Bhutan passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan for the Bhutan passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Bhutan passport photo?
A Bhutanese passport photo is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in); the ministry writes it as 45 mm x 35 mm. The face should fill 70 to 80% of the picture, against a white background with no border. Use a colour photo taken in the last six months, in national dress unless the child is under 3, with eyes open and forehead and ears showing. Tinted lenses, thick frames and flash glare are refused.
Bhutanese passports are issued by the Passport Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade at Changangkha, Thimphu, also called the Passport Division. The ministry's FAQ says issuance is centralised in Thimphu, with one exception: the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in Canberra issues passports to Bhutanese living in Australia and New Zealand. There are four categories: diplomatic, official, ordinary and emergency.
Applications are made online through the government's G2C citizen services system. You upload a photograph that meets the ministry's specification and a signed signature form, and applicants over 15 need a valid online security clearance certificate. The Passport Office takes paper applications in person only in an emergency or when an applicant cannot use the online system at all. On paper, the photo is glued into a box on the form.
The same photo specification appears on the ministry's passport page, on both application forms and on the Consulate General in New York's page. It was written with printed photos in mind, but online applicants upload a photo to the same standard. Two rules stand out: the photo must show you in national dress, and the face must fill most of the frame.
Bhutan passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan:[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in); the ministry writes it as 45 mm x 35 mm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | Online G2C application: photo uploaded; no pixel or file size published |
| Head height | Facial image takes up 70 to 80% of the photograph |
| Background | White, without border |
| Colour | Colour photo |
| Photo age | Not older than six months |
| Print quality | Digital-camera photos printed on photo-quality paper; no ink marks, creases or smudges; glued, not stapled or pinned |
| Pixels when printed | 413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
Key requirements
- National dress
The ministry requires the photo to be taken in national dress, with an exception for children below 3. Its passport page names the tego and wonju as mandatory for women, and the toetse for monks and nuns.
- Face fills most of the frame
Your face should cover 70 to 80% of the photo. On the ministry's photo page, a picture with the face at around 70% is marked OK, while one with a small face is marked not OK.
- Forehead and ears visible
The pose is a straight portrait: eyes open, looking directly at the camera, with forehead and ears clearly visible. Turning to look over one shoulder is not accepted. Canberra adds that no hair should fall over the eyebrows.
- Plain white, no border
The background must be white and the photo must have no border. The ministry's rejected example has a background that is not white.
- Sharp and evenly lit
The photo must be in sharp, clear focus with no shadows. A blurred or shadowed picture can lead the Passport Office to ask you for a new photo.
- Clean, glued print
A print must be clean and of high quality, without ink marks, creases or smudges, and a photo from a digital camera must go on photo-quality paper. Glue it to the paper form; staples and pins are not allowed.
- Canberra: an original digital photo
Applicants in Australia and New Zealand email a digital photo to the embassy. It must not be a scan or a re-photographed print, and it should show the national dress with an adequate edge towards the chest.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Wear national dress for the photo.
- Let your face fill 70 to 80% of the frame.
- Keep your forehead and both ears uncovered.
- Use a plain white background with no border.
- Print on photo-quality paper if you apply on paper.
- Glue the photo into the box on the form.
Don't
- Do not wear tinted lenses or thick frames.
- Do not look over your shoulder or tilt your head.
- Do not send a scan or a photo of a printed photo to Canberra.
- Do not staple or pin the photo to the form.
- Do not use a photo older than six months.
Sample photos
How a Bhutan passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm, 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
Glasses are not banned, but they must not get in the way. The ministry asks for no flash reflection, no tinted lenses and no thick frames. Its older photo page adds that the frame must not cover any part of the eyes, and its rejected sample shows a frame across the eyes.
If your frames are heavy, or the lenses catch the light, take the glasses off for the picture.
Headwear and religious dress
The ministry does not publish a separate rule on hats or caps. What it does require is a portrait with the forehead and ears clearly visible, which rules out anything that covers them. The embassy in Canberra spells it out: forehead completely shown, no hair over the eyebrows, ears not covered.
Dress is part of the specification. Women must wear the tego and wonju, and monks and nuns the toetse. If your situation is not covered, ask the Passport Office or your mission before taking the photo.
Babies and children
Children use the same 35 x 45 mm specification, with one relaxation: those below 3 do not need national dress. For an applicant under 15, both parents or legal guardians sign the form. The FAQ says children aged 10 and over may sign or write their own name, while for younger children a parent signs or writes the child's name as registered in the census.
A child born abroad must first be registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs in Bhutan and given a citizenship number before a passport can be issued, the Canberra embassy says. If both parents live abroad, a friend or relative can apply in Thimphu with a form signed by both parents and a recent passport-size photo of the child. For a newborn who needs to travel, the Consulate General in New York can issue an emergency passport valid for one month, against two recent passport-size photos of the child.
Printed and digital photos
Online and paper applications use the same photo standard, but the photo reaches the Passport Office differently. Through G2C you upload the photograph to your application. On the paper form you glue a print into the photo box. No pixel dimensions or file size limit for the upload are published on the ministry's pages.
Applicants in Australia and New Zealand email the embassy a digital photo, plus the other documents, and do not need to visit in person. A digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm for upload, or printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter for the paper form.
Where to submit the photo
In Bhutan, apply online through the G2C citizen services system. The Passport Office at Changangkha, Thimphu, helps with in-person applications only in emergencies or when you cannot use the online system. G2C sends an SMS when the passport is ready to collect there.
Abroad, Bhutanese in Australia and New Zealand apply by email to the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in Canberra, which prints and dispatches their passports. Elsewhere, the ministry suggests authorising a family member or friend to apply for you at the Passport Division in Thimphu; New York also points to the online route. Bhutanese missions can issue a one-month emergency passport for travel back to Bhutan, which must be surrendered on arrival.
How to get your Bhutan passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Bhutan passport: 35 × 45 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: national dress; face fills most of the frame; forehead and ears visible; plain white, no border.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Online and paper applications use the same photo standard, but the photo reaches the Passport Office differently. Through G2C you upload the photograph to your application. On the paper form you glue a print into the photo box.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Bhutan, apply online through the G2C citizen services system. The Passport Office at Changangkha, Thimphu, helps with in-person applications only in emergencies or when you cannot use the online system.
Bhutan passport photo FAQ
35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade writes it as 45 mm x 35 mm, giving the height first. The face should take up 70 to 80% of the photo.
Yes. The ministry requires national dress for every applicant except children below 3. It names the tego and wonju as mandatory for women and the toetse for monks and nuns. Canberra asks that the dress shows, with an adequate edge towards the chest.
Plain white, with no border around the photo. A background in any other colour is shown as a rejected example on the ministry's photograph requirements page.
You can, if the lenses are clear, there is no flash glare and the frames are not thick. The frame must not cover any part of your eyes. If in doubt, remove the glasses for the photo.
No more than six months old. The ministry gives this limit on its passport page, its photo page and both application forms, so an older photo from a previous application should not be reused.
Yes. Bhutanese in Australia and New Zealand apply by email to the embassy in Canberra with a digital photo. In other countries, apply online through G2C or authorise a family member or friend to apply at the Passport Division in Thimphu. Missions can issue an emergency passport to get you home.
The ministry does not publish one. It asks only that the uploaded photograph meet the same specification as a print: 35 x 45 mm proportions, face filling 70 to 80%, white background, colour, national dress and taken in the last six months.
No. Children below 3 are exempt from the national dress rule. Every other rule still applies, including the white background and the face filling most of the frame. Both parents or guardians sign the form for a child under 15.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
- Afghanistan passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Bangladesh passport photo 89 × 127 mm
- India passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Iran passport photo 30 × 40 mm
- Maldives passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Nepal passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Pakistan passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Sri Lanka passport photo 35 × 45 mm
Also 35 × 45 mm
- Afghanistan visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria work permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Andorra passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Anguilla passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Antigua and Barbuda passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Armenia visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- All Bhutan photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Asia
Official sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan. Photograph Requirements mfa.gov.bt. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan. Passport services and related FAQs: Application for passport mfa.gov.bt. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan. FAQs on passports mfa.gov.bt. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan. Signature form for online passport application (PDF) mfa.gov.bt. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan. Application for passport, paper form (PDF) mfa.gov.bt. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Royal Bhutanese Embassy, Canberra. Passport mfa.gov.bt. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Consulate General of the Kingdom of Bhutan, New York. Application and renewal of Bhutanese passports mfa.gov.bt. Checked 1 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Bhutan passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/bhutan/passport-photo