Requirements
US & UK Passport and Visa Photo Requirements
Passport and visa photo requirements vary by country, application type, and whether you need a printed or digital image.
PassportPhotosAI applies the relevant checks based on the document you select.
United States Passport Photo
A printed US passport photo must measure 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm). Your head should measure between 1 and 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. The photo must have a plain white or off-white background, show your current appearance, and meet requirements for positioning, expression, and image quality.
If you're renewing online through the State Department's system, the digital photo doesn't have a fixed pixel dimension, it just needs to be between 54 KB and 10 MB, in JPG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF format.
PassportPhotosAI checks your photo against the requirements for your specific application method.
Check US Passport PhotoUS Visa & DS-160 Photo
For a DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application, you'll usually upload a digital photo. The digital image must have a square aspect ratio and measure between 600 × 600 and 1200 × 1200 pixels, in JPEG format, no larger than 240 KB.
Printed US visa photos, when required, use the same 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) format as a US passport photo.
PassportPhotosAI checks your image against DS-160 requirements before you upload it.
Check US Visa PhotoUK Passport Photo
UK passport photo requirements differ depending on whether you apply using printed photos or a digital photo.
For a paper application, printed photos must measure 35 × 45 mm, with the head measuring 29–34 mm from crown to chin. For an online application, your digital photo must be at least 600 pixels wide × 750 pixels tall, between 50 KB and 10 MB, in JPEG format.
PassportPhotosAI checks your photo against the UK passport photo requirements for the format you select.
Check UK Passport PhotoUK Visa & Immigration Photo
For UK visa and immigration applications submitted online, the digital photo must be at least 600 × 750 pixels, in JPG or JPEG format, between 50 KB and 6 MB. If your visa category requires a biometric appointment, you may also need a printed 35 × 45 mm photo.
PassportPhotosAI checks these requirements before you use your photo for your application.
Check UK Visa PhotoWhat PassportPhotosAI Checks
The exact checks depend on the country and document you select.
- Size & Dimensions
Your photo is checked against the dimensions and aspect ratio required for your document.
- Head Position & Size
Measured against the applicable range, not estimated.
- Background
Checked for colour, contrast, and visible distractions, and corrected where the rules for your document allow it.
- Framing
Checked to confirm your face and head are positioned correctly within the image.
- Lighting & Shadows
Flagged where they could affect compliance.
- Image Quality
Checked for focus, resolution, and other technical issues.
Passport and Visa Photo Sizes at a Glance
- Printed: 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm), head height 25–35 mm
- Online renewal digital: no fixed pixel size; 54 KB to 10 MB, JPG, PNG, HEIC, or HEIF
- Plain white or off-white background
- Recent colour photo, no more than 6 months old
- Digital: 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 px, square, JPEG
- Maximum file size: 240 KB
- Correct head size and positioning
- Plain white or off-white background
- Printed: 35 × 45 mm, head height 29–34 mm
- Digital: minimum 600 × 750 px, 50 KB to 10 MB
- Plain, light-coloured background
- Taken within the last month
- Digital: minimum 600 × 750 px, 50 KB to 6 MB, JPG or JPEG
- Portrait orientation
- Plain, light-coloured background
How a Specification Gets Here
Only official government or embassy sources are used, and each record stores the URL it was read from and the date. Where an authority does not state a value it is recorded as missing rather than inferred.
Records that cannot be verified are removed rather than shipped with a warning. That is why this page covers two countries rather than a long list: every figure on it is one we can point at a source for.