Finland passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 36 x 47 mm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | 500 x 653 px |
| File size | 250 KB |
| File formats | JPEG |
| Head height, chin to crown | 32-36 mm Crown to chin 445-500 px (32-36 mm); 56-84 px (4-6 mm) above the crown and 96-124 px (7-9 mm) below the chin; the centre line of the face may differ from the centre line of the photo by at most 21 px (1,5 mm). Hair and beard are not counted in the size of the head. |
| Background | Light grey, monochromatic and flat, with no shadows; face, hair and clothes must stand out clearly from it |
| Glasses | Allowed, as long as the eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tint. |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open. |
| 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 | 6 months |
| Also required |
|
Finland is the most precise digital standard in Europe: the electronic photo must be EXACTLY 500 x 653 pixels, JPEG (not JPEG2000), at most 250 kilobytes, and it normally reaches the police from the photography studio, which gives you a photograph retrieval code (kuvatunnus) to type into the application. Anyone may upload their own photo to the police photo server, but the police discourage it. The police do not publish an overall paper size in millimetres. They publish the px and mm figures side by side for the same measurements (445-500 px = 32-36 mm face, 56-84 px = 4-6 mm above the crown, 96-124 px = 7-9 mm below the chin), which fixes the scale at 13,9 px per mm; at that scale the mandated 500 x 653 px image is exactly 36 x 47 mm, the standard Finnish paper photo format. The 36 x 47 mm in this file is therefore derived from the authority's own numbers rather than quoted from the page. Everything else here is quoted. Note also that the six month age limit is counted from the moment the photo is uploaded to the server, not from when it was taken, and that the police themselves do not offer a photography service (the only exception is the Helsinki Airport service point for transit passengers).
Applying in Finland
Finland runs the most precise digital photo standard in Europe, and it runs it through a pipeline rather than an upload form. Almost every Finnish photography studio sends the picture straight to the police photograph server. You then receive a photograph retrieval code, a kuvatunnus, by text message or email, and you type that code into the online application or hand it to the clerk. The photograph and the application meet in the police system, not in your file manager.
The file itself has no tolerance. It must be exactly 500 by 653 pixels, and the police say deviations as small as one pixel are not accepted. It must be JPEG rather than JPEG2000, with a .jpg or .jpeg extension, and at most 256000. The framing is published in pixels and millimetres side by side: the head is 32 to 36, with 4 to 6 mm above the crown, 7 to 9 mm below the chin, and the centre line of the face within 1.5 mm of the centre of the image.
You may upload your own photograph to the police server, and the police advise against it. Their stated reason is worth quoting because it is the honest one: many such photos are rejected for lighting or for lens distortion, the wide angle of a phone at short range enlarging the nose. A studio may only upload pictures it took itself, so a file you made cannot go in through a studio. A paper photograph is accepted only at a police service point, and then the application cannot be made online.
Why photos get rejected here
Optical distortion from a close phone lens
The police name this as a common reason for rejection, not as a stylistic point: a wide angle lens at short distance makes the nose look too large. Standing further back and cropping in is the only fix, since it is a property of the lens and the distance.
A file that is not exactly the required pixel size
500 by 653 is an exact requirement, and a single pixel out is refused. Exporting from an editor that rounds dimensions is the usual way this happens.
Compression artefacts, graininess or a colour cast
The photograph must be sharp across the whole face, with depth of field from the ears to the tip of the nose, and free of compression artefacts, graininess and colour defects. Squeezing a file under the byte limit by raising the compression trades one failure for another.
A face off the centre line by more than 1.5 mm
Finland publishes the centring tolerance as a number rather than as an instruction. On the pixel grid that is 21 pixels, which is a smaller margin than most people would judge by eye.
Digital make-up or any manipulation
Ordinary make-up is allowed if it does not make identification harder. Digital make-up and any manipulation of the image are forbidden outright, which covers the smoothing filters phones apply without being asked.
An adult visible while supporting a child
You may support a small child for the photograph, but no part of you may appear in it. A hand at the edge of the frame is the most common version, and cropping it out usually breaks the framing measurements instead.
What helps
Understand what you are buying at a studio
The studio's job is the upload as much as the picture. It sends the file to the police server and you get the retrieval code, which is what your application needs.
Take the police warning about self-uploads seriously
You are allowed to upload your own photograph and the police say many are rejected, for lighting and for lens distortion. If you do it, shoot from further back in even daylight and check the sharpness at full size.
Export to the exact pixel size, not to a percentage
500 by 653 with no rounding. Set the numbers explicitly in the export dialog rather than scaling by a ratio.
Watch the byte limit and the sharpness together
The ceiling is 256000, and the police also refuse compression artefacts. Reduce quality in small steps and check the eyes and hair at full size after each one.
Do not count hair or beard into the head size
The Finnish head measurement excludes both. A tall hairstyle or a long beard does not make the head too large here, which is the opposite of the Danish rule next door.
Remember the clock starts at upload
The six month limit is counted from the moment the photo is uploaded to the server, not from when it was taken, and a studio may not upload an older picture later to reset it.
Babies and young children
The positioning requirements are the same for subjects of all ages, which sounds harsh and is qualified in two places. The closed mouth rule is applied flexibly to very young babies, though even their mouth may only be slightly open, and even small children must keep their eyes open. You may support a small child during the photograph, but no part of you may be visible in the result, which is the constraint that actually decides how the picture has to be taken. The head measurement excludes hair, so fine baby hair does not push the head over the maximum. Everything else, the exact pixel size, the byte ceiling and the centring tolerance, applies unchanged.
Glasses
Glasses are allowed with the usual conditions and one addition. The frames must not cover the eyes and must not reflect, which is the common European formula. What Finland adds is that tinted glasses, or an eyepatch, may only be worn for medical reasons, so a lightly tinted everyday pair is not a matter of preference here. Because the police assess quality when the application is processed rather than at the counter, a reflection is not caught in the room and shows up later as a request to supply a new photograph. That makes checking the lenses at full size before the upload worth the minute it takes.
Head covering
A head covering is accepted for religious or medical reasons. The Finnish instructions do not require both ears to be visible, and hair or a beard need not be fully inside the frame, which removes two of the usual complications for anyone wearing a scarf. What remains is the framing: the head measurement runs from the chin to the crown and excludes hair, so a covering worn high can make the top of the head hard to place. Nothing in the published instructions asks for a written declaration. The lighting rule matters more than usual here, since a scarf edge casts a shadow across the forehead in overhead light.
Applying online
This is a state photo pipeline rather than a form. A studio uploads the picture it took and you receive a photograph retrieval code by text message or email, which you enter in the online application or give to the clerk. A studio may only upload photographs it took itself. You may upload your own photograph to the server, and the police discourage it because many are rejected for lighting or lens distortion. A paper photograph is accepted only at a police service point, and choosing that route means the application cannot be made online. Photos are not checked in advance: quality is assessed when the application is processed, and a rejected photo does not mean paying the fee again.
Questions about Finland photos
What is a photograph retrieval code?
A kuvatunnus. The studio uploads your picture to the police photograph server and sends you the code by text message or email, and you enter it in the application instead of a file.
Can I upload my own photo to the police photo server?
Yes, and the police advise against it. They say many self-uploaded photos are rejected for lighting or for the distortion a phone lens produces at short range.
Does a rejected photo mean paying the passport fee again?
No. Photographs are not checked in advance; quality is assessed when the application is processed, and a rejection does not trigger a second fee.
Why does Finland insist on an exact pixel size?
Because the file goes into an automated pipeline rather than to a person. The police state that deviations as small as one pixel are not accepted.
Does the six month limit run from when the photo was taken?
From when it was uploaded to the photograph server. A studio may not upload an older picture later, so the clock cannot be reset that way.
Can I still hand in a paper photo in Finland?
Only at a police service point, and choosing that route means the application cannot be made online. The police themselves do not photograph applicants, apart from the Helsinki Airport service point for transit passengers.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Passport photographs (submitting passport photographs)checked September 2, 2026
- Passport photograph instructions by the police (PDF)checked September 2, 2026
- Passikuvan toimittaminen (Finnish version of the same instructions)checked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers