Egypt passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 40 x 60 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | The authority publishes no head height |
| Background | White background |
| Also required |
|
The size is published in centimetres (4x6 cm) and converted here to 40x60 mm. The page is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instruction for Egyptians applying at an embassy or consulate abroad; the domestic issuer is the Passports, Immigration and Nationality Administration of the Ministry of Interior, whose site (moi.gov.eg) could not be opened from the network used for this research, so the domestic wording could not be cross checked. No background shade, head height, expression, glasses or head covering rules are published on this page, so those fields are omitted rather than guessed.
Applying in Egypt
Egypt asks for four photographs, not one and not two, and it asks for them every time. The consular instruction repeats the same line under every category it lists: a first passport, a renewal for a man, a renewal for a woman, the separate wording for applicants above and below fifteen, and a replacement for a lost or damaged book. Each of them requires four recent personal photographs on a #FFFFFF background at 40 by 60. Plan the print sheet around four, because a pair will not do.
The size is the other surprise for anyone who has applied in Europe. Egypt publishes 4 by 6 centimetres, the same frame Vietnam uses, and it is a different shape as well as a different size from the 35 by 45 mm used across the Schengen area. A European print cannot be trimmed to fit: the proportions do not match, so the head ends up the wrong size in the frame even when the crop is neat.
One boundary is worth stating plainly. What we verified is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instruction for Egyptians applying at an embassy or consulate. The domestic issuer is the Passports, Immigration and Nationality Administration of the Ministry of Interior, and its site did not answer from our network on either day we checked, so we could not cross-check the wording used inside Egypt. We also could not confirm any fee or processing time from an official page. Nothing on this page should be read as the domestic rule.
Why photos get rejected here
Fewer than four prints
Four is the published number under every application category on the consular page. Turning up with two, which is what most other countries ask for, means the file is incomplete before the photographs are even looked at.
A background that is not white
The instruction names a white background with no alternative. Cream walls, light grey and the light blue accepted by Morocco and Sri Lanka all read as the wrong colour against the published wording.
A European size print
A 35 by 45 mm photograph is both smaller and a different proportion. Cutting one down to 40 by 60 leaves the head undersized in the frame, so the set has to be printed again from the file rather than trimmed.
An old photograph reused
The wording asks for recent personal photographs. No month limit is attached to it, so recency is judged against the face in front of the consular officer, and a picture from a previous renewal is the usual thing that fails that test.
The applicant not attending
The applicant appears in person at the mission, and for a minor one parent or the legal guardian must attend as well. A complete set of photographs does not substitute for the appearance, and sending the documents with a relative does not work.
What helps
Print four, not two
Our 10 by 15 sheet fits a full Egyptian set with room to spare, so one sheet covers the application. Print a spare pair if a family member is applying on the same day.
Work from the file, not from an old print
Because the Egyptian frame is a different proportion, re-exporting at 40 by 60 from the original photograph gives a correct head size. Scanning or re-photographing an existing print does not.
Bring the guardian for a child
One parent or the legal guardian attends with a minor. That is a scheduling constraint as much as a document one, and it is the part most often discovered on the day.
Check which category applies to you
The consular page splits its requirements by first application, renewal, and lost or damaged replacement, and by age fifteen. The photograph requirement is the same in all of them, but the accompanying documents are not.
Ask the mission about the fee
We could not verify an Egyptian passport fee or a processing time on any official page we could reach as of September 2026, so we publish neither. Ask the mission handling your file rather than trusting a figure from a third party.
Babies and young children
Egypt publishes no separate photograph rule for babies or young children. The consular instruction splits its categories by age fifteen, but that split governs the supporting documents and the validity of the book rather than the picture: four recent photographs on a white background at the same printed size are asked for whatever the applicant's age. What does change for a minor is the attendance rule. One parent or the legal guardian must be at the mission with the child. No published wording relaxes the expression, the gaze or the pose for an infant, and we found nothing that says a baby may be photographed in a parent's arms, so photograph the child alone against a plain white surface.
Glasses
No Egyptian page we could reach publishes a rule about glasses for a passport photograph, in either direction. That is a real gap rather than a permission: the consular instruction gives the number of photographs, the size and the background colour, and stops there. We are not going to infer a rule from what neighbouring countries do. The safest reading is the international norm the size implies, which is that clear lenses with no reflection and no frame across the eyes are usually accepted while tinted lenses and sunglasses are not. If your glasses are heavy framed or reflect easily, a photograph without them removes the question altogether.
Head covering
As with glasses, no rule is published on the pages we could verify. The consular instruction does not mention head coverings, religious exceptions or a written declaration. We could not confirm what the Passports, Immigration and Nationality Administration requires inside Egypt, because its site did not answer. The usual practice across the region is that a covering worn for religious reasons is accepted provided the full oval of the face stays visible from the chin to the hairline and no shadow falls across it, and that is the way to prepare the photograph. Treat that as reasoning rather than as a quoted Egyptian rule.
Applying online
We found no Egyptian route that accepts an uploaded passport photograph. The consular process is built around four printed photographs handed in with the file, and the applicant appears in person at the mission. Whether the Ministry of Interior operates a digital route inside Egypt we could not establish, because its site did not answer from our network on either day we checked. Prepare prints.
Questions about Egypt photos
How many photographs does an Egyptian passport application need?
Four. The consular instruction repeats that number under every category it lists, including renewals and replacements for a lost or damaged book.
Can I use a 35 by 45 mm photo left over from a Schengen application?
No. Egypt publishes 4 by 6 centimetres, which is a different proportion as well as a different size, so trimming leaves the head too small in the frame.
Does this page cover applying inside Egypt?
No. What we verified is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instruction for missions abroad. The Ministry of Interior site that carries the domestic wording did not answer when we checked.
Why does the consular page split its requirements by age fifteen?
The split governs the supporting documents and the validity of the book, not the picture. Four recent photographs at the same size are asked for on both sides of it.
Does my child have to come to the appointment?
Yes, and one parent or the legal guardian must attend as well. The photographs do not substitute for the personal appearance.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Istikhraj aw tajdid jawaz al-safar (Issuing or renewing a passport)checked September 2, 2026
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