Visa Photo Size Guide 2026: Schengen, US, UK, Japan, China, India

The short answer: there is no single visa photo size. Most countries that still ask for a printed photo use some version of the 35mm by 45mm portrait format behind the Schengen, UK, Canadian and Australian rules, with the face filling 70–80% of the frame. The US is the odd one out at a square 2x2 inch (51x51mm), China asks for 33mm by 48mm, and Japan's 45mm by 35mm is the same portrait photo written height first. Saudi Arabia's eVisa skips print sizes altogether for a pixel count instead. Several, including Turkey's own e-Visa, need no photo at all. The one rule that holds almost everywhere: plain light background, taken in the last three to six months, no smile, no glasses glare.

This comes up for anyone juggling more than one application at once – a Schengen appointment this month, a child's US visa next month, a parent's Indian passport renewal after that – and finding that the photo from one does not satisfy another. The table below sets out what each authority asks for, from its own application page, visa centre checklist or e-visa portal. Treat any figure without a named official source as reported, not confirmed, and check the live application screen before you pay for prints.

Visa photo sizes at a glance

Visa or document	Size	Background	How recent	Submitted
UAE visa (ICP, outside Dubai)	35–40mm wide, print	Plain, light; ICP's FAQ says white	6 months	With the application, via a sponsor or agency
UAE visa (GDRFA Dubai)	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	With the application
Schengen visa	35 x 45mm, print	Plain, light	6 months (most sources)	VFS Global or the consulate's visa centre
UK Standard Visitor visa	Digital, min. 600 x 750px	Plain, light	Not stated on gov.uk	Uploaded in the online application
US visa (DS-160)	Digital, 600–1200px square; print 2 x 2in (51 x 51mm)	Plain white or off-white	6 months	Uploaded with the DS-160 form
Canada visa (TRV)	35 x 45mm, print, x2	Plain white or light	6 months	Visa application centre (VFS Global)
Australia visitor visa	35 x 45mm, print or digital	Plain white or light grey	6 months	Uploaded via ImmiAccount
Japan visa	45 x 35mm, print	White	6 months	VFS Global, Dubai or Abu Dhabi
China visa	33 x 48mm print; digital same ratio, 40–120KB	White	6 months	CVASC, Wafi Mall, Dubai
Turkey e-Visa	No photo required	–	–	evisa.gov.tr
Turkey sticker visa	50 x 60mm, biometric print	Plain white	Not stated	VFS Global or the consulate
Saudi eVisa	Digital, 200 x 200px exactly	Plain white	6 months	visa.visitsaudi.com
Thailand e-Visa	Digital, no mm/px stated officially; most use 35 x 45mm / 132 x 170px	White or off-white	Not stated	Thailand's e-Visa portal
Singapore visa (e-Service)	Digital, 400 x 514px, ≤60KB	White	3 months (reported)	Via an authorised agent such as VFS Global
India e-Visa (for non-Indians)	Digital, square, 10KB–1MB	Plain light or white	Not stated	indianvisaonline.gov.in
Indian passport (Passport Seva)	Digital 630 x 810px (ICAO standard); print 35 x 45mm	Plain white	3–6 months (reported)	Indian Consular Application Centre (ICAC), UAE
OCI card	51 x 51mm (2 x 2in), square	Plain, light (not necessarily white)	Not stated	ociservices.gov.in, then an ICAC

Photo rules, country by country

UAE visa: ICP and GDRFA Dubai

The UAE's two visa authorities differ sharply, and which one applies depends on who is sponsoring the visa, not where you will stay. ICP, covering Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, sets out a full specification: 35 to 40mm wide, head and shoulders filling 70 to 80% of the frame, taken in the last six months, plain light background (its FAQ says white), neutral expression, no hat, and medical glasses only if thin-framed and glare-free. GDRFA Dubai, covering Dubai-sponsored visas including the tourist visas a travel agency arranges, asks only for "one personal photo" with no size stated. Neither authority publishes a pixel count for an online upload: follow whatever the upload screen asks for. Our UAE visa photo requirements guide covers both in full, including how many copies each visa type needs.

Schengen visa

The Schengen format rests on the same ICAO biometric standard used in e-passports: 35mm wide by 45mm high, with the head, chin to crown, filling 32 to 36mm of that height. The background should be plain and light; the exact shade is set by the consulate processing your application, so a shade one consulate accepts may be queried by another. Most guidance allows a photo up to six months old, though a few consulates ask for three. You submit two identical prints with an in-person application – one goes on the form, one stays loose – and black-and-white photos are rejected outright. If a consulate's online system takes a digital upload instead, the pixel dimensions vary by country; check the specific appointment portal (commonly VFS Global in Dubai or Abu Dhabi). Our Schengen visa guide and how to apply for a Schengen visa from Dubai cover the appointment process itself.

UK Standard Visitor visa

Indian passport holders apply for the UK's Standard Visitor visa, not the UK's ETA (that is only for nationalities who do not need a visa at all). Gov.uk's photo guidance for a visa or permission asks for a digital image of at least 600 by 750 pixels, between 50KB and 6MB, in JPG or JPEG format, portrait orientation, unedited, against a plain light background with no other people or objects in frame and no red-eye. A phone or tablet photo is acceptable if it meets those figures. Gov.uk does not state an age limit for the photo in its published guidance, so take a recent one rather than relying on an old passport photo. The photo is uploaded as part of the online application; our UK visa from Dubai guide covers the fee and the rest of the application.

US visa (DS-160)

The State Department's photo page sets a printed size of 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51mm) and a digital image that is square, at least 600 by 600 pixels and at most 1200 by 1200. Head height, chin to crown, should sit between 1 inch and 1⅜ inch (22–35mm). The photo must be in colour, taken in the last six months, against a plain white or off-white background. The rule that catches people out: since 1 November 2016, the US has not accepted visa photos showing eyeglasses, except in rare documented medical cases, so take the photo without them even if you wear glasses daily. The photo is uploaded directly into the DS-160 online form before the interview. Our US visa from Dubai guide and US visa appointment in Dubai guide cover the interview itself.

Canada visitor visa (TRV)

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada asks for two identical photographs, printed on photographic paper, taken within the last six months, in black and white or colour, against a plain white or light background. The frame must be at least 35 by 45mm, with the head, chin to crown, between 31 and 36mm. Non-tinted prescription glasses are allowed if your eyes are clearly visible and the frame does not cover them; sunglasses are not. A head covering for religious reasons is fine as long as your full facial features remain visible. Photos go in with the paper or online application and are checked again at the visa application centre, VFS Global in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, where biometrics are also taken. Our Canada visa from Dubai guide covers the visitor visa fee and the separate eTA.

Australia visitor visa

Australia's visa photo guidance is widely reported, though we could not open the Department of Home Affairs' own photo brochure (Form 1418) directly, so treat the figures as reported, not confirmed firsthand: 35 by 45mm, face (chin to crown) filling 71 to 80% of the height, plain white or light grey background, taken in the last six months, neutral expression. The photo is uploaded through ImmiAccount as part of the online application; our Australia visa from Dubai guide covers the fee and processing time.

Japan visa

The Consulate-General of Japan in Dubai's own checklist, distributed through VFS Global, asks for one photo sized 45mm by 35mm, a clear, high-resolution, recent copy (not older than six months) against a white background, glued rather than stapled to the form. Our own Japan visa for UAE residents guide gives the same 45 by 35mm figure. The application itself, for most UAE-resident nationalities including Indian passport holders, goes through VFS Global in Dubai or Abu Dhabi rather than online.

China visa

The Chinese Visa Application Service Center's own site, visaforchina.cn, is specific: 33mm wide by 48mm high, head width 15 to 22mm, head height (chin to crown) 28 to 33mm, against a plain white background, taken within the last six months, in colour. A digital file should be JPEG, RGB 24-bit colour, between 40KB and 120KB. Indian passport holders apply in person at the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Wafi Mall, Dubai, without an appointment; see our China visa for UAE residents guide for the fee and processing time.

Turkey: e-Visa and sticker visa

Turkey's standard e-Visa, at evisa.gov.tr, needs no photo at all; it is a form and a payment, nothing more. The catch is that most Indian passport holders cannot use the e-Visa unless they already hold a valid Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa or residence permit – a UAE residence visa does not qualify. Without one, the route is a sticker visa through VFS Global or the Turkish Consulate General in Dubai, which asks for a 50 by 60mm biometric photograph, plain white background, 300 DPI. Our Turkey visa from Dubai guide explains the e-Visa eligibility rule and the sticker visa fee in full.

Saudi Arabia eVisa

Visit Saudi's own eVisa portal is unusually exact: one photograph, exactly 200 by 200 pixels, between 5KB and 100KB, against a plain white background, face centred and filling 70 to 80% of the frame, taken within the last six months. There is no printed-photo option; the whole application is digital. Our Saudi visa for UAE residents guide covers who can use the GCC-resident route and who applies on their own passport.

Thailand e-Visa

The Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore's published photo specification, which Thai missions use as the reference for the e-Visa, does not give an exact millimetre or pixel size. It asks for the head, including hair, to the chin, to fill about 70% of the photo's height, vertical orientation, full face toward the camera, eyes open, against a plain white or off-white background with no shadows, and no flash reflection if you wear glasses. Third-party photo tools generate 35 by 45mm or about 132 by 170 pixels to satisfy that proportion, but that figure is not stated on the embassy's own page, so treat it as a working default rather than an official rule. See our Thailand visa for UAE residents guide for who needs the e-Visa at all.

Singapore visa

Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian and Bangladeshi passport holders need a Singapore visa and cannot apply at an embassy: the application goes through an authorised agent such as VFS Global or a Dubai visa agent. Reported guidance for ICA's online e-Service puts the photo at 400 by 514 pixels, JPEG, under 60KB, white background, face filling 70–80% of the height, taken within three months; we could not open ICA's own page to confirm this, so check with whichever agent files your application. Our Singapore visa for UAE residents guide covers the fee and the agent route.

India e-Visa, for visiting India

This one is for the other direction: a non-Indian UAE resident visiting India. The official e-Visa portal, indianvisaonline.gov.in, asks for a JPEG between 10KB and 1MB, square (equal height and width, no pixel count stated), against a plain light or white background with no shadows on the face or background, full face, front view, eyes open, and – its own page is explicit about this – no spectacles. The photo is uploaded directly into the online form. Our India visa from Dubai guide covers who is eligible for the e-Visa and who is not.

Indian passport and OCI card

If you are renewing your own Indian passport or applying for an OCI card from the UAE, the specification is different again from any visa above. Since 1 September 2025 the Consulate General of India in Dubai has accepted only ICAO-standard passport photos: a colour image of 630 by 810 pixels, face filling 80 to 85% of the frame, plain white background, no glasses. That shape matches a 35 by 45mm print, though some guides still list 51 by 51mm prints, so ask the Indian Consular Application Centre (ICAC) before you print. An OCI card photograph is a different shape: a square 51 by 51mm (2 x 2 inch), face filling about 80% of the height from chin to hairline, against a plain background that is light but not necessarily pure white, per the OCI scheme's own photo specification. Our Indian passport renewal in Dubai guide covers the application centres, fees and documents in full; do not reuse an OCI photo for a passport application or the other way round, since the frame shape differs.

Getting the photo right at a studio in Dubai

You do not need to name the country to a studio for them to take a competent photo, but you do need to tell them three things: the exact country or document (not just "visa photo"), whether you need a print, a digital file or both, and the pixel dimensions if the application is fully online. A studio that does UAE and Schengen photos daily may still default to a size that does not match a less common request, such as Saudi Arabia's 200 x 200 pixel frame or an OCI card's square format.

The rejections we see most often share a short list of causes: a background that is technically light but shows a visible tint, pattern or shadow; a smile or slightly open mouth, which several official guides treat as grounds for rejection on its own; glare across a reader's glasses; a photo more than six months old, or one that no longer matches a face that has changed significantly (a new beard, for instance); and, for digital uploads, a file sized correctly in millimetres for print but not re-exported to the pixel dimensions and file-size limit a portal asks for. Ask the studio to give you the shot as a plain, uncompressed digital file as well as any print, so you can resize it yourself for a different application later without a second sitting.

Where we can help

Holidayys arranges visas for 57 destinations through visa services, including several named above – Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Singapore and the Schengen states – where we can tell you exactly which photo size your application needs before you book a studio. For a UAE visit visa, extension or visa change, see UAE visa services. We do not renew Indian or Pakistani passports or issue OCI cards ourselves; for those, see our Indian passport renewal in Dubai guide, or message us on WhatsApp at +971 4 589 0001 if you are not sure which photo rule applies to your trip.

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard visa photo size?

There is no single standard, but 35mm by 45mm (sometimes written 45 x 35mm) is the most common printed size, used by Schengen countries, Canada, Australia and Japan. The US uses a square 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51mm) format instead, China uses 33 x 48mm, and several countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey's e-Visa, work entirely from a digital upload with a pixel count rather than a printed size.

Can I wear glasses in a visa photo?

It depends on the country. The US has not accepted a visa photo showing glasses since 1 November 2016, with a rare documented medical exception. Thailand's own guidance allows glasses as long as there is no flash glare on the lenses, and the UAE's ICP accepts thin-framed medical glasses with the eyes clearly visible. Where a country's rule is not published, removing glasses for the photo is the safer default.

Do digital visa photo uploads need a specific pixel size?

Often, yes, and the figure varies widely: the US asks for a square image between 600 and 1200 pixels, Saudi Arabia for exactly 200 by 200 pixels, Singapore's reported figure is 400 by 514 pixels, and the UK asks for at least 600 by 750 pixels. A handful of countries, including the UAE's two visa authorities, publish no pixel figure at all, so you follow whatever the specific upload screen states.

How old can a visa photo be?

Six months is the figure stated most often, including by the UAE's ICP, Canada, Australia, China, Japan and the US. A few sources quote three months for some applications, including Singapore's reported figure and one Schengen guide, so when in doubt use a photo taken in the last three months to be safe across applications.

What's the difference between ICP's and GDRFA Dubai's UAE visa photo rules?

ICP, which covers Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, publishes a detailed specification: 35–40mm wide, head and shoulders filling 70–80% of the frame, plain light (its FAQ says white) background, taken within six months. GDRFA Dubai, which covers Dubai-sponsored visas, asks only for "one personal photo" on its visit visa pages, with no size stated.

Can I use the same photo for a visa and a passport renewal?

Usually not without checking first. An Indian passport photo and an OCI card photo already use different shapes (35 x 45mm versus a 51 x 51mm square), and most country visas add their own head-size and background rules on top of a similar frame. Take a fresh photo, or at least re-check the dimensions and background against the specific application, rather than assuming one photo clears every form.

Related guides

• UAE visa photo requirements: ICP and GDRFA Dubai's rules, compared
• Schengen visa for UAE residents
• Japan visa for UAE residents
• China visa for UAE residents
• US visa from Dubai
• Indian passport renewal in Dubai

Last checked 9 October 2026 against ICP's and GDRFA Dubai's own visa pages; the Schengen photo standard as commonly published by Schengen consulates; gov.uk's guidance on taking a photo for a visa application; the US Department of State's photo composition and digital image pages (travel.state.gov); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's Temporary Resident Visa photograph specifications (canada.ca); VFS Global's Consulate-General of Japan in Dubai visa checklist; the Chinese Visa Application Service Center (visaforchina.cn); the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore's e-Visa photograph specifications; Visit Saudi's eVisa photo specification (visa.visitsaudi.com); India's official e-Visa portal (indianvisaonline.gov.in); and the Overseas Citizen of India scheme's published photo specification (ociservices.gov.in). Several country figures, flagged in the text, come from reported secondary sources because the official page could not be opened directly; confirm those on the live application screen before you pay for prints. This guide is general information, not immigration advice.