Bahamas passport photo requirements
The 2 × 2 in photo rules set by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas for the Bahamas passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Bahamas passport photo?
A Bahamas passport photo is 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm), in colour, on a plain white or off-white background, and taken within the last six months. The head measures 1 to 1 3/8 inches from hair to chin. In person you hand in three prints. Online ePassport renewal takes one digital copy at 600 dpi in JPEG, PNG or BMP format. The Passport Rules say a photograph must not be retouched.
Bahamian passports are issued by the Passport Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A passport is valid for 5 years for applicants under 16 and for 10 years for those aged 16 and over. The photo rules sit in two places: the Passport Rules (Chapter 192 of the Statute Law of The Bahamas) and the Ministry's application pages.
When you apply in person, you bring the photographs yourself. The Ministry's step-by-step guide lists personal data and biometrics (fingerprints and e-signatures) as captured at the window, and its document lists ask for three photographs in colour with a white background. Citizens who already hold an ePassport can instead renew online, uploading one digital copy of a recent photograph with a scan of the data page.
Applications are also taken at Bahamian missions in Canada, China, London and the United States. The sources read publish no separate size for missions abroad: the Passport Rules and the online pages both use 2 x 2 inches.
Bahamas passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas:[1]
| Print size | 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm), not mounted |
|---|---|
| Digital size | Online renewal: 2 x 2 inches at 600 dpi (1200 x 1200 pixels); in person you bring prints |
| Head height | 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm), from top of hair to bottom of chin |
| Eye line | Eyes 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches (29 to 35 mm) from the bottom of the photograph |
| Background | Plain white or off-white |
| Colour | Colour photograph |
| Photo age | Taken within the six months before the application |
| File size | No file size limit is published |
| File format | Online renewal: JPEG, PNG or BMP |
| Print quality | Clear print, continuous tone, on normal thin photographic paper; no visible pixels or dot patterns |
| Pixels when printed | 600 × 600 px at 300 dpi · 1200 × 1200 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
In the official words
Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:
not be retouched or otherwise enhanced or softened
be two inches by two inches in size and shall not be mounted
Key requirements
- 2 x 2 inches, not mounted
The Passport Rules set the photograph at two inches by two inches and say it shall not be mounted. The Ministry's online renewal pages repeat the 2 x 2 inch size and add 600 dpi.
- Three prints in person
In-person applications for a first passport, a renewal, a lost, stolen or damaged passport and naturalisation list three photographs in colour with a white background. One print is countersigned for first-time applicants, name changes, lost, stolen or damaged passports, and renewals made 10 years or more after expiry.
- Head and eye position
The Passport Rules want the full head, from top of hair to bottom of chin, to measure 1 inch to 1 3/8 inches, with the eyes 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the photograph. The face is full face, front view, with the head centred in the frame and the eyes open.
- One digital copy for online renewal
The ePassport renewal portal asks for a digital copy of a recent photograph, no more than six months old, in JPEG, PNG or BMP format and 2 x 2 inches at 600 dpi. Selfies are not accepted. Photo labs can supply the digital copy by e-mail or USB.
- Neutral face, ears visible
The expression must be neutral, not smiling, with the mouth closed and teeth not revealed. The applicant faces the camera directly, and the hairline and ears must be visible and not covered.
- No retouching
The Passport Rules say a photograph must not be retouched or otherwise enhanced or softened. The entire face must be in focus, with fine facial features discernible and natural skin tones reproduced. The Passport Office approves every photograph.
- Clothing and grooming
Clothing must cover the shoulders and must not bear military or civil servant badges or ornaments. Make-up should be neutral and jewellery modest, and the in-person guide rules out bold, unnatural hair colours. The adult online renewal page asks for dark clothing; the minors' page asks for coloured clothing.
- Head coverings by written request
Covering the head is prohibited unless it is for medical or religious purposes and a formal written request has been approved by the Passport Office.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Use a 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) photograph
- Take the photo no more than six months before you apply
- Face the camera directly with a neutral expression and closed mouth
- Show your hairline and both ears
- Wear clothing that covers your shoulders
- Bring three colour prints for an in-person application
- Have prints made on photographic paper with no visible dots or pixels
- Get a head-covering request approved in writing if you need one
Don't
- Do not submit a selfie
- Do not retouch, enhance or soften the picture
- Do not smile or show your teeth
- Do not mount the photographs on card
- Do not wear clothing with military or civil servant badges
- Do not use bold, unnatural hair colours
- Do not wear a hat or head covering without approval
- Do not use a photograph older than six months
Sample photos
How a Bahamas passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 2 × 2 in, head height and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Bahamian sources are silent on glasses. The Passport Rules, the Ministry's application page and its online renewal page list many rules about the face, but none about spectacles, so no published rule either allows or bans them.
What the Passport Rules do require is a full face view with the eyes open, the entire face in focus and fine facial features discernible. Glare on the lenses, or anything that hides the eyes, would conflict with those requirements, and the Passport Office has the final say on every photograph. If you wear glasses all the time, ask the Passport Office before you submit.
Headwear and religious dress
The Passport Rules require photographs taken without hat or head covering. The Ministry treats this as a ban with one exception: covering the head is prohibited unless it is for medical or religious purposes and a formal written request is presented and approved by the Passport Office. The online renewal page says to send the request by e-mail to the Passport Office; the in-person guide says approval is at the Passport Office's discretion.
Hair must stay clear of the face as well, because the hairline and ears must be visible and not covered. The in-person guide also rules out bold, unnatural hair colours.
Babies and children
Children follow the same photograph specification as adults: 2 x 2 inches, colour, plain white or off-white background, taken within six months, neutral expression with the mouth closed. The first-time lists for applicants under 12 and for ages 12 to 17 each ask for three colour photographs with a white background, one of them countersigned.
In person, a minor attends with a parent or a properly documented legal guardian and is interviewed. The Ministry also runs a separate online renewal portal for minors aged 15 to 17, applied for through a parent, legal guardian or representative of the state, and its photograph list repeats the adult rules. The High Commission in London says applicants under 18 must apply there in person.
Printed and digital photos
Which format you need depends on how you apply. In person you hand over three prints. The Passport Rules call for a clear print with a continuous tone quality on normal thin photographic paper, and say that a digitally printed photograph must show no discernible pixels or dot patterns. A print that shows dots fails that rule, so have it printed on photo paper at a photo counter.
Online ePassport renewal takes a digital copy instead: 2 x 2 inches at 600 dpi, which works out at 1200 x 1200 pixels, in JPEG, PNG or BMP format and no more than six months old. The Ministry says photo labs can supply a digital copy by e-mail or USB. A digital photo can be cropped and resized to that pixel size, or printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter and cut to size.
Where to submit the photo
In The Bahamas, apply at a Passport Office. The Ministry's guide says all applicants must be present for enrolment, and online appointments can be booked through the ePassport appointment calendar; walk-in submission needs no appointment, though one is highly recommended. The Ministry also publishes a list of the offices that take passport applications, including Nassau, Freeport and the Abaco administrators' offices.
Citizens with an ePassport who qualify can renew on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' online portal, then collect the new passport in person and hand in the old one. Abroad, applications go to the High Commissions in Ottawa and London, the embassy in Beijing, the consulates general in Atlanta, Miami and New York, or the Consular Annex in Washington, which works by appointment only. In London, online renewals are collected at the High Commission, while lost, stolen or damaged passports, name changes and applicants under 18 apply there in person.
How to get your Bahamas passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Bahamas passport: 2 × 2 in print, 1200 × 1200 px digital file, plain white or off-white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: 2 x 2 inches, not mounted; three prints in person; head and eye position; one digital copy for online renewal.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Which format you need depends on how you apply. In person you hand over three prints.
- Submit the photo with your application. In The Bahamas, apply at a Passport Office.
Bahamas passport photo FAQ
2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm). That is the size in the Passport Rules (two inches by two inches, not mounted) and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' online renewal pages, which add 600 dpi. No separate size is published for missions in the United States, Canada or London.
No official Bahamian source gives 35 x 45 mm. The Passport Rules and the online pages say 2 x 2 inches, and the lost-passport page words the in-person size as not more than 2 1/2 inches by 2 inches or less than 2 inches by 1 1/2 inches. A 35 x 45 mm photo (about 1.38 x 1.77 inches) is smaller than that. Use 2 x 2 inches.
Three colour photographs with a white background for an in-person application, whether first-time, renewal, lost, stolen or damaged. Online ePassport renewal needs a single digital copy instead. One of the three prints must be countersigned in the cases the Ministry lists.
Someone who is not related to you and has known you for at least two years: a notary public, pastor, marriage officer, justice of the peace, senior government official at deputy permanent secretary level or above, school principal, or corporate executive at manager level or above. For an infant, the parents may countersign. The Passport Rules have the sponsor write "I certify that this is a true likeness of the applicant" on the back of one copy.
Selfies are not accepted. For online renewal you upload a digital copy, which can come from a photo lab by e-mail or USB. The photo must be taken within six months, show the full face directly to the camera, and be 2 x 2 inches at 600 dpi. The Passport Office approves every photograph.
No. The expression must be neutral, not smiling, and the mouth must be closed. The in-person guide adds that teeth must not be revealed.
No more than six months old at the time of the application. The Passport Rules define a recent photograph as one taken within the six-month period immediately before the application.
Only for medical or religious purposes, and only with a formal written request approved by the Passport Office. Without approval, head coverings are prohibited. The hairline and ears must be visible and not covered.
Related photo specifications
Other Bahamas documents
- eVisa photo 2 × 2 in
- Visa photo 2 × 2 in
Passports nearby
- Anguilla passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Antigua and Barbuda passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Aruba passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Barbados passport photo 50 × 50 mm
- British Virgin Islands passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Cayman Islands passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Cuba passport photo 45 × 45 mm
- Dominica passport photo 38 × 45 mm
- Dominican Republic passport photo 50 × 50 mm
- Guadeloupe passport photo 35 × 45 mm
Also 2 × 2 in
- American Samoa passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Armenia eVisa photo 2 × 2 in
- Belize passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Belize visa photo 2 × 2 in
- Belize residence permit photo 2 × 2 in
- Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Egypt visa photo 2 × 2 in
- Ethiopia eVisa photo 2 × 2 in
- Guam passport photo 2 × 2 in
- India visa photo 2 × 2 in
- All Bahamas photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 2 × 2 in photo
- Photo specifications in North America
Official sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas. Applying for a Passport (First Time or Renewal) mofa.gov.bs. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas. ePassport Online Renewal Services mofa.gov.bs. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas. ePassport Minor Online mofa.gov.bs. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas. Replacing a lost Passport mofa.gov.bs. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas. The Passport Department mofa.gov.bs. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Statute Law of The Bahamas, published by the Department of Immigration. Passport Rules (Chapter 192, rule 7: Photographs) immigration.gov.bs. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas. Bahamas List of Offices that Facilitate Passports mofa.gov.bs. Checked 2 November 2026.
- The Bahamas High Commission, London. Passports bahamashclondon.net. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of The Bahamas, Washington. Consular Services bahamasembdc.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Bahamas before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Bahamas passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/bahamas/passport-photo