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Canada visa photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for the Canada visa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 8 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Canada visa photo?

A Canadian visa photo must be at least 35 x 45 mm (1 3/8 x 1 3/4 inches), with the head measuring 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown, on a plain white or light-coloured background. The photos must be identical, taken within 6 months, in colour or black and white, and unaltered. Many applicants never need prints: if you give biometrics, your photo is taken at the appointment, and IRCC's paper guide says no paper photos are then required.

Visitor visas, also called temporary resident visas (TRVs), are issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to travellers who need a visa to enter Canada. IRCC says you must apply online. A paper application is allowed only if you cannot apply online, for example because of a disability, or if you travel on a document issued to a refugee, a stateless person or a non-citizen.

For most applicants, the face image that counts is captured at a biometrics appointment. After you apply and pay the biometrics fee, IRCC sends a biometric instruction letter, and you book a visit to a visa application centre (VAC), a US Application Support Center or a designated Service Canada location to give your fingerprints and photo. IRCC's visitor visa guide states that anyone who has to give biometrics does not include paper photos.

Printed visa photos still apply when an application calls for them, for example a paper application from someone who is exempt from biometrics. IRCC's visa photo specifications set a minimum frame of 35 x 45 mm and a fixed head size, and the paper guide asks for 2 photos with your name and date of birth written on the back.

Canada visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada:[1]

Print sizeAt least 35 x 45 mm (1 3/8 x 1 3/4 in) frame
Head height31 to 36 mm (1 1/4 to 1 7/16 in), chin to crown
BackgroundPlain white or light-coloured
ColourColour or black and white
Photo ageTaken within the last 6 months
Print quality2 identical photos printed on quality photographic paper
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm31–36 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 31–36 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: plain white or light-coloured.

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

If the photographs are digital, they must not be altered in any way.

Temporary Resident Visa application photograph specifications[1]

Key requirements

  • Minimum frame, fixed head size

    The print must be at least 35 mm wide and 45 mm high. Inside that frame, the head measures 31 mm to 36 mm from chin to crown. When hair or a head covering hides the top of the head, IRCC takes the crown to be where the top of the skull would be.

  • Full front view

    Show the whole head from the front, with the face in the middle of the photo and the top of the shoulders included in the frame.

  • Square to the camera

    Face the camera directly with your mouth closed. The expression stays neutral: no smile and no frown.

  • Identical, recent, unaltered

    Both prints are identical and were taken within the last 6 months, in colour or black and white. If the photographer works digitally, the image must not be altered in any way before it is printed.

  • Name and birth date on the back

    For a paper visitor visa application, IRCC's guide asks you to write your name and date of birth on the back of both photos.

  • Biometrics replace prints

    When IRCC requires your fingerprints and photo, the paper guide says not to include paper photos. Your face image is captured at the biometrics appointment instead.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Check whether you must give biometrics before ordering prints.
  • Measure the head: 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown.
  • Use a plain white or light-coloured background.
  • Write your name and date of birth on the back of both photos.
  • Print on quality photographic paper.
  • Follow the personalised checklist the online portal gives you.

Don't

  • Do not wear sunglasses or tinted lenses.
  • Do not let glasses frames cover any part of your eyes.
  • Do not alter or retouch a digital image before printing.
  • Do not use a photo older than 6 months.
  • Do not smile, frown or open your mouth.
  • Do not wear a hairpiece or accessory that disguises your usual look.

Sample photos

How a Canada visa 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.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Glasses

The visa photo specifications allow non-tinted prescription glasses if your eyes are clearly visible and the frames do not cover any part of them. Sunglasses are not acceptable. IRCC's example sheet also marks tinted glasses, reflections on the lenses and frames over the eyes as reasons for rejection.

The biometrics photo follows the same idea. IRCC's tips for that appointment accept glasses when the eyes are clearly visible and the lenses have no glare, and exclude sunglasses and tinted glasses, tinted prescription lenses included.

Headwear and religious dress

If you must wear a head covering for religious reasons, the visa specifications only ask that your full facial features stay uncovered. A hairpiece or other cosmetic accessory is fine as long as it does not disguise how you normally look.

At a biometrics appointment, hats and head coverings worn daily for religious beliefs or medical reasons are accepted when the whole face is visible and the covering casts no shadow on it. If you cover your head or face for religious or cultural reasons, IRCC says your whole face must be visible for the photo, and you may ask for an operator of the same gender and a privacy curtain.

Babies and children

The visa photo specifications contain no separate rules for children, so a child's prints use the same frame and head size as an adult's. IRCC's example sheet lists hands in the picture as an error, so nobody should hold the child in the shot.

Children aged 13 and under when the application is submitted do not give biometrics, and neither do applicants aged 80 and over unless they are claiming asylum. The paper guide ties its waiver of printed photos to giving biometrics, so it does not cover these applicants.

IRCC publishes print specifications for visa photos, but no pixel size or file format for a digital visa photo. Online applicants receive a personalised document checklist in the portal and should provide everything it lists. If you give biometrics, your photo is collected at the appointment, so you do not bring a file or a print for it.

Where prints are needed, send 2 identical photos on quality photographic paper. The 35 x 45 mm frame is a minimum, so a larger print can work as long as the head still measures 31 to 36 mm and the shoulders show. IRCC notes that you can print its specification sheet and take it to the photographer.

Where to submit the photo

Online applications go through IRCC's portal. Paper applications, where allowed, can be sent to a visa application centre that serves your area. The biometrics fee is paid when you apply, and the instruction letter that follows tells you how to book.

Biometrics are given at a VAC outside Canada and the US, at an Application Support Center in the US, or at a designated Service Canada location in Canada. Bring the biometric instruction letter and your valid passport to the appointment.

How to get your Canada visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Canada visa: 35 × 45 mm print, plain white or light-coloured background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: minimum frame, fixed head size; full front view; square to the camera; identical, recent, unaltered.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. IRCC publishes print specifications for visa photos, but no pixel size or file format for a digital visa photo. Online applicants receive a personalised document checklist in the portal and should provide everything it lists.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Online applications go through IRCC's portal. Paper applications, where allowed, can be sent to a visa application centre that serves your area. The biometrics fee is paid when you apply, and the instruction letter that follows tells you how to book.

Make this photo online

Canada visa photo FAQ

IRCC's visa specifications set a minimum frame of 35 x 45 mm (1 3/8 x 1 3/4 inches). The head, from chin to crown, must measure 31 to 36 mm (1 1/4 to 1 7/16 inches), and the photo shows the full front of the head with the top of the shoulders.

Usually not. IRCC's guide for paper visitor visa applications says that if you are required to give biometric fingerprints and a photo, you do not include paper photos, because the photo is taken at your appointment. For an online application, follow the document checklist the portal gives you.

No. Passport photos are a fixed 50 x 70 mm and must be taken by a commercial photographer. The visa specifications set only a minimum frame of 35 x 45 mm. The head-size range is the same for both: 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown.

Yes, non-tinted prescription glasses are allowed if your eyes are clearly visible and the frames do not cover any part of them. Sunglasses are not acceptable. For the biometrics photo, tinted lenses are refused even when they are prescription glasses.

A plain white or light-coloured background, with a clear and well-defined image. IRCC's example sheet rejects busy backgrounds, shadows on the face or behind the head, and photos that are underlit, overlit, washed out or in unnatural colour.

IRCC's guide for paper visitor visa applications asks you to write your name and date of birth on the back of both photos. This applies only when you send prints; it does not apply if you give biometrics instead.

IRCC's list includes children aged 13 and under and applicants aged 80 and over (unless they are asylum claimants), heads of state and government, people who qualify for a diplomatic or official visa, US visa holders transiting through Canada, and visitor visa applicants who already gave biometrics for a permanent residence application that is still being processed.

Related photo specifications

Other Canada documents

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Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Temporary Resident Visa application photograph specifications canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Visa Application Photograph Specifications (PDF) canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Guide 5256: Applying for a visitor visa (paper application) canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Visitor visa: How to apply canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Find out if you need to give biometrics canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. How to give your fingerprints and photo canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  7. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Help Centre: covering your head or face for the biometrics photo ircc.canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  8. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When to give your biometrics – temporary resident applicants canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Canada visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/canada/visa-photo

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