Bangladesh passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 89 x 127 mm (3.5 x 5 in) |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | The authority publishes no head height |
| Background | Plain grey background on a photo lab print, as required for the 3R photograph of applicants under 6 years of age |
| Also required |
|
Bangladesh is an unusual case: the e-passport application takes no photograph at all for most applicants, because the photo and biometrics are captured at the passport office during enrolment. The single published photo requirement is for children under 6, who must bring a 3R size photo lab print on a grey background. 3R is the standard photographic print size of 3.5 x 5 inches, which is the 89 x 127 mm recorded here; the Department writes only '3R Size' and does not restate it in millimetres. No pixel size, file size, head height or photo age is published, so those fields are omitted.
Applying in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the clearest case on this site of a country where a photo tool has almost nothing to do, and the Department of Immigration and Passports says so itself. The face image for an e-passport is taken during enrolment at the passport office with a digital camera, so for most people there is no need to provide photos with the application. The instructions add that no photograph is attached to the form and nothing has to be attested. Missions abroad work the same way.
Two exceptions exist and only two. A child under six brings a 3R size photo lab print, 3.5 by 5 inches, on a grey background, and that is the only photograph the department asks any applicant to bring. Children under six are also exempt from biometric capture, which is why the print is needed at all. Separately, for an applicant under fifteen, both parents supply their own photographs with the application, in a format the department does not publish.
The practical advice that follows is unusual enough to state twice: wear coloured clothing, not white, to your enrolment appointment. The department published that as its own notice, and it exists because the capture is made against a light backdrop. Fees as of September 2026 run from BDT 4,025 for a five year 48 page book on regular service to BDT 10,350 for a ten year book on super express, with delivery in fifteen, seven or two working days respectively.
Why photos get rejected here
Data that does not match your national ID or birth registration
The department names dissimilarities between the NID, the birth registration certificate or a previous machine readable passport and the application as the leading cause of a held application. It is a data problem rather than a photographic one.
An undeclared previous passport
Holding multiple previous passports that were not declared during the application will stop it. This is worth checking before you attend, because it is not something the counter can resolve on the day.
A change request without supporting documents
Applying to change a name, a parent's name, an age or a permanent address without the documents that support the change is named as a reason applications are held.
A child under six arriving without the 3R print
This is the only photograph the process requires. A child under six is exempt from biometric capture, so without the grey background lab print there is no image for the record at all.
White clothing at enrolment
Not a formal refusal ground, but the department issued a notice asking applicants to wear coloured rather than white clothing for the capture. Against a light backdrop a white shirt leaves no shoulder line.
What helps
Wear coloured clothing, not white
This is the single most useful thing on the page and it comes from the department's own notice. The photograph is taken against a light backdrop, so a white or very pale top merges into it.
Bring the 3R grey background print only for an under-six
Everyone else brings nothing. A print for an adult is not asked for and will not be used, since the camera at the counter produces the image.
Check your name spelling against your NID before you apply
Mismatches between the application and the national ID or birth registration are the leading cause of a held application. It is far cheaper to check now than to correct later.
Declare every previous passport
Undeclared earlier passports are named as a reason applications stall. If you are unsure how many you have held, resolve that before submitting.
Super express is Dhaka Agargaon collection only
The two working day service is not available for collection elsewhere. If you are outside Dhaka, express at seven working days is the realistic fast option.
Only trust messages from EPASSPORTBD
The department warned in July 2026 that official SMS comes only from that sender ID and that no payment is ever required to correct your data. Anything else asking for money to fix an application is fraud.
Babies and young children
Children under six are the only applicants who bring a photograph, and it is a specific one: a 3R size photo lab print, 3.5 by 5 inches, on a grey background rather than the white almost every other country asks for. Since 15 October 2023 biometric data is captured only for applicants older than six, which is exactly why the print exists for younger children. Separately, applications for children up to fifteen require photographs of both parents, in a format the department does not publish. Under-eighteens receive five year validity and a 48 page book only.
Glasses
We could not find a Bangladeshi rule about glasses, and we are not going to invent one. The Department of Immigration and Passports publishes no photo composition specification at all: no background colour for adults, no expression rule, no eyewear rule, no head covering rule and no photo age. That is not an oversight on our part, it follows from the process. Because the operator at the counter takes and reviews the picture, the department has never needed to publish rules for a photograph you might bring.
Head covering
As with glasses, no published rule exists. Bangladesh does not issue a photo composition specification for e-passport applicants, so we cannot tell you what is permitted, and any site that states a Bangladeshi hijab rule is not quoting an official source. The face image is captured by an official at enrolment, and the practical answer is to present yourself as you normally appear and follow the operator's direction on the day. If your application is refused on appearance grounds, the office is the place to ask why.
Applying online
There is no photograph upload anywhere in the Bangladeshi e-passport process, and four separate official sources say so: the frequently asked questions, the instructions, the offline application form which has no photo box, and the mission guidance abroad. The online portal handles the application data and the appointment; the face image, fingerprints and iris are captured at the office. Two official contradictions are worth knowing. The fees page states that VAT is included while instruction item fourteen says it is payable additionally, and 64 page booklet availability is unconfirmed because a 2023 notice suspending it has never been reversed.
Questions about Bangladesh photos
Does a Bangladeshi e-passport application ever need a photograph?
Only for a child under six, who brings a 3R size lab print on a grey background. For everyone else the face image is captured at the passport office during enrolment, and the department states there is no need to provide photos with the application.
Why is my child's photo grey and not white?
Because that is what the instructions specify for the 3R print required of applicants under six. Bangladesh is one of the few countries on this site that asks for a grey background rather than white, and it applies only to this one case.
Is VAT included in the published fee?
The fees page says it is, and instruction item fourteen says it is payable in addition. Both are official and they contradict each other. The fees page was updated more recently, so we treat its figures as the ones to budget for, but expect the question at the counter.
Can I still get a 64 page booklet?
Unconfirmed. A notice stopped 64 page issue from January 2023 and we found nothing reversing it, yet the current fees table still lists 64 page prices. Ask before you pay for one.
Has police verification really been abolished?
It appears so, though the evidence is mixed. News reporting in February 2025 described a Security Services Division circular ending it, and the live instructions page no longer requires it. An older mission mirror still shows the previous text and the offline form retains pre-police-clearance fields, so treat it as changed but confirm locally.
What should I wear to biometric enrolment?
Coloured clothing rather than white. The department issued a notice asking for exactly this, because the photograph is captured against a light backdrop and a white top gives no separation at the shoulders.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Instructions for filling in the e-passport formchecked September 2, 2026
- 5 steps to your e-Passportchecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers