Sri Lanka passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| File formats | JPEG |
| Resolution | 300dpi |
| Head height, chin to crown | 70-80%ICAO 9303 general rule, not published by the authority The authority publishes no head height. This band is the generic ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 portrait rule, head 70-80% of the image height, which is also what every authority in this data set that publishes a percentage gives. |
| Background | Plain smooth blue backdrop, as specified for the department's authorised photo studios; no exact shade is published |
| Glasses | Not allowed. Remove them for the photo. |
| Head covering | Allowed, as long as the whole face is visible. |
| Ears | Yes |
| Photo age | 6 months |
| Also required |
|
The blue background is the striking part and it is official: the department's own studio specification requires a blue coloured plain smooth backdrop, not the white used by most countries. The exact shade of blue is not published. The size is the weak point: because the department refuses printed photographs and has the studio upload the image, it publishes no photo dimensions at all. The 35 x 45 mm recorded here is the ICAO conforming size the department says it follows, not a figure printed by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, which is why this spec is marked secondary rather than official. Head height, photo pixel size and file size limits are unknown and are omitted rather than guessed.
Applying in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka does not accept printed photographs for a passport, and it says so in those words. Every applicant, children included, provides a digital photograph through a studio authorised by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, or through the studios at the Head Office and the Regional Offices. The studio sends the file to the department online and issues you a Studio Acknowledgement Note, which is submitted with the application. A photograph you make yourself has nowhere to go in that pipeline.
The backdrop is the striking part, and it is official. The department's own requirements for its photo studios specify a blue coloured plain smooth backdrop, not the white almost every other authority uses. The same sheet sets the camera between 1.2 m and 2.5 m from the applicant, asks for a camera of at least 8 megapixels and two diffused studio lights, and wants a jpeg file at a minimum of 72 dpi with 300 preferred. The exact shade of blue is not published.
So what is this page for. Not for submitting a Sri Lankan passport photograph, which only an authorised studio can do. It is for the visa and foreign applications that ask Sri Lankan residents for a document photograph, for checking whether a studio's work meets the published rules, and for understanding what the studio is being asked to produce. Note also that the size on this page is the international one the department says it conforms to, not a figure the department itself prints.
Why photos get rejected here
A printed photograph
The department states that printed photographs will no longer be accepted, anywhere in the application process. This is the whole difference between Sri Lanka and its neighbours, and it is not a quality judgement about your print.
A photograph from an unauthorised studio
The file has to come from a studio authorised by the department or from the studios at its own offices, because the upload happens on the studio's account. A good photograph from an ordinary studio cannot enter the system.
Spectacles
The instruction to studios is that the photograph shows the applicant's eyes clearly without spectacles. There is no glare-free exception, so a daily wearer is photographed without them.
A scarf shadow across the face
Caps and scarves may be worn on request, and photographers are told to prevent shadows of the scarves falling on the applicant's face. That shadow, not the scarf, is what the department asks its studios to watch for.
A covered forehead or a hidden ear
Where a cap or a scarf is worn, photographers must ensure the forehead and both ears stay clearly visible. A scarf worn at the hairline in daily life usually needs setting back a little for the picture.
A photograph more than six months old
Only photographs taken within six months are valid. Because the studio uploads at the time of the sitting, this rarely bites on a fresh photograph, but it does rule out reusing a file from an earlier application.
What helps
Book the studio, not the print shop
The authorisation is what matters. A studio the department has authorised can upload; one it has not cannot, however good the picture.
Keep the Studio Acknowledgement Note
It is submitted with the application and it is the link between your file and the photograph the department already holds. Losing it means going back to the studio.
Take contact lenses and spectacles into account
The eyes must be clearly visible without spectacles. If you need them to see, allow a moment to settle after taking them off before the shutter.
Set a scarf back off the forehead
Both the forehead and both ears have to stay clearly visible, and the scarf must not shadow the face. Moving it back a centimetre usually solves both at once.
Use this tool for the other photographs
Visa applications and foreign authorities still ask Sri Lankan residents for a document photograph. That is what our export and print sheet are for here.
Check where the one day service runs
The department offers a one day service at the Head Office only, alongside the normal service elsewhere. If speed matters, the location decides it.
Babies and young children
The department is explicit that the rule covers everyone: all passport applicants including children should provide a digital photograph through an authorised photo studio. There is no printed alternative for a baby and no home route, so a child's photograph is a studio appointment like an adult's. The studio requirements that make an infant sitting workable are the ones about the setup rather than the subject: two diffused lights, a plain blue backdrop and a camera between 1.2 m and 2.5 m away. The department publishes no relaxed expression or gaze rule for young children, so what a studio can do for a restless child is a question for the studio.
Glasses
Spectacles are not accepted. The department's instruction to its registered studios is that the photograph should show the applicant's eyes clearly without spectacles, and it publishes no exception for clear lenses, for a reflection-free shot or for a medical need. That puts Sri Lanka with Malaysia, Vietnam and Norway rather than with the European countries that allow glasses subject to glare. Our tool raises a glasses warning as information rather than as a failure, and for a Sri Lankan photograph you should treat it as a failure. Nothing is published about contact lenses, coloured or otherwise.
Head covering
Caps and scarves may be worn, and the department frames this as something the applicant requests rather than as a religious exception: applicants who request to wear caps and scarves may do so. Two conditions attach to it, and both are addressed to the photographer rather than to you. The forehead and both ears must be clearly visible, and the photographer must make sure the scarf casts no shadow on the face. No written declaration is mentioned. The shadow condition is the practical one, because a studio light placed high throws a line from a scarf edge straight across the brow.
Applying online
The digital route is the only route, and it is not open to applicants. Photographs are taken at a studio authorised by the department, or at the studios at the Head Office and Regional Offices, and the studio sends the file to the department online. You receive a Studio Acknowledgement Note to submit with the application. Printed photographs are not accepted at all. Applicants applying through a Sri Lankan diplomatic mission overseas can apply without providing fingerprints and a digital photograph, so the overseas process differs; confirm the detail with the mission. A one day service runs at the Head Office only.
Questions about Sri Lanka photos
Why will the department not accept a printed photograph?
Because the photograph reaches it from the studio's own upload rather than from your file. Printed photographs are no longer accepted anywhere in the application process.
What is a Studio Acknowledgement Note?
The receipt the authorised studio issues after uploading your photograph. You submit it with the application, and it is what connects your file to the image the department already holds.
Why is the Sri Lankan backdrop blue?
It is what the department specifies for its authorised studios: a blue coloured plain smooth backdrop. The exact shade is not published, which is unusual for a colour requirement.
Can I wear a cap or a scarf at the studio?
Yes, on request. The photographer has to keep your forehead and both ears clearly visible and stop the scarf from casting a shadow on your face.
Does the department publish a photo size?
No. Because it refuses prints and has the studio upload the image, it publishes no dimensions at all. The size on this page is the international standard it says it conforms to.
Is the one day service available at every office?
No, at the Head Office only. The normal service runs elsewhere, so where you apply decides how quickly the book can be issued.
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.
- General information on passportschecked September 2, 2026
- Instructions to registered photo studio owners when sending photos onlinechecked September 2, 2026
- Requirements for photo studio clientchecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers