Belarus residence permit photo requirements
The 40 × 50 mm photo rules set by National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus for the Belarus residence permit, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Belarus residence permit photo?
Foreigners applying for permanent residence in Belarus hand in four colour photos of 40 x 50 mm (1.57 x 1.97 in) on one sheet that match their age, whether they apply in Belarus or at an embassy. Once the permit is granted, the biometric residence permit card needs no print: the citizenship and migration unit takes a digital photo and, from age 14, fingerprints. A temporary residence permit lists no photo.
Belarus separates the permission to live in the country from the card that proves it. A foreign citizen or stateless person first obtains a permanent residence permit (razreshenie na postoyannoe prozhivanie). The identity document that confirms it is the biometric residence permit (biometricheskiy vid na zhitelstvo), a card issued to foreigners who live permanently in Belarus. A temporary residence permit is a separate procedure with its own list of documents.
The prints belong to the first step. Presidential Decree No. 200 on administrative procedures asks for four colour photographs of the applicant, 40 x 50 mm, on one sheet and matching the applicant's age, with an application for permanent residence. The same item appears in the list for applications made at a citizenship and migration unit in Belarus and in the list for applications made at a Belarusian mission abroad.
For the biometric residence permit the document list contains no photographs. Decree No. 294 on documenting the population makes personal attendance compulsory, children included, so that the office can take a digital photo, and fingerprints are scanned from 14. Older non-biometric residence permits are exchanged for the biometric card when they expire or when their details change.
Belarus residence permit photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus:[1]
| Print size | Permanent residence application: four 40 x 50 mm colour photos on one sheet; biometric card: photo taken on site |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No upload: the biometric residence permit photo is taken digitally at the office |
| Background | Not published for residence permit photos |
| Colour | Colour |
| Photo age | Must match your age when you apply |
| Pixels when printed | 472 × 591 px at 300 dpi · 945 × 1181 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
In the official words
Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:
4 цветные фотографии заявителя, соответствующие его возрасту, размером 40 х 50 мм (одним листом)
Key requirements
- Four prints on one sheet for permanent residence
Point 12.7 of Decree No. 200 lists 4 colour photos of 40 x 50 mm, on one sheet and matching the applicant's age, among the documents for a permanent residence permit. The other items include an application, an autobiography, the travel document, a criminal record certificate issued no more than 6 months earlier and a medical certificate, both from age 14, and proof of the grounds.
- The same prints when you apply abroad
If you apply from outside Belarus, the application goes to a Belarusian embassy or consulate and the list is the same, including the four 40 x 50 mm colour photos on one sheet. The Foreign Ministry's page for applicants abroad repeats it and says the application is considered within 6 months.
- Biometric card: photographed when you apply
The biometric residence permit is issued by the citizenship and migration unit of the internal affairs body to a foreigner living permanently in Belarus. Its document list has no photographs: the application, a birth certificate and a travel document if you have them, the documents for registration at the place of residence and proof of payment. You attend in person for the digital photo.
- Fingerprints from 14
Fingerprints are scanned for applicants aged 14 and over, and for foreigners under 14 who are married. For younger children the legal representative submits the application, but the child still has to be present for the photo.
- Temporary residence: no photo listed
The temporary residence permit has its own procedure at the citizenship and migration unit for the intended place of temporary residence. Its list includes the application, proof of the grounds, the travel document, health insurance for some applicants, proof of income and proof that you can live at the address, but no photographs.
- No technical photo standard
No background colour, head size or retouching rule is published for residence permit prints. The MVD technical requirements are written for the Belarusian citizen's passport; they ask for an even light background and a face of 32 to 35 mm, and can serve as a reference, but they do not bind this application.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Bring four colour photos of 40 x 50 mm on one uncut sheet for permanent residence.
- Use a photo that shows you as you look now.
- Attend in person for the biometric card; children must come too.
- Apply at the citizenship and migration unit for your intended place of residence.
- Apply at a Belarusian embassy or consulate if you are outside Belarus.
Don't
- Do not cut the four photos apart before you hand them in.
- Do not expect to hand in prints for the biometric card: its document list has none.
- Do not keep using a non-biometric residence permit after it expires; it is exchanged for the biometric card.
- Do not treat the passport photo standard for citizens as binding for residence prints.
Sample photos
How a Belarus residence permit photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 40 × 50 mm and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Babies and children
For a child under 14 who is not married, the legal representative applies for the biometric residence permit and presents the child's birth certificate and travel document. The child must still be present, because the decree on documenting the population makes attendance compulsory for minors so that the digital photo can be taken. Fingerprints are not scanned below 14.
In the permanent residence application, the criminal record certificate and the medical certificate are required only from age 14.
Printed and digital photos
Two steps, two formats. The permanent residence application is a paper file, and the four 40 x 50 mm colour prints go into it as one sheet. The biometric residence permit carries a digital photo portrait captured by the citizenship and migration unit when you apply, so there is neither a print nor an upload for the card.
A digital photo can be cropped to 40 x 50 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter; keep the four frames together on the sheet.
Where to submit the photo
In Belarus, apply for permanent residence at the citizenship and migration unit of the internal affairs body for your intended place of residence, and later for the biometric residence permit at a citizenship and migration unit. Outside Belarus, the permanent residence application goes to a Belarusian embassy or consulate, which the decree calls the foreign institution.
If you are already in Belarus on a visa and want to stay longer, the embassy in Washington points visitors to the local unit of the Citizenship and Migration Department at their place of registration, which issues exit visas and residence permits.
How to get your Belarus residence permit photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Belarus residence permit: 40 × 50 mm print. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: four prints on one sheet for permanent residence; the same prints when you apply abroad; biometric card: photographed when you apply; fingerprints from 14.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Two steps, two formats. The permanent residence application is a paper file, and the four 40 x 50 mm colour prints go into it as one sheet.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Belarus, apply for permanent residence at the citizenship and migration unit of the internal affairs body for your intended place of residence, and later for the biometric residence permit at a citizenship and migration unit.
Belarus residence permit photo FAQ
For the permanent residence application, four colour photos of 40 x 50 mm on one sheet, matching your age. The biometric residence permit card itself needs no print, because the office takes a digital photo when you apply.
No photographs appear in the document list for a temporary residence permit in Decree No. 200. You present an application, the documents proving the grounds, your travel document and, depending on your situation, health insurance and proof of income and accommodation.
Yes. The decree has a separate list for applications made outside Belarus, handled by Belarusian diplomatic missions. It includes the same four 40 x 50 mm colour photos on one sheet, an autobiography, and a criminal record certificate and medical certificate from age 14.
The citizenship and migration unit of the internal affairs body, when you hand in the application. Attendance is compulsory for everyone, including children, for the digital photo, and fingerprints are scanned from age 14.
Under the Regulation on identity documents it is exchanged for a biometric residence permit when it expires, when your details change, when it becomes unusable or when its pages run out. The exchange follows the biometric procedure, with a digital photo taken at the office.
None is published for residence permit prints. The decree asks for colour photos of 40 x 50 mm that match your age. The MVD requirements for citizens' passports ask for an even light background, a reasonable reference, but they are not written for this application.
Related photo specifications
Other Belarus documents
- Passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Driving licence photo 40 × 50 mm
- Citizenship photo 30 × 40 mm
Residence and work permits nearby
- Bulgaria residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Moldova work permit photo 50 × 60 mm
- Austria residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Belgium residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Estonia aliens passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Finland residence permit photo 36 × 47 mm
- Ireland employment permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Ireland irish Residence Permit (IRP) card photo
Also 40 × 50 mm
- Afghanistan passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Albania passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Colombia ID card photo 40 × 50 mm
- Colombia nationality photo 40 × 50 mm
- Cyprus passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Dominican Republic visa photo 40 × 50 mm
- Estonia passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Estonia ID card photo 40 × 50 mm
- Estonia resident digital identity card photo 40 × 50 mm
- Estonia aliens passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- All Belarus photo specifications
- Residence and work permits: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 40 × 50 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus. Presidential Decree No. 200 of 26.04.2010: list of administrative procedures, chapters 11 and 12 (in Russian) pravo.by. Checked 2 November 2026.
- National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus. Presidential Decree No. 294 of 03.06.2008 on documenting the population (in Russian) pravo.by. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. Permanent residence permit for foreign citizens and stateless persons (in Russian) belarusfacts.by. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ostrovets District Executive Committee. Obtaining a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Belarus (in Russian) ostrovets.gov.by. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the USA. Visa requirements (extending a stay) usa.mfa.gov.by. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Belarus residence permit photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/belarus/residence-permit-photo