Greece passport photo
You cannot supply this photo yourself
Greece takes the photo through a state portal: a professional photographer uploads the file and you then approve it with your own identifier. A file you produced yourself cannot enter that system.
The editor below still earns its place. It is correct for consular and visa applications, which this rule does not cover, and it will tell you whether a photographer's file actually meets the measurements before you pay for prints.
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The requirements
| Print size | 40 x 60 mm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | 1280 x 1600 px |
| File formats | JPEG, BMP |
| Head height, chin to crown | 31-35 mm Printed sheet: face length from chin to crown 31-35 mm, face width from ear to ear 20-25 mm, eye line 30-39 mm above the bottom edge, and no dimension may go outside its range. The web page phrases the same framing as shoulders to top of hair covering 70-75% of the photo and chin to top of forehead 50-60%. |
| Eye line from the bottom edge | 30-39 mm |
| Background | Uniform light background with no pattern, object or shadow. Grey with an RGB value of 190;190;190 plus or minus 10 is the required value for the digital file and the preferred one for print. |
| 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. |
| Photo age | 6 months |
| Also required |
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Greece is a self service exception. Since 31 January 2026 a printed photo is no longer accepted for an application made inside Greece: the photograph must reach the Passport Directorate through the state myPhoto service on gov.gr, where a professional photographer uploads the file to myphoto.gov.gr and the citizen then associates and approves it with their tax number, in person at a KEP if they cannot do it online. A photo made at home therefore cannot be submitted in Greece even when every measurement is right, and this tool can only help check or prepare one. Printed 40x60 mm photos are still used for applications filed abroad through consular authorities, and must be on analogue photographic paper. One narrow exception on the supporting documents page allows a 40x50 mm print for Greeks abroad who apply inside Greece and hold no Greek tax or social security number. The older printed specification sheet still says the background may be white, cream or 5% grey and that the photo must be taken within the last month; the current web page and the digital specification are the values used here.
Applying in Greece
Read this before you take the photograph. If you are applying for a Greek passport inside Greece, you cannot submit a picture you made yourself. Since 31 January 2026 a printed photograph is no longer accepted for a domestic application: the image has to reach the Passport Directorate through myPhoto, the state service on gov.gr, and it is uploaded to myphoto.gov.gr by a professional photographer. You then link and approve it with your tax number, online or in person at a KEP if you cannot do it yourself.
There are two places your own file is still useful, and they are worth naming. An application filed abroad at a Greek consular authority still takes a printed photograph, 40 by 60 on photographic paper, so the tool produces exactly what that route needs. And inside Greece you can use it to check a photograph against the published measurements before you pay for one, or to see why the one you have was refused. What it cannot do is put a file into myPhoto.
The Greek numbers are unusually specific, and two of them trip people up. The background is not white: it is grey, RGB 190;190;190 with a tolerance of ten either way, which is the required value for the digital file and the preferred one for print. And the digital file is not the same shape as the print. After the ICAO crop it must be exactly 1280 by 1600, a 4 to 5 ratio, while the printed photograph is 40 by 60, a 2 to 3 ratio.
Why photos get rejected here
A photograph you produced yourself, for a domestic application
The route is the refusal, not the picture. Since 31 January 2026 a domestic application takes its photograph only through myPhoto, uploaded by a photographer, so a home file is rejected before any measurement is checked.
A white background instead of the specified grey
The published value is RGB 190;190;190 plus or minus 10. White is listed as an accepted alternative on the older printed specification sheet, but the current page and the digital specification both give grey, and the digital file is checked against it.
A face outside one of the four measured ranges
The printed sheet fixes the face length from chin to crown at 31 to 35, the face width from ear to ear at 20 to 25 mm, and the eye line at 30 to 39 above the bottom edge. No dimension may fall outside its range, so a correct height with a wrong eye line still fails.
A head turned more than five degrees
Rotation must stay within plus or minus 5 degrees in every direction with the shoulders square to the camera. That is a tighter tolerance than most authorities publish, and a slight lean towards the lens is enough to exceed it.
A file that was resized, recompressed or colour corrected
Between the camera shot and the final file the image may only be cropped. Any resizing, lossy recompression or colour adjustment breaks the rule, which is why the accepted formats are bmp or jpg with lossless compression.
White clothing or shiny jewellery
The specification asks you to avoid large earrings, shiny neck jewellery and white clothing. Against a grey background a white top removes the shoulder line, which is the same failure Canada and Malaysia name for their white backgrounds.
What helps
Inside Greece, book the photographer first
The photographer uploads to myphoto.gov.gr and you approve the file with your tax number afterwards. Nothing you prepare at home can enter that pipeline, so the appointment order matters.
Use this tool to check, not to submit
Measuring a photograph against the four published ranges before you accept it from a studio is the useful thing you can do at home. A file that fails here will fail in myPhoto too.
Abroad, print on photographic paper
Consular applications still take a print, and the specification excludes ink jet and laser output. A photographic print at 1200 dpi or better is what the sheet asks for.
Set the background to grey, not white
RGB 190;190;190 with ten either way is the target. Our background replacement can hit that value exactly, rather than hunting for a wall that already matches.
Budget 80 euro for a ten year book
As of September 2026 the paravolo for a ten year passport comes to 80.00 euro: 22.00 for the digital transaction, 53.00 for the booklet and 5.00 postal. A replacement is 58.00 euro and a three year book for a child up to 14 is 71.00 euro.
Know the medical fast route exists
For serious medical reasons a passport can be issued within one working day of the application. It is not a general express service, and it needs the grounds to be documented.
Babies and young children
Greece publishes no separate measurement set for children, so the same four ranges apply: face length 31 to 35, face width 20 to 25 mm, and the eye line 30 to 39 from the bottom edge. Only the applicant may appear, in civilian clothing, with no other people and no objects such as toys in the frame. The practical constraint is the route rather than the picture: a child applying inside Greece needs a photographer's myPhoto upload like everybody else, so a home photograph of a sleeping baby is not submittable. A three year passport for a child up to 14 costs 71.00 euro as of September 2026, made up of a 13.00 euro digital transaction, the 53.00 euro booklet and 5.00 postal.
Glasses
If you normally wear glasses you should be photographed in them, which is the opposite default from countries that ask for them to be removed. The conditions are that the lenses are clean and transparent, that nothing reflects on them and that the frames do not cover the eyes. Dark or photochromic lenses are accepted only on medical grounds. Photochromic lenses are worth a thought before the appointment: they darken in daylight and a studio near a window is enough to tint them, so a pair that looks clear indoors can read as tinted in the file.
Head covering
A head covering worn for religious reasons is accepted provided the features stay visible from the jaw to the forehead and from one ear to the other. That area test is the same one the specification uses for hair and for shadows, so a covering that leaves the face clear but casts a shadow across a cheek fails on the lighting rule rather than on the covering rule. A covering worn for a health reason is treated separately and needs a medical certificate. Nothing in the published wording asks for a written declaration on religious grounds.
Applying online
This is a state photo pipeline rather than an upload form. A professional photographer takes the picture and uploads it to myphoto.gov.gr; you then associate it with your tax number and approve it, online or at a KEP if you cannot do that yourself. Since 31 January 2026 it is the only way a photograph reaches a domestic Greek passport application. Applications filed abroad through consular authorities still use a printed photograph on photographic paper. One narrow exception on the supporting documents page allows a 40 by 50 mm print for Greeks resident abroad who apply inside Greece and hold no Greek tax or social security number.
Questions about Greece photos
Can I upload my own photo to myPhoto?
No. The file is uploaded by the professional photographer who took it. Your part is to link it to your tax number and approve it, online or at a KEP.
What changed on 31 January 2026?
That was the last date a printed photograph was accepted for an application made inside Greece. After it, domestic applications take their photograph only through myPhoto.
What does a Greek passport cost in 2026?
For a ten year book the paravolo totals 80.00 euro as of September 2026: 22.00 digital transaction, 53.00 booklet and 5.00 postal. A replacement is 58.00 euro.
Is the digital file the same shape as the printed photo?
No, and this catches studios as well as applicants. The digital file is a 4 to 5 ratio at 1280 by 1600, while the print is a 2 to 3 ratio at 40 by 60.
Which rule applies if I apply at a Greek consulate abroad?
The printed one. Consular applications still take a photographic print, which is the case where a photo you prepared yourself is genuinely usable.
Why does older guidance still mention a white background?
The current specification sets it at RGB 190;190;190 plus or minus 10 for the digital file and prefers it for print. An older printed sheet still mentions white, which is why conflicting advice circulates.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Passport Photograph (technical specifications)checked September 2, 2026
- Dikaiologitika ekdosis (supporting documents for issuing a passport)checked September 2, 2026
- Technikes prodiagrafes entypis fotografias (printed photo specification, PDF)checked September 2, 2026
- Odigies fotografias (digital myPhoto specification, PDF)checked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers