Passport Photo Sizes by Country: Complete Reference Chart (2026)

Author Sukhwinder SinghPublished April 5, 2026Reviewed May 20, 2026Countries listed 65

Using the wrong dimensions is the single most common reason a passport application is rejected at intake. This reference is a cross-check of the 65 country presets currently shipped in our maker; each row was verified against the issuing country's official passport authority web page in May 2026. The list is ordered by region. Where a country's rules differ from the ICAO 9303 default (35×45 mm), I've flagged the deviation.

How to use this chart: find your country, note the exact width and height in millimetres or inches, then open the Free Passport Photo Maker and pick the country preset. The maker enforces the exact dimensions and head height automatically — this chart is for reference and for situations where you need a custom size.

The three dominant standards

Of all the countries in this chart, only three dimensional families capture roughly 95%:

35 × 45 mm — the ICAO 9303 standard, used by 47 of the 65 countries listed: UK, EU, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil (visa), and most others.
2 × 2 in / 51 × 51 mm — the US standard. Used by the United States, Cuba, and a handful of countries with historical US visa ties.
50 × 70 mm — Canada and Brazil (passport, not visa).

The remaining 5% are outliers worth memorising: China (33×48 mm), Spain (26×32 mm, the smallest of any major country), Argentina (40×40 square), and the Middle East cluster around 40×60 mm.

North America

Country	Width	Height	Head height (chin to crown)	Background	Source
United States	2 in (51 mm)	2 in (51 mm)	1–1⅓ in (25–35 mm)	White / off-white	travel.state.gov
Canada	50 mm	70 mm	31–36 mm	White / light	canada.ca / IRCC
Mexico	35 mm	45 mm	32 mm typical	White	sre.gob.mx

Europe (Schengen, UK, others)

Country	Width	Height	Head height	Background	Source
United Kingdom	35 mm	45 mm	29–34 mm	Light grey / cream	gov.uk
Schengen Zone	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Light grey / white	ICAO 9303
Germany	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Light grey, biometric	bundesdruckerei.de
France	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Light grey / blue	service-public.fr
Italy	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White	poliziadistato.it
Spain	26 mm	32 mm	20–22 mm	White	policia.es
Netherlands	35 mm	45 mm	26–32 mm	Light grey	government.nl
Switzerland	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Plain light	schweizerpass.ch
Poland	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Light, uniform	obywatel.gov.pl
Sweden	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Light grey	polisen.se
Portugal	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White / light	imprensa-nacional.pt
Greece	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White / light	hellenicpolice.gr
Russia	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White	passportist.ru
Turkey	50 mm	60 mm	~35 mm	White, biometric	nvi.gov.tr
Ireland	35 mm	45 mm	29–34 mm	Light grey / cream	dfa.ie
Norway	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Light grey	politiet.no

Note on Schengen: while ICAO 9303 sets the common standard, each member state interprets head-height, background colour, and glasses rules slightly differently. Germany and the Netherlands are the strictest. If unsure, follow German rules — meeting them satisfies the rest.

South Asia

Country	Width	Height	Head height	Background	Source
India	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm (face fills 70–80%)	White, both ears visible	passportindia.gov.in
Pakistan	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White	nadra.gov.pk
Bangladesh	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	passport.gov.bd
Sri Lanka	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White / light blue	immigration.gov.lk
Nepal	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	nepalpassport.gov.np
Bhutan	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	doi.gov.bt

Middle East

Country	Width	Height	Head height	Background	Source
UAE (Dubai)	43 mm	55 mm	~35 mm	White	icp.gov.ae
Saudi Arabia	40 mm	60 mm	~38 mm	White	moi.gov.sa
Qatar	38 mm	48 mm	~32 mm	White	moi.gov.qa
Kuwait	40 mm	60 mm	~38 mm	White	moi.gov.kw
Bahrain	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	npra.gov.bh
Oman	40 mm	60 mm	~38 mm	White	rop.gov.om
Jordan	40 mm	50 mm	~32 mm	White	cspd.gov.jo
Israel	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White / light	gov.il

East and Southeast Asia

Country	Width	Height	Head height	Background	Source
China	33 mm	48 mm	28–33 mm	White	gjwj.org.cn
Japan	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White, no glasses	mofa.go.jp
South Korea	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	passport.go.kr
Taiwan	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White	boca.gov.tw
Hong Kong	40 mm	50 mm	~36 mm	White	immd.gov.hk
Singapore	35 mm	45 mm	25–35 mm	White	ica.gov.sg
Malaysia	35 mm	50 mm	~32 mm	White / light blue	imi.gov.my
Thailand	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	consular.go.th
Indonesia	30 mm	40 mm	~28 mm	Red (biometric) / white	imigrasi.go.id
Vietnam	40 mm	60 mm	~38 mm	White	quanlyxuatnhapcanh.gov.vn
Philippines	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	dfa.gov.ph

Note on China: at 33×48 mm, China's standard is one of the few that does not match ICAO 9303. The maker handles this with a dedicated preset. Do not assume a 35×45 mm photo will be accepted; the extra 3 mm of height matters at the visa counter.

Oceania

Country	Width	Height	Head height	Background	Source
Australia	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White / light grey	passports.gov.au
New Zealand	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	Light grey / off-white	passports.govt.nz
Fiji	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	immigration.gov.fj
Papua New Guinea	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	ica.gov.pg

Africa

Country	Width	Height	Head height	Background	Source
South Africa	35 mm	45 mm	32–36 mm	White	dha.gov.za
Nigeria	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	immigration.gov.ng
Egypt	40 mm	60 mm	~36 mm	White	moi.gov.eg
Kenya	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	fns.immigration.go.ke
Morocco	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	service-public.ma
Ethiopia	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	main.ica.gov.et
Ghana	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	passportonline.mfa.gov.gh
Tanzania	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	immigration.go.tz

South America and Caribbean

Country	Width	Height	Head height	Background	Source
Brazil	50 mm	70 mm	~36 mm	White	gov.br/pf
Argentina	40 mm	40 mm	~32 mm (square)	White	argentina.gob.ar
Colombia	30 mm	40 mm	~28 mm	White	cancilleria.gov.co
Chile	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	extranjeria.gob.cl
Peru	35 mm	45 mm	~32 mm	White	migraciones.gob.pe
Cuba	2 in	2 in	1–1⅓ in	White	minrex.gob.cu

Edge cases worth knowing

Schengen visa vs passport. A Schengen visa photo follows the same 35×45 mm spec as a Schengen passport. But the visa-photo file uploaded to consulate portals usually needs a specific pixel size (typically 413×531 px at 300 DPI).
US visa photo digital upload. The DS-160 form requires a 600×600 px to 1200×1200 px JPEG, square, no larger than 240 KB. The maker exports this directly when you choose “US (digital)”.
OCI / PIO cards (India diaspora). Same 35×45 mm dimension as a regular Indian passport photo, but face must be slightly larger (face fills 70–80% of frame).
Japan visa. Despite Japan's passport spec being 35×45 mm, Japanese visa applications for foreign nationals often ask for 45×45 mm square. Check the consulate's specific requirement.
Newborns and babies under 6 months. Most countries (US, UK, Canada, EU) explicitly allow eyes-closed and accept lying-down shots, scaled to the country's standard adult dimensions.
Pixel dimensions matter for digital uploads. A photo that prints to 35×45 mm at 300 DPI must measure 413×531 px. The maker produces this by default.

How often these specs change

Passport-photo regulations change less often than other government rules, but they do change. Recent shifts I've tracked since starting this tool in 2023:

USA (Nov 2016, still current 2026). Glasses banned. The change has held; if anything the enforcement tightened in 2024 with automated detection at intake.
UK (Mar 2024). Photo Quality Guidelines updated to explicitly reject AI-enhanced or beauty-filtered photos. The dimensional spec did not change.
EU / Schengen (2024). Germany and the Netherlands started enforcing biometric quality checks earlier in the application flow; photos that pass dimensional specs can still be rejected for biometric reasons (face centring, slight head rotation).
India (2023). Passport Seva updated its photo-and-signature page to specify both ears must be visible and face must occupy 70–80% of the frame. Previous versions only said “face must be clearly visible.”
Canada (2022). Photo recency requirement relaxed from 6 to 12 months for adults; remained 6 months for children.

If a country in this chart updates its specification, I update the preset in the maker and the row here within a few weeks. Email sukhw1nd3rsingh@gmail.com if you spot a discrepancy.

Create your photo

Use the Free Passport Photo Maker to create a correctly-sized passport photo for any country in the chart above. Select your country from the dropdown and the dimensions are applied automatically.