target, then trim. Verify with a ruler after trimming: if the head measures outside the required band, the printer scaled it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size photo do I need for a US passport or DS-160 visa?

A 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) square photo with the head measuring 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25-35 mm). For online upload use JPEG at 600-1200 pixels square and between 240 KB and 10 MB. Crop square first, then resize, then compress.

Is a 35x45 mm photo the same as a US 2x2 inch photo?

No — 35 x 45 mm is a portrait ratio (3.5 : 4.5), while the US requirement is a perfect square at 51 x 51 mm. A 35 x 45 mm photo will not substitute for a US application because the head-to-frame geometry differs, and the crop cannot simply be stretched to fit.

Can I take my own passport photo with a phone?

You can, if the phone is held at eye level by someone else about 1.2-1.5 m from you and you stand roughly 1 m from a plain wall. Selfies distort facial proportions through wide-angle lens effect, which is a frequent rejection cause. Lighting must be even, and the head band must be measured after cropping.

What file size should a passport photo upload be?

It depends on the portal, but most accept JPEG between 100 KB and a few MB. Target the middle of the stated window, because some systems reject files at the extreme edges and others re-encode on upload, changing the final size.

Can I edit or remove the background of a passport photo?

Replacing a distracting wall with a clean white or light grey background is acceptable. Changing your face is not: blemish removal, skin smoothing, slimming, or any retouch that alters facial structure can lead to rejection and, in some jurisdictions, is treated as submitting a false document.

How old can a passport photo be?

Most authorities require a photo taken within the last six months, because appearance changes matter more than file age. A print that has creased or faded is also rejected, so keep the compliant digital master file for reuse.