Guides

Each guide answers one question completely.

• What to Wear, and What Gets a Photo Rejected

  There is no dress code, but there are three things that fail: white tops on a white background, uniforms, and anything that covers the face or hairline.

  3 min read

• 

  Head Coverings, Hats and Jewellery

  Religious and medical head coverings are permitted almost everywhere. Everything else is not, and the requirement is what remains visible.

  3 min read

• 

  Digital Passport Photos: File Size, Pixels and Compression

  Online applications check the file automatically. A photo that would print perfectly gets rejected at upload for pixel dimensions or file size.

  3 min read

• 

  How Recent Does a Passport Photo Have to Be?

  Six months in most countries. But the date is the lesser test — the photo must reflect your current appearance, and that is what actually gets checked.

  3 min read

• 

  Visa Photos Are Not Passport Photos

  The same country often specifies a different size for a visa than for its own passport, and using the wrong one is a common and avoidable rejection.

  3 min read

• 

  Can You Smile in a Passport Photo?

  A neutral expression with the mouth closed is required almost everywhere, and the reason is measurement rather than solemnity.

  3 min read

• 

  Passport Photos for Babies and Children

  The rules relax for infants in specific ways — eyes may be closed, expression is not enforced — but the background and the crop are unchanged.

  3 min read

• 

  Glasses in Passport Photos: Banned in the US, Conditional Elsewhere

  The United States prohibited glasses entirely in 2016. Most other countries allow them, with conditions that catch people out.

  3 min read

• 

  The Background: Which White, and Why Shadows Fail It

  Not every country wants white. And the background is rejected far more often for shadows than for being the wrong colour.

  3 min read

• 

  Printing a Passport Photo at CVS, Walgreens or Home

  You can print your own photo at any pharmacy kiosk for a fraction of their passport service price — as long as you set the print size yourself.

  3 min read

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  Your Passport Photo Was Rejected. What Happens Now?

  The application is usually held rather than refused, and the letter tells you which requirement failed. Here is what each rejection code actually means.

  3 min read

• 

  Head Height: Why a Correctly Sized Photo Still Fails

  The frame size is easy to hit and easy to look up. Head height is neither, and it is what most rejected photos got wrong.

  3 min read

• 

  Can You Take Your Own Passport Photo at Home?

  Yes, in almost every country. Five specific things catch people out, and none of them is the camera — a phone has been good enough for a decade.

  3 min read

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  Why Passport Photos Get Rejected — and How to Avoid It

  Wrong size, wrong head height, wrong background, glasses, shadows. The eight reasons applications come back, and what each one actually requires.

  3 min read