Visa and Passport Photo Sizes: A Country-by-Country Guide
Exact photo specifications for the US, UK, Schengen, Canada, Australia, UAE, India, Japan, China and more — with sources and verification dates.
Almost every country uses 35 × 45 mm. The important exceptions — and the digital file rules, which differ far more than the print sizes — are where applications get rejected.
The three that break the pattern
- United States — 2 × 2 inches, square. A 35 × 45 mm photo is refused outright. US visa photo preset
- Japan — 45 × 45 mm, also square, but a different square. Japan preset
- China — 33 × 48 mm, taller and narrower than standard. China preset
Digital file rules catch more people than print sizes
Print dimensions are widely known. The upload limits are not, and several countries set a minimum as well as a maximum — so a file compressed too hard fails exactly like one that is too large.
| Country | Digital rule | Preset |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 px, ≤ 240 KB | DS-160 |
| United Kingdom | 750 px+ wide, minimum 50 KB | UK |
| Canada | Citizenship online: minimum 240 KB | Canada |
| Singapore | 400 × 514 px, ≤ 60 KB — very tight | Singapore |
| China | 354 × 472 px, 40–100 KB band | China |
| Schengen | ICAO 9303; ETIAS ~100 KB–10 MB | Schengen |
More: Australia · New Zealand · Ireland · UAE · India · all photo presets.
Why photos get rejected
Meeting the dimensions is the easy half. These are the human-judgement failures:
- Glasses. Banned in US visa and passport photos since 1 November 2016 — including prescription lenses. Many other countries allow them only without glare.
- Head size. The US requires the face to fill 50–69% of image height. Canada specifies 31–36 mm chin to crown. Too close or too far both fail.
- Background shadow. Stand well away from the wall with even frontal light.
- Expression. Neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open and visible.
- Age. Most authorities require a photo taken within the last six months.
No resizing tool can check any of these. It can produce a file of exactly the right dimensions and size, and a human reviewer can still reject it. Anything claiming to verify compliance is overstating what software can do.
On dates and sources
Consulate requirements drift, and different consulates of the same country sometimes apply different interpretations. Every specification page here shows its source and the date we last checked it, and pages we could not verify against a current official notice say so in a visible warning. The official source always takes precedence.