Romania passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| 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 | Clear, neutral and light-coloured background that lets the outline of the head be identified |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open. |
| Head covering | Not allowed. |
| Also required |
|
Romania captures the facial image at the passport counter for the ordinary electronic passport, so most applicants never hand in a photo. Printed photographs are required only when the holder cannot be present: two identical colour prints of 3,5 x 4,5 cm (35 x 45 mm), which is also the size to use for any other Romanian document photo. The published photo rules are short: current appearance, frontal view, clear neutral light-coloured background so the outline of the head can be identified, head not covered, eyes open and an ordinary facial expression. No head height, glasses rule or maximum photo age is published by the passport directorate, so none are invented here.
Applying in Romania
For an ordinary Romanian electronic passport you hand in no photograph at all. When you file the application the clerk takes your fingerprints and your facial image on the spot, which is why the list of required documents on the passport directorate's own page names an identity card, proof of payment and the old passport, and no picture. Most applicants therefore never need a print, and the useful preparation is the appointment rather than the photograph.
Printed photographs are required in one situation, and it is defined by absence rather than by document type: when the holder is not present at the submission. That covers a child under fourteen applying for a temporary simple passport, a person temporarily without legal capacity, and someone who cannot attend for medical reasons. Two identical colour prints of 35 by 45 are handed in, and they are confirmed in front of the clerk who receives the application, by the person submitting it.
The photo rules that go with those prints are short, and Romania publishes nothing beyond them. The picture must show the holder's current appearance, taken from the front, on a clear neutral light background that lets the outline of the head be identified. The head must not be covered and the eyes must not be closed, and the expression must be an ordinary one. No head height, no glasses rule and no maximum photo age is published by the directorate, so we do not invent any.
Why photos get rejected here
A background that hides the outline of the head
The published test is not a colour but a function: the background must be clear, neutral and light enough for the outline of the head to be identified. Dark hair against a mid grey wall fails that test even though the wall is neutral.
A photograph that no longer matches the holder
The rule is that the picture shows the current appearance of the holder. Because no month limit is published, this is judged in the room, and it is the reason a print kept from a previous application is the usual failure.
Closed eyes, which matters most for a sleeping child
The wording names closed eyes specifically, and the prints route exists mainly for children under fourteen who do not attend. A photograph of a sleeping baby is the exact case the rule refuses.
Anything on the head
The holder must not have the head covered. The directorate publishes no religious or medical exception on the pages that carry the photo rule, which is narrower than the wording used by most of Romania's neighbours.
Only one print, or two that are not identical
Two identical colour photographs are required, and they are confirmed in front of the clerk. Two prints from different sittings, or one print with a photocopy, do not satisfy that.
What helps
Check whether you need a photograph at all
If you are attending in person for an electronic passport, you do not. The facial image and the fingerprints are captured at the counter, and a print will not be looked at.
Print two identical copies, not one
The requirement is a pair from the same file. Our print sheet lays them out together so both come off the same sheet at the same size.
Photograph a child with the eyes open, whatever it takes
Open eyes are named in the rule and the prints route exists mostly for children who do not attend. A settled, awake child in daylight is worth waiting for.
Use a light background with real contrast
The directorate asks for a background that lets the outline of the head be identified. For dark hair that means noticeably lighter than the hair, which is the reasoning behind the light value our tool applies.
Book the appointment before anything else
Appointments are made through the interior ministry's online scheduling at hub.mai.gov.ro, and the fee is paid separately, with the directorate pointing at the ghiseul.ro payment portal. Bring the proof of payment with you.
Do not plan a holiday around a temporary passport
The temporary simple passport is never issued for tourism, and no fingerprints are taken for it. It is the route that uses printed photographs for a child under fourteen, not a fast lane for adults.
Babies and young children
Children are the main reason Romania has a printed photograph rule at all. A child under fourteen applying for a temporary simple passport may have two 35 by 45 photographs handed in with the other documents, and then does not have to appear at the counter. The same photograph rules apply: current appearance, front view, light neutral background, head uncovered, eyes open and an ordinary expression. The eyes-open clause is the one that costs families a second trip, because the calmest time to photograph a baby is the time the rule refuses. For the ordinary electronic passport a child attends like an adult and is photographed at the counter.
Glasses
The passport directorate publishes no rule about glasses, in either direction, on the pages that carry the photograph requirement. That is a genuine gap rather than a permission, and we are not going to borrow a rule from a neighbouring country and present it as Romanian. Because the prints are confirmed in front of the clerk who receives the application, the practical test is whether your face is clearly identifiable from the picture. Clear lenses with no reflection and no frame across the eyes satisfy that reading; tinted lenses and sunglasses do not. Treat this paragraph as reasoning from the published requirement, not as a quoted rule.
Head covering
The rule is stated as a flat requirement: the holder must not have the head covered. No religious exception, no medical exception and no written declaration appears on the passport directorate pages that set out the photograph. That is narrower than the wording used by Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria, and we could not find a Romanian page that qualifies it. Since the printed photograph route is limited to applicants who cannot attend, and since the ordinary route captures the image at the counter, anyone who wears a covering daily should raise it with the passport office at the time of the appointment rather than assume either way.
Applying online
Romania has no photograph upload. The interior ministry runs online scheduling at hub.mai.gov.ro and the fee is paid separately, with the directorate pointing applicants at the ghiseul.ro payment portal, but the facial image itself is captured at the counter when the application is filed. Where the holder cannot attend, printed photographs are brought in by the person submitting the application and confirmed in front of the clerk. The Directia Generala de Pasapoarte is at Str. Nicolae Iorga 29 in Bucharest.
Questions about Romania photos
Which Romanian applications still need printed photographs?
Only those where the holder is not present at the submission: a child under fourteen applying for a temporary simple passport, a person temporarily without legal capacity, and someone who cannot attend for medical reasons.
Why must the photographs be confirmed in front of the clerk?
Because nobody at the counter has seen the absent holder. The person submitting the application confirms the likeness to the clerk who receives it, which is what replaces the live capture.
Can I get a temporary simple passport for a holiday?
No. The directorate states that it is never issued for tourism. No fingerprints are taken for it, which is why it can be issued without the holder attending.
Does the passport directorate publish a head height?
No. It publishes the print size and a short list of pose rules and nothing about the head in millimetres, so our tool falls back on the international portrait band that the format implies.
Where do I book the appointment and pay the fee?
Appointments go through the interior ministry scheduling at hub.mai.gov.ro. The fee is paid separately and the directorate points at the ghiseul.ro payment portal; bring the proof of payment.
What background does the Romanian rule actually ask for?
A clear, neutral, light background that lets the outline of the head be identified. It is written as a function rather than as a colour, so contrast against your hair is what matters.
Where these numbers come from
Official sourceEvery measurement on this page comes from the issuing authority's own published requirements.
- Documente necesare pentru pasaport simplu temporarchecked September 2, 2026
- Documente necesare pentru pasaport simplu electronicchecked September 2, 2026
- Documente necesare pentru pasaport simplu electronic sau temporar cu mentionarea statului de domiciliuchecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers