Malaysia passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 50 mm |
|---|---|
| File size | 300 KB |
| File formats | JPEG |
| Head height, chin to crown | 25-30 mm The Immigration Department states a head size of 25-30 mm, which it describes as 50-60% of the photo space following ICAO guidance. |
| Background | White, shadowless background (warna latar belakang foto MESTI berwarna putih) |
| Glasses | Not allowed. Remove them for the photo. |
| 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 | Yes |
| Also required |
|
Malaysia is a split route country. A renewal through MyOnline Passport requires an uploaded .jpg of 100 KB to 300 KB and is governed by the fourteen point specification in the department's own MyOnline Passport guide; every other application type is made at a counter or a UTC, where a Facial Live Capture device takes the photograph and nothing is uploaded. The 35 x 50 mm printed frame is the only millimetre size the Immigration Department publishes: it appears in the paragraph about children under 4 years old and is not repeated for adults, so it is recorded here as the printed size while the department publishes no adult printed size at all. Head height, background and pose rules are quoted directly from the department's pages. Neither page publishes a pixel size or a maximum photo age.
Applying in Malaysia
Malaysia runs two routes that want opposite things, and most guidance describes only one of them. At an Immigration Department counter the photograph is taken for you with a Facial Live Capture device, so nothing you prepare at home is used. Through MyOnline Passport, the renewal service, you upload one yourself, and the official guide is specific about the file: a .jpg between 100 KB and 300 KB. A photo you make is therefore useless for a counter application and mandatory for an online renewal.
MyOnline Passport is renewal only. A first passport, a child's passport, a lost or damaged book and anything else are counter business, where the camera does the work. That makes the upload route narrower than it first sounds, though it is still the route most adults will use, because renewal is the ordinary case. Fees run from RM 100.00 to RM 350.00 depending on age and validity as of September 2026, and an uncollected passport is cancelled after 90 days with no refund.
The composition rules published alongside the upload are stricter than most countries publish. The background must be white. You are told to wear dark clothing covering the shoulders and chest. Spectacles are excluded and so are coloured contact lenses, which very few authorities mention at all. A woman wearing a tudung must wear a dark one, preferably black, with the forehead left uncovered, and both ears must be visible if no hijab is worn.
Why photos get rejected here
A background that is not white, or is shadowed
The official guide states the background must be white. A failed upload comes back with the status PERMOHONAN DITANGGUHKAN, FOTO TIDAK MEMUASKAN, meaning the application is suspended because the photo is unsatisfactory, and the portal gives you a route to re-upload rather than starting again.
Spectacles or coloured contact lenses
Both are excluded, and the ban on coloured lenses is unusual enough that people who wear them daily never think to mention it. There is no glare-free exception of the kind Canada and the Netherlands publish.
A covered forehead, or hair across the face
The forehead must not be covered, including for those wearing a tudung, and hair must not fall across the face. A scarf worn at the hairline in daily life usually needs setting back a little for the photograph.
Light clothing, or clothing that does not cover the shoulders and chest
Dark clothing covering the shoulders and chest is a published instruction rather than a suggestion. Against a white background a pale top leaves no shoulder line, which is the same problem Canada names when it refuses white clothing.
A selfie or a polaroid
The guide excludes both by name. A selfie also brings the wide-angle distortion that broadens the nose, which is a separate reason it tends to fail.
A file outside the accepted format or size
The upload must be a .jpg and must sit between 100 KB and 300 KB. That is a narrow band by modern standards, so a full-resolution phone photo will usually need exporting down rather than uploading directly.
What helps
Work out which route you are on before anything else
A renewal through MyOnline Passport needs a file from you. Everything else is a counter application where the photo is captured on site. The two need completely different preparation.
Wear something dark
Dark clothing covering the shoulders and chest is published policy, not a style note. It exists to keep the shoulder line visible against the white background.
Set a tudung back and choose a dark one
The guide asks for dark, preferably black, with the forehead uncovered. Both parts matter, and the forehead is the one most often missed.
Export to between 100 KB and 300 KB
This is a tight window. Our export step can target it, but if you are preparing the file elsewhere, check the size before uploading rather than after the application is suspended.
Take contact lenses out too
Coloured contact lenses are excluded alongside spectacles. If you wear them daily, allow time before the photo for your eyes to settle after removing them.
Collect within ninety days
An uncollected passport is cancelled after 90 days and the fee is not refunded. That is a real loss on a RM 350.00 ten year book.
Babies and young children
Children under four are the one group who need a printed photograph rather than a live capture: one print of 35 by 50 on a shadowless white background, with the face measuring 25 to 30, which the Immigration Department describes as 0.5 to 0.6 of the photo following ICAO guidance. This is also where the millimetre size on this page comes from, since the department states it in that paragraph rather than as a general adult figure. A child's application is a counter application in any case, so the appointment is unavoidable.
Glasses
Spectacles are not permitted, and coloured contact lenses are excluded as well. This is stricter than most of the countries on this site, which either allow glasses subject to glare or ban only the glasses. Because the rule is absolute rather than conditional, our glasses warning is not a judgement call for a Malaysian photo: if it appears, the photo needs retaking without them. Plan around the contact lens rule too, since it is the part almost nobody expects.
Head covering
A head covering worn for religious reasons is accepted, and hats and general headwear are not. The Malaysian conditions are more specific than the usual formula. A tudung must be dark, preferably black. The forehead must not be covered. Hair must be kept clear of the face, and both ears must be visible if a hijab is not worn. No written declaration is mentioned in the guidance we read. In practice the dark colour and the uncovered forehead are the two conditions that get missed.
Applying online
This is a split-route country and the split decides everything. A renewal through MyOnline Passport requires you to upload a .jpg of between 100 KB and 300 KB, and a suspended application can be corrected through a re-upload path rather than a fresh submission. Every other application type is made at a counter or a UTC, where a Facial Live Capture device takes the photograph and nothing is uploaded. Malaysia's official service listing gives a duration of 24 hours for the renewal service; a precise counter turnaround we could not confirm.
Questions about Malaysia photos
Does MyOnline Passport need a photo from me, or is one taken?
It needs one from you. The renewal service requires an uploaded .jpg between 100 KB and 300 KB. Only counter applications use the Facial Live Capture device, which is why guidance describing Malaysia as a live-capture-only country is wrong.
What file size does the MyOnline upload accept?
A .jpg between 100 KB and 300 KB. It is a narrow window, so a full-resolution phone photo almost always needs exporting down before it will be accepted.
Why does the guidance tell me to wear dark clothing?
Because the background is white, and a pale top merges into it so the shoulder line disappears. Dark clothing covering the shoulders and chest is a published instruction rather than advice.
What does PERMOHONAN DITANGGUHKAN, FOTO TIDAK MEMUASKAN mean?
Your application is suspended because the photograph was not satisfactory. It is not a refusal: the portal provides a re-upload route so you can replace the photo without starting the application again.
Where does the printed photo size on this page come from?
The Immigration Department states it in the paragraph about children under four rather than as a general adult figure. It is the size Malaysian offices use in practice, but the way it is published is the reason our spec flags it rather than treating it as a plain adult standard.
Which applications cannot be made online?
A first passport, a child's passport, and a lost or damaged replacement. MyOnline Passport handles renewals only; everything else is a counter application where the photo is captured on site.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Malaysian International Passportchecked September 2, 2026
- Panduan MyOnline Passport (PDF, updated 1 September 2023)checked September 3, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers