Passport & Visa Photo Requirements: Size, Dimensions, and File Limits
Every passport and visa portal enforces its own file size ceiling, pixel dimensions, and format — and most of them will reject a photo for being a few kilobytes over the limit, with no explanation beyond a generic upload error. Below is the current requirement for each passport and visa portal we support, and the most common reasons photos get rejected at each one.
All figures below come from each portal’s own tool page on this site, where the source link and last-verified date are shown — check those pages directly before submitting anything time-sensitive, since requirements do change.
Requirements at a glance
| Portal | Format | File Size | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Visa (DS-160) | JPEG | Under 240 KB | 600×600 – 1200×1200px (square) |
| US Passport (Online Renewal) | JPEG | 54 KB – 10 MB | 600×600 – 1200×1200px (square) |
| UK Passport (Digital Upload) | JPEG | 50 KB – 10 MB | Min 600×750px |
| US Green Card (I-485) | JPEG | Under 240 KB | 600×600 – 1200×1200px (square) |
| Schengen Visa | JPEG | Under 240 KB | 413×531 – 827×1063px |
| Australia Visa (ImmiAccount) | JPEG | 70 KB – 3.5 MB | Exactly 1200×1600px |
| Ireland Passport | JPEG | Under 9 MB | Min 715×951px |
| New Zealand Visa | JPEG | 500 KB – 3 MB | 900×1200 – 2250×3000px |
| UAE Visa (GDRFA Dubai) | JPEG | 200 – 600 KB | Exactly 300×369px |
| UAE Visa (ICP) | JPEG | Under 15 MB | Exactly 1016×1300px |
| Singapore Visa (ICA) | JPEG | Under 60 KB | Exactly 400×514px |
Common rejection reasons
Reasons photos actually get rejected at each of these portals, based on what’s documented on this site’s own tool pages for them:
US Visa (DS-160)
- File size over 240 KiB — the single most common cause of a generic CEAC upload error.
- Image isn’t a perfect 1:1 square.
- Head height outside 50–69% of the photo’s total height.
US Passport (Online Renewal)
- File under the 54 KiB minimum.
- Wrong aspect ratio (must be square).
- Shadows on the background or face.
UK Passport
- Resolution below 600×750px.
- File size outside the 50 KB – 10 MB range.
- Background isn’t plain and light-colored.
US Green Card (I-485)
- Photo older than 30 days (stricter than the 6-month rule for visa photos).
- Background isn’t white or off-white.
- Incorrect file size or dimensions.
Schengen Visa
- Wrong aspect ratio (must be 35:45mm).
- Head too small or too large in the frame.
- Flash reflection or red-eye.
Getting a compliant file
Each portal above has its own dedicated tool page, pre-configured to that portal’s exact format, dimensions, and byte range — so there’s nothing to look up or configure yourself:
- Open the tool page for your portal (linked in the table above).
- Upload your photo. Where the portal locks a fixed pixel size or aspect ratio, the built-in crop guide constrains your selection to it.
- The tool searches for the highest quality that still lands inside the portal’s byte range, rather than a single guess — so it doesn’t overshoot the ceiling or fall under a minimum.
- Download the result. Nothing is uploaded anywhere in the process — the whole thing runs in your browser.
See the full list of supported portals for anything not covered above.