Slovakia passport photo
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The requirements
| Print size | 30 x 35 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height, chin to crown | The authority publishes no head height |
| Background | Not specified by the Slovak authorities; a plain, light, uniform background is what Slovak studios use for document photos |
| 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. |
| Also required |
|
Slovakia does not accept a submitted photo for passports. The document department (oddelenie dokladov) captures the facial image and the signature electronically when you file the application, which the Ministry of the Interior states plainly: nie je potrebna fotografia. The pose rules published here come from the Travel Documents Act 647/2007, section 17(8) and (9), which is the binding rule for that capture. The 30 x 35 mm size (3 x 3,5 cm) is the Slovak standard document photo format, quoted from the police requirements for residence applications and from the foreign ministry national visa page; it is not a passport rule, because for a passport no photo is handed in. Two fields keep this spec at secondary rather than official: the background colour, which no Slovak authority publishes, and the printed size, which is sourced from other document types. Everything else is quoted from government pages. No head height is published. The 30 x 35 mm frame is far from the ICAO portrait proportion the generic 70-80% rule is written for, so no fallback band is applied to it.
Applying in Slovakia
Slovakia settles the question in one sentence on the interior ministry's passport page: nie je potrebna fotografia, no photograph is needed. Staff at the document department capture your facial image and your signature electronically when you file the application, which is why you have to attend in person. There is no upload, no studio pipeline and no counter route for a print, so for a Slovak passport there is nothing to prepare photographically at all.
The rules that govern that capture are in the Travel Documents Act 647/2007, section 17, and they are about what you are wearing rather than about how the picture is composed. The image is taken in civilian clothing, without a head covering and without dark glasses. In justified cases, on health or religious grounds, it may be captured with a head covering, provided the covering does not obscure the face in a way that prevents identification.
One exception is written into the law with unusual care. A blind applicant who wears dark glasses is photographed in them, on presenting either a medical certificate or a severe disability card marked nevidiaci-blind. Where a Slovak authority does ask for a print, for a residence permit or a national visa, the format is two colour photographs of 30 by 35 showing your current appearance. That size is not a passport rule, because for a passport no photograph is handed in.
Why photos get rejected here
Arriving at the document department with prints
The ministry states plainly that no photograph is needed. Time spent at a studio before a passport appointment is time spent on a document nobody will look at.
Dark glasses without the certificate
The capture is made without dark glasses. The one exception is a blind applicant who presents a medical certificate or a severe disability card marked nevidiaci-blind, and without that document the glasses come off.
A head covering with no justified ground
The image is taken without a head covering. Health and religious grounds are recognised in justified cases, and even then the covering must not obscure the face in a way that prevents identification.
Clothing that is not civilian
The act specifies civilian clothing for the capture. A uniform worn to the appointment means changing before the picture is taken, and it is the sort of thing that surfaces at the counter rather than beforehand.
A residence or visa photo cut to the European frame
Where Slovakia does ask for a print, the format is 30 by 35, not the 35 by 45 mm used for most European passports. A photograph trimmed to the larger frame is the wrong shape.
What helps
Prepare yourself rather than a photograph
Civilian clothing, no head covering unless you have a ground for one, no dark glasses. That is the whole preparation for a Slovak passport application.
Bring the certificate if you wear dark glasses
The exception for a blind applicant is conditional on the document: a medical certificate, or a severe disability card marked nevidiaci-blind. Take it with you rather than describing it.
Use the smaller frame for residence and visa files
Two colour photographs at 30 by 35. Our export can cut that size directly, and it is the one Slovak format we could verify from a government source.
Do not assume the background
No Slovak authority publishes a background colour for these photographs. A plain, light, uniform background is what Slovak studios produce, and it is what our tool applies, but the value is not a quoted rule.
Check the office you need before you travel
Applications go to a document department, oddelenie dokladov, and the ministry publishes the locations and opening hours separately. The interior ministry call centre on 0800 222 222 is the published route for questions.
Babies and young children
Slovakia publishes no separate photograph rule for children, which follows from the fact that no photograph is submitted: a child is photographed at the document department like an adult when the application is filed. The signature is captured for applicants who can sign, and the age thresholds for fingerprints and signature are set out in the Travel Documents Act rather than in any photo guidance. Where a print is needed for a residence file, the same 30 by 35 format applies to a child, and it is a noticeably smaller frame than the European passport size, so a child's head fills it differently than parents expect.
Glasses
The rule is about dark glasses rather than about glasses generally: the facial image is captured without them. Ordinary clear spectacles are not mentioned in section 17, which reads as permission rather than as an oversight, since the same sentence takes the trouble to name dark glasses and head coverings. The exception is written for blind applicants and it is documentary: dark glasses are accepted on presentation of a medical certificate or a severe disability card marked nevidiaci-blind. Because the picture is taken by an officer, a reflection on a clear lens is corrected in the room rather than weeks later.
Head covering
The default is that the facial image is captured without a head covering. The act then allows one in justified cases for health or religious reasons, on the condition that it does not cover the face in a way that prevents identification. The word justified is doing the work, so be ready to state the ground rather than assume it. No written declaration process is described in the act or on the ministry page, and no certificate is named for the religious case, unlike the medical certificate written into the dark glasses exception. Since the capture happens at the counter, this is a conversation with the clerk rather than a rejected file.
Applying online
There is no upload and no print route for a Slovak passport. Staff at the document department record the facial image and the signature electronically when you file the application, so personal attendance is the requirement. Slovakia has issued biometric passports since 15 January 2008 and has taken fingerprints since 22 June 2009. We could not verify current fees or issuing periods from an official page, so this page publishes neither; the ministry's call centre on 0800 222 222 is the published contact for those.
Questions about Slovakia photos
What does the Slovak document department capture instead of a photograph?
Your facial image and your signature, both electronically, at the moment you file the application. That is why the ministry states that no photograph is needed.
I am blind and wear dark glasses. Will they be removed?
No, provided you bring the document. The act allows the capture with dark glasses on presentation of a medical certificate or a severe disability card marked nevidiaci-blind.
Where does the 30 by 35 mm Slovak format come from?
From the police requirements for residence applications and the foreign ministry's national visa page. It is the standard Slovak document photo size, and it is not a passport rule.
What does Slovakia not publish about its photograph?
A background colour and a head height, and no passport print size, since none is handed in. Those gaps are why this file is marked secondary rather than official.
Can I keep a head covering on for the capture?
In justified cases, on health or religious grounds, and only if it does not obscure the face in a way that prevents identification. The default in the act is without one.
How long has Slovakia been taking fingerprints?
Since 22 June 2009. Biometric passports themselves have been issued since 15 January 2008, which is why the process has been a counter capture for so long.
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.
- Cestovne pasychecked September 2, 2026
- Zakon c. 647/2007 Z. z. o cestovnych dokladoch, konsolidovane znenie platne od 9. 12. 2025 (PDF)checked September 2, 2026
- Doklady potrebne k ziskaniu dlhodobeho pobytu na uzemi Slovenskej republiky (police FAQ)checked September 2, 2026
- Narodne vizum - informacie pre cudzincovchecked September 2, 2026
Reviewed by Editorial teamHow we check our numbers