Kenya passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 50.8 x 50.8 mm (2 x 2 in) |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | The authority publishes no head height |
| Background | White background with no shadows behind the head |
| Glasses | Not allowed. Remove them for the photo. |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open. |
| Ears | Yes |
| Photo age | 1 months |
| Also required |
|
The Directorate of Immigration Services publishes no photo specification: not on the passport section, not in the FAQs, and the downloads area does not serve a form. Every measurement above therefore comes from Kenyan diplomatic missions, which are official bodies but consular ones writing for applicants abroad, on hosts that are not government domains, so this spec is secondary rather than official. The two mission pages read here agree on 2 x 2 inches on a white background; other missions are reported to publish different sizes, so treat 50.8 x 50.8 mm as the majority consular convention rather than a national rule. For an application made inside Kenya the question is largely academic: the photograph and the biometrics are captured at the enrolment centre, and a photo prepared at home matters mainly for the mission route. No head height, eye line, pixel size or file size is published anywhere, so those fields are omitted.
Applying in Kenya
The honest starting point for Kenya is that the Directorate of Immigration Services publishes no photo specification at all. Not on the passport requirements page, not in the frequently asked questions, and not in a downloadable form, because the downloads and forms sections return errors. Every figure on this page therefore comes from Kenyan diplomatic missions, which are official sources but consular ones, written for applicants abroad. That is why this page is marked as secondary rather than official, and why we say so rather than presenting a mission's number as a national rule.
The missions also disagree with each other. Washington and Doha both publish a 2 x 2 inch photograph on a white background. Muscat publishes 2.5 by 2 inches, alongside a fee table that no longer matches the Directorate's own. The eCitizen checklist asks only for three current passport size photos without defining the size. We treat 2 x 2 inches as the majority official convention and flag the conflict, because picking one and presenting it as settled would be more comfortable and less true.
For an application made inside Kenya the question is largely academic. You apply and pay through eCitizen, book an appointment, and attend one of the enrolment centres, where your photograph and biometrics are captured on site. A photo you prepared yourself matters for the diaspora route through a mission, and for knowing what the camera at the centre will be measuring.
Why photos get rejected here
Wearing spectacles
The consular guidance states that pictures should be taken without spectacles. It is written as a plain exclusion rather than a condition about glare, so there is no lighting arrangement that rescues a photo with glasses in it.
A photo more than a month old
The mission guidance asks for a current picture taken within the last one month, which is far shorter than the six months most countries allow and shorter than most applicants expect.
Hair or a weave covering the forehead
The requirement is a full face with both ears showing, and the guidance names weaves and hair covering the forehead specifically. This is more explicit than most countries manage and it is worth arranging before the photo rather than after.
A computer-generated picture
The consular wording excludes computer-generated pictures. In practice that covers a portrait assembled or altered in software rather than photographed, which is a distinction worth understanding before you edit anything.
Smiling or laughing
The guidance asks that the applicant is not smiling or laughing. A closed-mouth smile still moves the mouth corners and narrows the eyes, so keep the face at rest rather than merely keeping the teeth hidden.
What helps
Establish which route you are on first
Inside Kenya the photograph is captured at an enrolment centre after an eCitizen appointment. Through a mission you supply the photo yourself. The two answer different questions, so settle the route before you spend money on prints.
Ask your own mission, and expect variation
Because the Directorate publishes nothing, your mission's page is the operative rule for a diaspora application. Missions differ on size and one publishes an outdated fee table, so read the page for the mission you will actually use.
Take the picture the same month
The one month rule is easy to miss and hard to argue with. If your appointment is weeks away, photograph nearer the date.
Fees come from the Directorate, not the mission
The Directorate lists KES 7,550 for the 34-page A-Series, KES 9,550 for the 50-page B-Series, KES 12,050 for the 66-page C-Series and KES 20,050 for a lost or mutilated passport as of September 2026. At least one mission still shows older figures.
Allow more than the service charter says
The charter figure is 14 days. Missions quote a minimum of three weeks for applications made abroad, so treat 14 days as the domestic best case rather than a promise.
Babies and young children
We found no published Kenyan rule about photographs of babies or young children, neither at the Directorate nor in the mission guidance we read, and we are not going to infer one. For an application inside Kenya the photograph is captured at the enrolment centre, so the practical question for a small child is what happens at the counter rather than what you bring. For a diaspora application through a mission, the ordinary approach applies: photograph the child alone against a plain white background, from directly above if they cannot sit up, with nobody else in the frame.
Glasses
Spectacles are excluded. The consular guidance states that pictures should be taken without them, without the glare-free exception that countries such as Canada and Ireland allow. Because the Directorate publishes nothing, this rule comes from mission pages rather than from a national specification, which is a genuine limitation on how firmly we can state it. Our advice is to treat it as a hard rule, since removing glasses satisfies both the strict reading and every looser one.
Head covering
We did not find a published Kenyan rule on religious or medical head coverings, at the Directorate or in the mission pages we read. Rather than borrow another country's wording, we will say what we know: the guidance requires a full face with both ears showing and the forehead uncovered, so any covering has to leave those visible. If a head covering is part of your application, ask the office or mission handling it, and tell us what they say so we can add it with a citation.
Applying online
Inside Kenya you apply and pay through eCitizen, book an appointment and have your photograph and biometrics captured at an enrolment centre, so the upload is not the portrait. Diaspora applications through a mission do take a supplied photograph, uploaded in jpeg or png. No pixel dimensions or file size limits are published by the Directorate or by the missions we read, so this page gives none.
Questions about Kenya photos
What size should a Kenyan passport photo be?
The Directorate of Immigration Services publishes no size at all. Most missions say 2 x 2 inches on a white background, one says 2.5 by 2 inches, and the eCitizen checklist says only three current passport size photos. Use the page for the mission handling your application.
Is the photo taken at the office or do I bring one?
Inside Kenya it is captured at an enrolment centre after your eCitizen appointment. Through a mission abroad you supply it yourself, which is the case where a photo you prepared matters.
How recent does the photo have to be?
Mission guidance asks for a picture taken within the last one month, which is much shorter than the six month international norm.
Which Kenyan passport series should I pay for?
The Directorate lists KES 7,550 for the 34-page A-Series, KES 9,550 for the 50-page B-Series and KES 12,050 for the 66-page C-Series as of September 2026, with a lost or mutilated passport at KES 20,050. At least one mission still publishes older figures, so use the Directorate's page.
How long does it take?
Fourteen days according to the service charter. Missions quote a minimum of three weeks for applications made abroad, so the charter figure is best read as the domestic target.
Why does this page say secondary rather than official?
Because the national authority publishes no photo specification, so everything here comes from mission pages. Those are official sources, but consular ones, and they contradict each other on size. We would rather tell you that than pretend the question is settled.
Where these numbers come from
Secondary sourceThe issuing authority does not publish these numbers in a form we can cite directly. They come from a reputable secondary source and are marked as such.
- Kenya Embassy Washington DC: ePassport photograph requirementschecked September 3, 2026
- Kenya Embassy Doha: passportschecked September 3, 2026
- Directorate of Immigration Services: passport sectionchecked September 3, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers