Forms & applications

Passport Photo Size Requirements: India, US, UK and Schengen

Passport photo dimensions, head-size rules, background and expression requirements for major countries — and how to crop a compliant photo yourself from an ordinary picture.

7 min read · Updated 2026-07-15

Passport photographs are rejected more often than almost any other document, and rarely because the applicant looks wrong. They are rejected because the head occupies 68% of the frame instead of the required 70–80%, or because the background is cream rather than white, or because a smile shows teeth. The rules are unusually literal, and they differ by country in ways that matter.

Dimensions by country

The United States is the notable outlier with a square 2 × 2 inch format. Everyone else converges on 35 × 45 mm, but the head-height rules within that frame differ enough that a UK-compliant photo may fail Schengen requirements and vice versa.

Head height is the rule people get wrong

"Head height" means the distance from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head — including hair, but not including hair that sticks up beyond the natural outline. It does not mean the distance from chin to eyebrows, and it does not include the shoulders.

On a 45 mm tall photo, a required head height of 32–36 mm means your head must fill roughly 71–80% of the vertical frame. In pixel terms on a 413 × 531 image (35 × 45 mm at 300 DPI), that is a head between about 378 and 425 pixels tall. Most casual photographs have the head at 40–50% of frame height, which is why simply cropping a holiday snap to the right aspect ratio almost never produces a compliant result — you have to crop in much tighter than feels natural.

There is also an eye-line rule in most specifications: the eyes should sit between roughly 55% and 70% of the way up from the bottom edge. Cropping so the head is the right size but positioned too low or too high fails just as surely.

Rules that apply almost everywhere

• Neutral expression, mouth closed. A slight closed-mouth smile is tolerated in some countries and rejected in others. Neutral is always safe.
• Both eyes open and clearly visible. Hair must not cross the eyes.
• Face the camera squarely. No three-quarter angles, no tilted head.
• No glare on glasses, and increasingly no glasses at all — the US, India and several EU states now require them removed unless there is a documented medical reason.
• No head covering except for religious reasons, and even then the full face from chin to forehead must be visible.
• Even lighting with no shadow on the face or on the background behind the head. Shadows behind the head are the single most common studio failure.
• Recent — typically within the last six months.
• No filters, no beautification, no digital retouching of facial features. Adjusting overall brightness is fine; slimming a jaw is not.

Background: getting a genuinely plain white

Most "white" walls photograph as light grey or beige, and if the light is uneven the wall will be brighter on one side. Validators that measure background uniformity will catch this.

The reliable physical fix is to stand about a metre away from a white wall — the distance prevents your own shadow from landing on it — with light coming from in front of you rather than behind. If that is not available, the Background Remover will cut you out and place you on a flat white field. This is a legitimate correction: it changes the background, not you. Composting your face onto a different body, retouching your features or using an old photograph is misrepresentation and is a different thing entirely.

Digital submission versus printing

These are different problems and people conflate them.

For printing, DPI is what converts pixels into millimetres. 35 × 45 mm at 300 DPI needs 413 × 531 pixels; at 600 DPI it needs 827 × 1063. Printing a 413 × 531 image at 600 DPI produces a photo half the required physical size. If you are unsure how this arithmetic works, our DPI and print size guide covers it properly.

Photo labs usually print a sheet of six or eight on 4 × 6 inch paper. If you are laying this out yourself, place the copies with a small white gutter between them so there is room to cut.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take a passport photo with my phone?

Yes, and it is what most people do now. Use the rear camera rather than the selfie camera — front cameras use wide-angle lenses that distort facial proportions at close range. Have someone else hold the phone about 1.5 metres away and zoom slightly, or use a timer and a stand.

Why does my photo keep getting rejected for head size?

Almost always because you cropped to the correct aspect ratio but not tightly enough. Measure it: the head from chin to crown must reach roughly 70–80% of the total image height. On screen, that looks much closer than a normal portrait.

Can I wear glasses in a passport photo?

Increasingly not. The US, India and a number of European countries now require glasses to be removed for new passport photographs, and where they are still permitted there must be no glare and the eyes must be fully visible. Removing them is the safe choice.

Is it acceptable to change the background digitally?

Replacing a cluttered or off-colour background with plain white on an otherwise genuine, recent, correctly-posed photograph is standard practice and is what a studio would do. Editing your face, body or apparent age is not acceptable and can have serious consequences on an identity document.

What resolution do I need for a printed passport photo?

300 DPI is the practical minimum, giving 413 × 531 pixels for a 35 × 45 mm print. 600 DPI (827 × 1063 px) is better if your source photo has the resolution to support it. Upscaling a small image to reach the pixel count does not add real detail and prints soft.

Do the photos have to be identical if I need several?

For most applications, yes — the copies you submit should all be the same photograph. Some countries additionally require that the photo differs from the one on your previous passport, so do not reuse an old file.