Passport photo size by country
Almost every rejected photo fails on one of two numbers: the size of the print, or the height of the head inside it. The frame is the easy part — most of the world uses 35 × 45 mm. The head height is where people get caught, because it is measured from the chin to the top of the skull including hair, and almost nobody guesses it right. Below are the figures we use, each taken from the issuing authority rather than from another photo site.
The two sizes that cover most applications
35 × 45 mm is the default across the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Korea, Russia and India, and it is the shape described in ICAO Doc 9303, the specification behind machine-readable travel documents. The United States is the big exception: a US passport or visa photo is square, 2 × 2 inches, which is 50.8 × 50.8 mm. Turkey uses 50 × 60 mm, Canada 50 × 70 mm, and a Chinese visa photo is 33 × 48 mm. If you are applying in one country for a document issued by another, the issuing country's size wins.
Head height is the number that actually fails
ICAO describes the head as occupying roughly 70 to 80 per cent of the frame height, which on a 45 mm print means about 31.5 to 36 mm from chin to crown. Individual countries narrow that band: the United Kingdom asks for 29 to 34 mm, Japan for 34 mm plus or minus 2, Canada for 31 to 36 mm on its taller 70 mm print. The United States and India do not lead with head height at all — they position the face using the eye line measured up from the bottom edge, 28.6 to 34.9 mm for the US and 28.5 to 35 mm for India. A photo can have a perfectly cropped 35 × 45 mm frame and still be rejected because the face inside it is 4 mm too small.
Countries that go their own way
Turkey's civil registry publishes the print size, 50 × 60 mm on a plain white background, but does not publish a head height in millimetres; the 42 to 48 mm range shown below is the ICAO 70–80 per cent proportion applied to a 60 mm frame, not an official figure, and we label it that way. China's visa photo adds a rule the others do not: at least 7 mm of clear space above the top of the head. Russia's interior ministry orders specify a similar margin of about 5 mm. Korea is the strictest of all — it requires a photo actually taken in front of a white background, and rejects one where the background was replaced in software.
Where these numbers come from
Every row in the table traces to an issuing authority: travel.state.gov, gov.uk, IRCC, passports.gov.au, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Passport Seva, the Bundesdruckerei photo template, Russian MVD orders 186 and 966, and Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rules change — India moved to 35 × 45 mm on 1 September 2025 — so before an appointment that matters, open the page of the authority you are applying to. If your country is not in the table, we would rather say so than print a number we cannot source.
| Country / document | Size (mm) | Head, chin to crown (mm) | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICAO template | 35 × 45 | 31.5 – 36 | White |
| Schengen / EU | 35 × 45 | 32 – 36 | Light, plain |
| Germany | 35 × 45 | 32 – 36 | Light, single colour |
| United Kingdom | 35 × 45 | 29 – 34 | Plain cream or light grey |
| Australia | 35 × 45 | 32 – 36 | Light, plain |
| Japan | 35 × 45 | 34 ± 2 | White |
| Korea | 35 × 45 | 32 – 36 | Real white, no software replacement |
| Russia | 35 × 45 | 32 – 36 (≈ 5 mm above head) | White |
| India | 35 × 45 | 25.4 – 35 (eye line 28.5 – 35 from bottom) | White |
| United States | 50.8 × 50.8 (2 × 2 in) | 25.4 – 34.9 (eye line 28.6 – 34.9 from bottom) | White |
| Turkey | 50 × 60 | 42 – 48 (derived from ICAO ratio, not published) | Plain white |
| Canada | 50 × 70 | 31 – 36 | White |
| China (visa) | 33 × 48 | 28 – 33 (≥ 7 mm above head) | White |
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common passport photo size?
35 × 45 mm. It is used across the EU and the UK and is the size described in ICAO Doc 9303, the standard behind machine-readable passports. The main exception among large countries is the United States, which uses a 2 × 2 inch square.
Is 35 × 45 mm the same as 3.5 × 4.5 cm?
Yes, they are the same measurement written two ways. Some application forms also give it in inches as roughly 1.38 × 1.77 in, which is the same print rounded.
How is head height measured?
From the bottom of the chin to the top of the head including hair, not to the eyebrows or hairline. Tall or voluminous hair genuinely counts, which is why a photo can measure out of range on a day you wore your hair up.
My country is not in the table — what size should I use?
Check the passport or visa page of the authority you are applying to. If it turns out to use 35 × 45 mm with a head of 70–80 per cent of the frame, the ICAO template in the app produces a compliant crop.
Do digital uploads use the same measurements?
The proportions are the same, but online forms usually add their own pixel and file-size limits. Meet the millimetre spec first, then resize to whatever the upload form asks for — the geometry is what gets checked by a human.
Can one photo work for two different countries?
Only if their specs overlap. A 35 × 45 mm photo with a 32–34 mm head satisfies the Schengen, UK, Australian and Japanese ranges at once. A US photo will not work in Europe, because the frame is square.
Measure the photo before the counter does. ID Photo opens your picture in the browser, measures head height and eye line against the official spec of the country you pick, and lays out a print sheet. The image is processed on your device.
Measure a photo in the browser