ID Photo Requirements

What an examiner actually measures

Document photographs are not judged by eye. Each specification defines a small set of measurements, and a photo that misses any of them can be returned regardless of how good it looks. Four rules do most of the damage.

• Head height. Measured from the crown — the top of the skull including hair — down to the bottom of the chin, and required to fall inside a narrow band of millimetres. This is the rule most often failed, because the crown is genuinely hard to judge by eye and easy to confuse with the hairline.
• Eye line. The eyes have to sit within a defined band measured up from the bottom of the frame. A photo cropped to the right size but positioned too high or too low still fails.
• Background. Plain and evenly lit, in a colour the specification names. Shadows cast onto the wall behind you count as a patterned background.
• Dimensions and file size. Printed photos must match an exact millimetre size; digital submissions usually add pixel dimensions and a maximum file size in kilobytes.

Why so many photos come back

Nearly all avoidable rejections come down to the same handful of causes: the head is too large or too small in the frame, a shadow falls across the face or the backdrop, the subject is smiling or their mouth is open where a neutral expression is required, glasses produce glare or their frames cross the eyes, or hair covers part of the face outline. Photos taken at arm’s length also distort facial proportions — standing further back and cropping in gives a far more accurate result.

A photo can be perfectly sharp, well lit and still fail on a measurement, which is the frustrating part: the problem is usually invisible until someone measures it. Checking the numbers before you print or submit costs nothing; finding out afterwards can cost an appointment.

How these specifications are sourced

Every page linked above cites the government page its numbers came from, and is only published once those numbers have been confirmed against that source. Specifications for further countries are drafted but deliberately withheld until each is verified. Requirements do change, so treat the linked official page as the final word — and if you spot a discrepancy, the contact page is the fastest way to get it corrected.

SpecShot is not affiliated with any government, embassy or visa service, and no tool can guarantee that a photo will be accepted — the issuing authority always makes the final decision.