Passport Photo Size by Country: mm, Inches, Pixels and KB

If you search “passport size photo” you get a dozen sizes, because there isn’t one. Most of the world uses 35 x 45 mm, the United States uses 2 x 2 inches, Canada uses a larger 50 x 70 mm print, and Chinese visas use 33 x 48 mm. On top of the print size there’s a head-size rule, and for online applications a separate set of pixel and file-size limits.

This page lists the official numbers for the countries people ask about most, converts them to pixels, and explains how to get a photo you took yourself to the right size. Every size here links to the government page it comes from. Rules change, so check that page before you print or upload.

Quick answer: The standard passport photo is 35 x 45 mm (3.5 x 4.5 cm), which is 413 x 531 pixels at 300 DPI. The US uses 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm, 600 x 600 px at 300 DPI), Canada 50 x 70 mm, and China visas 33 x 48 mm. For digital uploads, follow the portal’s own limits: the UK, for example, needs at least 600 x 750 pixels and a file between 50 KB and 10 MB.

Passport photo sizes by country

The pixel column assumes 300 DPI, the usual resolution for photo prints. If a print shop asks for 600 DPI, double both numbers.

United States: 2 x 2 inches

The State Department asks for a 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) photo with the head centred and between 1 inch and 1.4 inches (25 to 35 mm) from chin to the top of the head. The photo must be taken in the last six months, glasses aren’t allowed, and the department says not to change the photo with software, filters or AI.

In pixels, a 2 x 2 inch print at 300 DPI is 600 x 600. Use our 2 x 2 inch preset for a print, or the 600 x 600 px preset for a digital copy. For online renewal, the upload page checks the image automatically, so follow the size and file rules shown on that page rather than a number you found elsewhere.

United Kingdom: 35 x 45 mm, and 600 x 750 px online

For paper applications, GOV.UK wants two identical photos, 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, with the head between 29 mm and 34 mm from chin to crown, on a plain cream or light grey background. They must be taken in the last month and can’t be cut down from a larger print.

Online applications are different. The digital photo must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, and the file must be at least 50 KB and no more than 10 MB. The minimum catches people out: squeeze a photo down to 30 KB and it gets rejected even though it looks fine. GOV.UK also says not to crop the photo yourself, because their system crops it. Our UK passport photo preset sets 600 x 750 px, so you only need to keep the file above 50 KB.

Schengen visa: 35 x 45 mm

Schengen countries follow the ICAO biometric format: 35 x 45 mm in colour on a plain light background, with the face filling about 70 to 80% of the photo, which works out to 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown. Visa centres such as VisaMetric for Germany publish the same figures, and a few consulates have extra rules (some ask for photos taken in the last three months instead of six). The 35 x 45 mm passport photo preset gives you the right frame.

Canada: 50 x 70 mm

Canada is the odd one out with a much larger print. Canada.ca requires two identical photos, 50 mm wide by 70 mm high (2 x 2¾ inches), with the face 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown. Those rules are for in-person and mail applications; online renewal uses a digital photo with its own instructions. A 35 x 45 mm photo will be refused. Use the Canada passport photo preset, which sets 50 x 70 mm at 300 DPI (591 x 827 px).

Australia: 35 to 40 mm by 45 to 50 mm

Australia accepts a small range: 35 to 40 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high, with the face 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown. The photo must be less than six months old. A standard 35 x 45 mm photo sits at the bottom of the range and is the safest choice.

Japan: 35 x 45 mm

Japanese passports (旅券) use 45 mm high by 35 mm wide with no border, and the head, from the top of the head to the chin, should be 34 mm with 2 mm either way. The photo must have been taken within six months of the application. These figures come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rules as published by prefectural passport offices such as Osaka.

China visa: 33 x 48 mm

Chinese visa photos are taller and narrower than the ICAO standard. The Chinese Visa Application Service Center lists 48 mm high by 33 mm wide, with the head 28 to 33 mm high and 15 to 22 mm wide. For the online form, the digital photo should be between 354 x 472 and 420 x 560 pixels. Our China visa photo preset sets 33 x 48 mm at 300 DPI, which is 390 x 567 px and sits inside that pixel range.

India: it depends where you apply

India is the confusing one. If you apply inside India, the Passport Seva Kendra takes your photo at the appointment, so you don’t bring or upload one.

If you apply through an Indian embassy or consulate abroad, the mission sets the rules, and they don’t all match yet. Several missions now ask for an ICAO-style digital photo of 630 x 810 pixels with a white background and the face filling 80 to 85% of the frame. Others, such as the embassy in the Netherlands, still list printed photos of 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm) for some services. Check your mission’s page before you go. For the 630 x 810 px digital version, use the India passport photo preset.

Converting mm and inches to pixels

Print sizes are physical, so the pixel size depends on the resolution you print at:

pixels = millimetres ÷ 25.4 × DPI

300 DPI is enough for any print shop. The DPI value stored in the file matters too: if it says 72, some printers will print your 413 x 531 px image at 146 x 187 mm. ResizeAny writes the DPI into the JPG or PNG, so the print comes out at the size you chose. For the full explanation, see image size for printing.

How to resize a photo to passport size

1. Take the photo against a plain light wall, face on, with even light and no shadow behind you. Leave space around your head; you’ll crop later.
2. Open the matching preset, for example 35 x 45 mm or 2 x 2 inches. The size and DPI are already filled in.
3. Crop so your head is the right height. For 35 x 45 mm, the head should take up about three quarters of the photo height. The crop box keeps the right shape, so you only move and scale it.
4. Download the JPG. If you’re uploading rather than printing, check the portal’s KB limits. Most want a file under a few hundred KB, and some (like the UK) also set a minimum.

Everything happens in your browser, so the photo isn’t sent to a server. That matters for a document photo.

Printing several copies on one sheet

Photo shops print on 4 x 6 inch (10 x 15 cm) paper. Six 35 x 45 mm photos fit on one sheet in a 2 x 3 grid with room to cut. Six 2 x 2 inch photos also fit, but edge to edge with no margin, so cut carefully. When you print, choose “actual size” or 100%, never “fit to page”, or every photo comes out slightly too big or too small.

Why passport photos get rejected

Wrong size is only one reason. The head is the most common problem: a print can be exactly 35 x 45 mm and still fail because your head is 26 mm tall, so measure from chin to crown before you print.

Lighting comes next. A shadow on the wall behind you, or one side of your face darker than the other, gets a photo refused. Fixing it with a filter doesn’t help, because the US, UK and others ban edited photos outright, including beauty filters, background replacement and “AI enhance”.

Then there’s compression. Squeeze a JPG too hard and you get blocky artefacts around the face, which fail the quality check. Compress only as much as the limit needs. Some online systems also have a minimum file size (the UK’s is 50 KB), so a tiny file fails too.

Last, the age of the photo. The UK wants one taken in the last month; most other countries allow six months.

If you need to hit a strict KB limit for an online form, how to reduce an image to 20 KB, 50 KB or 100 KB walks through it.