Passport & Visa Photo, Sized Correctly
The right pixel dimensions and the head-height rule, with a crop you control.
The specifications, in pixels
Requirements are published in millimetres or inches, but what you upload is pixels. At the 300 dpi that print services expect, millimetres convert as mm ÷ 25.4 × 300. The resulting pixel counts are what a form will actually accept.
| Country / scheme | Printed size | Pixels at 300 dpi |
|---|---|---|
| United States (passport, visa) | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | 600 × 600 |
| United Kingdom | 35 × 45 mm | 413 × 531 |
| Schengen visa | 35 × 45 mm | 413 × 531 |
| India (passport, visa) | 35 × 45 mm | 413 × 531 |
| China (passport) | 33 × 48 mm | 390 × 567 |
| Japan | 35 × 45 mm | 413 × 531 |
| Australia | 35 × 45 mm | 413 × 531 |
| Canada | 50 × 70 mm | 591 × 827 |
The head-height rule is what most rejections are about
Specifications constrain not just the frame but the face within it. The United States requires the head — chin to top of the hair — to occupy 50 to 69 percent of the image height, which on a 600-pixel square is roughly 300 to 414 pixels. The UK and Schengen rules land in the same broad region. This is why an ordinary portrait cropped to the right outer dimensions is still refused: the framing is wrong even though the size is right. Crop so the head fills the middle band of the frame, with a small margin above the hair and the eyes in the upper third.
Background and expression requirements
- Plain, light background — white or off-white for the US, UK and Schengen. A shadow behind the subject is a rejection reason in itself.
- Neutral expression, eyes open, mouth closed. Glasses are permitted in some schemes and prohibited in others; the safest choice is to remove them if you can do so without changing your appearance.
- No uniform, no hat except for religious observance, which usually requires a supporting declaration.
- Recent — typically within the last six months, and not a photo already used in a previous document.
- No filters, no retouching that changes facial features. Colour adjustment to correct white balance is generally acceptable; smoothing skin is not.
Formal verification is performed by the issuing authority, not by this page. This tool produces a correctly sized, correctly framed candidate. Check the current requirements for your specific application before submitting, because national rules change and some consulates impose local additions.
Printing and DPI, once more
If you plan to have the photo printed rather than uploaded, give the lab a file with the pixel count from the table and ask for it to be printed at the physical dimensions in the same row. A 413 × 531 pixel file printed at 35 × 45 mm is 300 dpi. Printed at 70 × 90 mm it is 150 dpi and may be rejected as unclear even though the file is unchanged — the lab has to map the pixels onto the stated physical size.
How to use it
- Drop your photo — a straight-on portrait with a plain background works best.
- Select the target specification.
- Adjust the crop so the head occupies the stated proportion of the frame.
- Check the reported pixel dimensions match the table, then download or print.
Worth knowing
- US passport photos are 2 × 2 in, which is 600 × 600 pixels at 300 dpi.
- Most other schemes use 35 × 45 mm, or 413 × 531 pixels at 300 dpi.
- The US requires head height to be 50–69% of the image height.
- Backgrounds must be plain and light, with no shadow behind the subject.
Limitations
- This page sizes and crops; it cannot certify compliance.
- Every authority applies its own verification and may impose local additions.
- Extremely low-resolution source photos cannot be enlarged without visible softness.
- Print accuracy depends on the lab honouring the specified physical dimensions.