Switzerland passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | 29-34 mm Face height from the chin to the crown of the skull at least 29 mm and at most 34 mm. For a person with voluminous hair the 29 mm must not be undercut: getting the face the right size matters more than showing the whole hairstyle, and the hair may exceptionally run past the edge. For children under 11 the face height must be at least 23 mm. |
| Background | Single-coloured, uniform and neutral background with no shadows and a clear separation between background and head |
| Glasses | Allowed, as long as the eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tint. |
| Expression | Neutral or a natural closed-mouth smile. |
| Head covering | Only for religious or medical reasons, and the face must be visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead. |
| Ears | No |
| Photo age | 12 months |
| Also required |
|
Switzerland is the outlier of this group in three ways: the face height band is 29 mm to 34 mm rather than the 32 mm to 36 mm used by Germany and Belgium, the photo may be up to one year old rather than six months, and a friendly expression is explicitly permitted next to the neutral one. Photos showing a person in uniform are refused. The Fotomustertafel that fedpol still links from its application page was produced in 2006 and is written for paper photos; the fedpol application page is the newer text and is what tells you that the passport now needs a digital colour image and that practice varies by canton.
Applying in Switzerland
Start with the route, because in Switzerland it decides whether your own photograph is usable at all. A Swiss passport needs a digital colour image, and fedpol says plainly that some cantons let you bring a digital photograph rather than being captured at the counter, but that you have to announce it when you file the application. An identity card is different again: a colour or a greyscale image is accepted, and at the municipality a paper photo matching the Fotomustertafel is the usual thing to hand over.
So there are three honest answers to what this tool is for here. If your canton accepts a brought digital image and you say so in advance, it produces the file. If you are applying for an identity card at your municipality, it produces the print. And everywhere else it is a way to check a studio photograph against the published measurements before you accept it. What it cannot do is override a cantonal office that photographs applicants itself.
Switzerland is also an outlier on three numbers. The face height is 29 to 34 from chin to crown, lower than the German and Belgian band. The photograph may be up to a year old rather than six months. And a friendly expression is explicitly permitted next to the neutral one, which almost no other authority writes down. For a child under eleven the face height drops to a minimum of 23 mm.
Why photos get rejected here
A face outside the Swiss face height band
The Swiss range, 29 to 34, sits lower than the 32 to 36 mm used by Germany and Belgium, so a photograph cropped to a German template is often too large here. For voluminous hair the rule is explicit: keep the face at the right size and let the hair run past the edge.
A nose off the centre line
The Fotomustertafel marks a vertical centre line and requires the nose to sit on it. That is a stricter statement of centring than the usual wording about the head being centred, and a slight body turn moves the nose off it.
Glasses pushed up onto the head
Switzerland names this specifically alongside headbands, treating both as head coverings rather than as accessories. Parking your glasses on your hair for the photograph is the exact thing the rule refuses.
A uniform
A photograph showing a person in uniform is refused. This catches applicants who take the picture at work, and there is nothing about the pose or the exposure to warn them.
Textured photo paper
The paper must be smooth and unstructured, glossy or semi matt, with no pearl or silk raster. A print made on a home photo paper with a fine texture fails on the surface even when the image is perfect.
A hand or an object in front of the face
The criteria sheet names it directly, with a pipe as the example. On a child's photograph the same rule removes the usual way of steadying a small head, since no part of a helper may show.
What helps
Ask your canton before you prepare anything
Practice varies, and where a brought digital photograph is accepted you have to announce it when you file the application. Finding this out afterwards means being photographed at the counter anyway.
Use the extra year, but only if you still look the same
A Swiss photograph may be up to twelve months old rather than six. That is a genuine convenience for a family renewing several documents in a year, and it is one of the few places where a photograph keeps its value.
Do not force a blank expression
A friendly expression with the mouth closed is explicitly allowed. People photograph better when they are not holding a neutral face, and Switzerland is one of the few countries where you are not obliged to.
Take glasses and headbands off the head
Not off the face, off the head. Anything resting on your hair reads as a covering under the Swiss criteria.
For a child, protect the 23 mm minimum
Under eleven the face has to reach at least 23 mm from chin to crown. Small children photograph smaller than adults expect, and this is the measurement to check before the appointment.
Treat the provisional passport as a last resort
It is available for urgent travel and is valid up to twelve months, but fedpol warns that not every state accepts it. Check the destination before you rely on it.
Babies and young children
Switzerland writes one of the more humane sets of child rules we have read. For a child under eleven the face height from chin to crown must reach at least 23 mm rather than the adult 29, which is a genuinely different frame. Beyond that, for small children and for people with disabilities not every requirement has to be met: deviations are acceptable in particular on looking into the camera, on the neutral expression and on the head size. What does not bend is the company. Even on a child's photograph no other person and no object may be visible, so whoever is holding the child has to be completely out of shot.
Glasses
Glasses are allowed provided both eyes are open, at the same height and clearly visible through them, which includes people who wear glasses. What Switzerland adds is a rule most authorities leave out: glasses pushed up on the head are treated as a head covering and are not permitted, and so are headbands. That catches the habit of parking a pair on your hair while you set the camera up. There is no separate wording about tinted lenses on the criteria sheet, so the operative test is the one about the eyes being clearly visible, which a dark or mirrored lens defeats.
Head covering
Head coverings are in principle not allowed. The exception exists but it is written narrowly: it needs proven medical or religious grounds, and the face has to stay visible from the lower chin to the hairline. The word proven is doing work there, so expect to be able to explain the ground rather than to assert it. The same rule that bans hats also bans headbands and glasses resting on the head, which shows how broadly Switzerland reads the term. Set a religious covering back from the hairline so the whole forehead is inside the visible area, and check that it casts no shadow across a cheek.
Applying online
A Swiss passport needs a digital colour image; an identity card accepts a colour or a greyscale one. Whether you may supply that image yourself depends on your canton: fedpol states that some cantons accept a digital photograph brought by the applicant, and that you must announce it when you file the application. Where the canton does not, the office captures the image. Applicants living abroad apply online and then attend the nearest Swiss representation for the data capture. We could not verify a current fee or a delivery time from an official page, so this page publishes neither.
Questions about Switzerland photos
Does my canton accept a photograph I supply?
In some cantons, yes, and you have to announce it when you file the application. In others the office captures the image itself, so ask your cantonal passport office before you prepare a file.
Why does Switzerland allow a friendly expression?
The criteria sheet permits a friendly expression alongside the neutral one, provided the mouth stays closed. It is one of the few authorities that says so in writing.
Does Switzerland really allow a photo up to a year old?
Yes, up to twelve months, against the six months most of Europe allows. The picture still has to look like you, which is the limit that matters in practice.
Are glasses pushed up on my head a problem?
Yes. Switzerland treats them as a head covering, along with headbands, and head coverings are in principle not allowed.
What face height applies to a child under eleven?
At least 23 mm from chin to crown, instead of the adult minimum. Small children rarely reach the adult figure, which is why the separate number exists.
Is the provisional Swiss passport accepted everywhere?
No. It is valid for up to twelve months and fedpol warns that not every state accepts it, so check your destination before relying on one for urgent travel.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Pass und Identitaetskarte beantragenchecked September 2, 2026
- Fotomustertafel: Kriterien fuer die Annahme von Fotos fuer Paesse und Identitaetskartenchecked September 2, 2026
- Verordnung ueber die Ausweise fuer Schweizer Staatsangehoerige (VAwG), Art. 12checked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers