ExactImage

Passport photo sizes, from the source

Four countries' official specifications, each checked against the issuing government's own guidance — and a tool that crops to them.

Every figure on these pages was taken from the issuing authority's own published requirements, and each page cites and links the source it came from. That sounds like a low bar. It is not: a great many passport-photo sites carry figures that are years out of date or simply invented, and a rejected application costs an appointment and sometimes a fee.

Where we could not verify a country's specification against an official government source, there is no page for it. That is deliberate.

Choose a country

United States — 2 × 2 inches1 to 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the headUnited Kingdom — 45 mm tall × 35 mm wide29–34 mm from the crown of the head to the chinIndia — 4.5 × 3.5 cmthe head should fill roughly 80–85% of the frameCanada — 50 mm wide × 70 mm high31–36 mm (1¼ to 1⁷⁄₁₆ inches) from chin to crown

How the four compare

CountryPhoto sizeHead heightDigital upload
United States2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm)25–35 mmSquare. At least 600 × 600 px, at most 1200 × 1200 px.
United Kingdom45 mm tall × 35 mm wide29–34 mmAt least 600 px wide × 750 px tall.
India4.5 × 3.5 cm (45 × 35 mm)—630 × 810 px is the size the Passport Seva online form is built around.
Canada50 mm wide × 70 mm high (2 × 2¾ inches)31–36 mmCanada's standard process is printed photos, not an upload.

The differences are not cosmetic. A photograph cropped to the US square will not fit the UK's 35 × 45 mm frame without recropping, and Canada's 50 × 70 mm is a different proportion again. If you hold passports from two countries, you need two photographs.

The mistakes that actually cause rejections

Not size — size is easy to fix and is what everyone worries about. The common causes are a shadow on the background behind the head, a smile that shows teeth where a neutral expression was required, glasses that reflect the flash, hair falling across an eye, and a photograph taken close-up on a wide-angle selfie lens, which enlarges the nose and narrows the ears enough to fail an automated biometric check. Fix the photograph before you worry about the file.

Questions

Can I take a passport photo with my phone?
For most countries' digital submissions, yes — the requirements are about composition, lighting and background, not about the camera. Use a plain light wall, face a window so the light is even and shadowless, have someone else hold the phone at eye level about a metre away, and do not use the selfie camera's wide lens up close, which distorts facial proportions in a way that gets photos rejected.
Why does every country use a different size?
History rather than logic. The 35 × 45 mm frame is the most widely adopted and is what ICAO's guidance is built around, but the United States settled on a square 2 × 2 inch photo and Canada on a taller 50 × 70 mm, and neither has any reason to change. A photo cropped for one will not satisfy another.
Does the background have to be pure white?
It varies, and the wording matters. The US asks for white or off-white; the UK asks for a plain light-coloured background in clear contrast to you, which means a light grey is often better than white if you are pale or wearing light clothing. Read the specific requirement rather than assuming white is always safest.
Can I edit the photo to meet the rules?
Cropping and resizing are expected. Retouching is not — the UK explicitly requires the photo be unaltered by software, and biometric checks can flag images that have been smoothed or reshaped. Change the framing, never the face.