United Kingdom visa photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | 600 px |
| File size | 6 MB |
| File formats | JPEG |
| Head height, chin to crown | The authority publishes no head height |
| Background | Plain light-coloured background with the face in clear contrast to it |
| Glasses | Allowed but discouraged. Removing them is the safer choice. |
| 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 |
| Also required |
|
The UKVI route is digital first: a phone photo uploaded to the application. The 35x45 mm figure is the long-standing printed size used when a physical photo is requested at a visa application centre; the online rules above take precedence for an online application. UKVI publishes no chin to crown height, and its framing instruction is head, shoulders and upper body, which is deliberately wider than the ICAO 70-80% band, so no fallback head band is applied here: it would contradict the authority's own framing.
Applying in United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has two rules that catch people who have applied before, and both of them are unusual. The photo must have been taken within the last month, which is the shortest window of any country on this site and much shorter than the six months most people assume. And for an online application you must not crop the photo yourself: HM Passport Office does the cropping, so the file you upload is judged on a minimum size rather than on a finished shape.
That second rule inverts the normal advice. Everywhere else, a digital photo is expected to arrive already cut to the country's aspect ratio. Here, a neatly pre-cropped upload is the wrong thing to send. The requirement is a minimum of 600 by 750 and a file between 51200 and 6291456, with your head and the top of your shoulders in frame and room around them.
The printed route is different again. A physical photo is 35 by 45 on plain white photographic paper with no border, against a plain cream or light grey background rather than pure white, with the head measuring `head.minMm` to `head.maxMm` from chin to crown. It may also need a countersignatory: someone who has known you for at least two years and writes on the back that this is a true likeness of you. Booths and photo shops offer a code with the prints, which saves uploading anything at all.
Why photos get rejected here
The photo was cropped before uploading
HM Passport Office asks for an uncropped image and does its own framing. A photo trimmed to the passport shape can leave too little around the head for that step to work.
The photo is more than a month old
The printed photo requirements say the picture must have been taken in the last month. A photo from a holiday earlier in the year fails on age alone, however good it looks.
Glasses with glare or heavy frames
Glasses are only acceptable if they have to be worn. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are never accepted, the frames must not cover the eyes, and any glare on the lens is a failure. Taking them off avoids all three problems at once.
Hair across the eyes
The eyes must be open and visible, and hair falling over them is called out directly. A fringe that sits on the eyebrows is fine; one that touches the lashes is not.
The image has been altered
The photo must not be changed by computer software, and red eye is specifically excluded. Phone beauty and smoothing modes count as alteration.
A hand supporting a baby is visible
Nothing and nobody else may appear in a child's photo, including a hand holding the head steady. Lay the baby down and photograph from above instead.
What helps
Take the photo this month
The one-month rule is the requirement most often failed by people reusing an old picture. If your application is not going in for a few weeks, take the photo nearer the time.
For the online route, leave space around your head
Upload an uncropped image with your head and the top of your shoulders in frame. Our tool gives you both outputs: an uncropped file for the online application and a cut print sheet for a physical photo.
The background is cream or light grey, not white
For printed photos the background is set by #EFEFEF, and a pure white wall is not what is being asked for. This is one reason we replace the background rather than relying on your wall.
Consider the photo code
A booth or a photo shop can give you a code with the prints, which you enter during the online application instead of uploading a file. It costs money and it removes a step.
Do not reuse a passport photo for a visa application
The UK Visas and Immigration route allows a file up to 6291456 for `gb-visa`, which is a smaller ceiling than the passport service allows. Use the visa template so the export lands under the right limit.
Find your countersignatory before you print
A paper first adult passport, a first child passport, a lost or stolen replacement, and a renewal where your appearance has changed significantly all need one. They must have known you at least two years and must not be a relative, a partner, or anyone living at your address, which rules out most of the people you would ask first.
Babies and young children
The United Kingdom relaxes more for young children than most countries, and says so precisely. Children under six do not have to look straight at the camera or have a plain expression, and children under one may have their eyes closed. What is not relaxed is the rule that nothing and nobody else may appear in the photo, and that explicitly includes a hand supporting the head. Lay the baby on a plain light-coloured sheet and photograph from directly above. The one-month photo age applies to children too, and since a child passport is valid for five years, the photo is retaken more often than an adult's.
Glasses
Glasses are discouraged rather than banned. The rule is that they are only acceptable if you have to wear them, and then only if they are not sunglasses or tinted, the frames do not cover the eyes, and there is no glare, reflection or shadow across them. Glare is the failure that catches people, because it comes from the light rather than from the glasses, and it is often invisible on a phone screen. If you can see well enough without them, take them off.
Head covering
A head covering is not permitted unless it is worn for religious or medical reasons. Where it is worn, the face must remain clear from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, and the covering must not cast a shadow across the eyes. That shadow condition is the practical difficulty: a fold or a brim under an overhead light darkens the eye sockets, which is why photographing in daylight from a window matters more here than usual.
Applying online
An online application takes either a digital photo you upload or a photo code obtained with printed photos from a booth or a shop. The uploaded file must not be cropped by you, because HM Passport Office performs the crop. UK Visas and Immigration runs a separate digital route for visa and permission applications, with its own file size ceiling, and a phone photo is explicitly acceptable there.
Questions about United Kingdom photos
How old can my photo be for a UK passport?
It must have been taken in the last month. This is much shorter than the six-month rule most countries use, and it is the requirement people most often fail when reusing an existing picture.
Should I crop my photo before uploading it?
No. HM Passport Office crops the image itself, so the online service asks for an uncropped photo with your head and the top of your shoulders in frame. Only the printed photo is cut to size.
What is a photo code and do I need one?
It is a code a booth or photo shop gives you along with printed photos, which you enter during the online application instead of uploading a file. You do not need one if you are uploading your own digital photo.
Can I use the same photo for a UK visa application?
The pixel minimum is the same but the maximum file size is smaller for the UK Visas and Immigration route, so an export that passed for a passport may be too large. Use the visa template and the file will be sized for it.
Does the background have to be cream or grey rather than white?
For a printed photo, yes: the requirement is a plain cream or light grey background. For a digital photo the wording is a plain light-coloured background with clear contrast to the face.
Why does applying by post cost more than applying online?
Because the online service is cheaper to run. A standard 34-page adult passport was GBP 102 online against GBP 115.50 by post as of September 2026, and a child passport GBP 66.50 against GBP 80. Anyone born on or before 2 September 1929 pays nothing. HM Passport Office says you will usually get your passport within three weeks, and urgent services exist at GBP 239.50 for 1 Day Premium and GBP 192 for 1 Week Fast Track.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Take a photo of your face for a visa application or permissionchecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers