Colombia nationality photo requirements
The 40 × 50 mm photo rules set by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería) for the Colombia nationality, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Colombia nationality photo?
An application for Colombian nationality by adoption (carta de naturaleza) needs one digital photo uploaded to Cancillería's SITAC form: a current document-style photo of your face, taken from the front, on a white background, 4 x 5 cm, as a JPG. No print is submitted. The form's own opening note still mentions a 3 x 4 cm colour JPG of up to 300 KB, so keep the file under 300 KB and let the image fill the frame with no blank border.
Naturalisation in Colombia is a sovereign, discretionary decision of the President, delegated to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry (Cancillería) runs the whole procedure. Since 25 September 2023 it has been governed by Law 2332 of 2023, which replaced Law 43 of 1993; requests whose fee was paid up to 24 September 2023 continue under the old law.
You must live in Colombia and hold a valid resident (R) visa, as principal or beneficiary, for five continuous years counted from the date that visa was issued. The period drops to two years if you are married to, or the permanent partner of, a Colombian, if you have Colombian children, or if you are a Spanish national. Applicants who have not completed secondary or higher studies in Colombia sit knowledge tests on the Constitution, history, geography and culture, plus Spanish if it is not their mother tongue.
The request is made online on SITAC. You first create it, then "formalise" it by attaching your photo and the supporting documents, and finally pay. The photo goes in as a JPG and every document as a PDF.
Colombia nationality photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería):[1]
| Print size | 4 x 5 cm (40 x 50 mm) digital image; the form's opening note says 3 x 4 cm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No pixel size published; the person must fill the whole image, with no white border |
| Background | White |
| Colour | Colour, per the form's opening note |
| Photo age | Current; the form asks for a recent photo |
| File size | Up to 300 KB, per the form's opening note |
| File format | JPG (supporting documents as PDF) |
| Pixels when printed | 472 × 591 px at 300 dpi · 945 × 1181 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
Key requirements
- One document-style photo on white
Cancillería's requirement list asks for one current document-type photo of the face, taken from the front, on a white background, sized 4 x 5 cm and saved as a JPG. It is the only item uploaded as an image.
- Fill the frame
The SITAC user guide says a suitable photo shows the person across the full extent of the image, and gives a picture surrounded by white space as an example of an unsuitable one. If yours does not meet this, the guide tells you to edit it before attaching it.
- No accessories, face clear
The note at the top of the online form adds that the photo must be in colour, recent and front-facing, without accessories and with the face uncovered.
- 4 x 5 or 3 x 4?
The requirement list and the user guide (updated 12 July 2024) both give 4 x 5. The form's opening note, shared with the procedure for recovering nationality, gives 3 x 4 cm and a 300 KB maximum. A 4 x 5 image under 300 KB follows the requirement list and still respects the stated file limit.
- Documents in PDF, 5 MB in total
Attach each supporting document as a legible PDF; the system rejects other formats. The form caps the combined weight of the documents in one request at 5 MB and suggests scanning them in black and white.
- Names must match your IDs
Enter your names, surnames and date and place of birth exactly as they appear on your cédula de extranjería and passport. When you type your resident visa number, the system checks that the visa is valid and that your data match it.
- One photo per family member
In a request extended to your children, SITAC creates one record per person under a single request number. Each member is formalised separately, with their own photo and documents, before the request can go on to payment.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Save the photo as a JPG of no more than 300 KB.
- Use a plain white background and face the camera squarely.
- Crop so that you fill the image, with no white margin around you.
- Keep your resident visa, cédula de extranjería and passport valid throughout.
- Allow at least 30 minutes to complete the online request.
- Upload a separate photo for each child included in the request.
Don't
- Do not wear accessories or cover any part of your face.
- Do not upload the photo as a PDF, or documents as images.
- Do not use an old photo: the rules ask for a current one.
- Do not add documents after creating the request: Cancillería ignores them.
- Do not post printed photos to Cancillería: the process is online.
Sample photos
How a Colombia nationality 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.
Glasses
Cancillería's naturalisation rules do not mention glasses by name. The online form, however, asks for a photo without accessories and with the face uncovered, and the requirement list describes a front-on photo of the face.
Removing your glasses is the simplest way to meet both, and it avoids reflections hiding your eyes.
Headwear and religious dress
No headwear rule specific to naturalisation is published. The form's instruction that the photo be taken without accessories and with the face uncovered points to removing hats, caps and anything else on the head or face.
Cancillería publishes no religious exception for this procedure. If you wear a head covering for religious reasons, ask Cancillería's nationality service before uploading.
Babies and children
You can ask for your naturalisation to be extended to your foreign children who are minors, live in Colombia and hold a resident visa as your beneficiaries. The extension must be requested together with your own application and signed only by whoever holds parental authority (patria potestad); the child must still be a minor when the carta de naturaleza is issued.
For each child, Cancillería lists the beneficiary resident visa, the signed request, an apostilled or legalised birth certificate with an official Spanish translation where needed, the parents' identity documents and the child's passport. In SITAC every child added is formalised on their own record, so each needs a separate photo meeting the same 4 x 5 cm, white-background rule. On reaching adulthood, a child naturalised this way may request a cédula de ciudadanía to keep the nationality, or renounce it.
Printed and digital photos
The photo is purely digital. It is attached in the formalisation step of the SITAC request with the Select Photo button, and the system shows it next to the field once it is accepted. No paper copy is sent at any stage of the application.
Because 4 x 5 cm describes a 4:5 portrait shape rather than a print, what matters is the proportion, the white background and a file under 300 KB. A digital photo can be cropped to that shape and resized before upload, which is exactly what the user guide asks you to do with a picture that has blank space around the person.
Where to submit the photo
Use Cancillería's online naturalisation form on SITAC, choosing NATURALIZACIÓN as the procedure. After the photo and documents are saved, the system lets you pick the office handling the case and the payment method: Banco GNB Sudameris, Servibanca cash machines, PSE from a Colombian account, or a Visa or MasterCard credit card. The time and place of the knowledge tests are emailed to the address registered in SITAC; the tests are held by the governorate of your department.
If the Ministry approves, it sends the carta de naturaleza to the mayor's office (alcaldía) of your home town. You complete the process there by swearing, or solemnly affirming if your religion forbids oaths, to obey the Constitution and laws of Colombia before the mayor or a delegate. The carta can be revoked if this is not done within six months, unless you request an extension with good reason.
How to get your Colombia nationality photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Colombia nationality: 40 × 50 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: one document-style photo on white; fill the frame; no accessories, face clear; 4 x 5 or 3 x 4?.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The photo is purely digital. It is attached in the formalisation step of the SITAC request with the Select Photo button, and the system shows it next to the field once it is accepted. No paper copy is sent at any stage of the application.
- Submit the photo with your application. Use Cancillería's online naturalisation form on SITAC, choosing NATURALIZACIÓN as the procedure.
Colombia nationality photo FAQ
Cancillería's requirement list asks for one current photo, 4 x 5 cm, of the face from the front on a white background, in JPG format. It is uploaded to the SITAC form rather than printed, so the 4 x 5 figure sets the shape of the image.
Cancillería's sources disagree. The requirement list and the SITAC user guide say 4 x 5, while the note at the top of the online form says 3 x 4 cm, colour, JPG of up to 300 KB. Following the requirement list with a file under 300 KB respects both the official size and the stated limit.
No. The application is made entirely online on SITAC: the photo is uploaded as a JPG and the supporting documents as PDFs. Cancillería's requirement list does not ask for prints at any stage.
Glasses are not mentioned by name, but the online form asks for a photo without accessories and with the face uncovered. Taking your glasses off is the safest way to comply.
Yes. When you extend the request to your children, SITAC creates a record for each one under the same request number, and each record must be formalised with its own photo and supporting documents before you can pay.
Under Law 2332 of 2023, applicants who hold a Colombian secondary school (bachiller), undergraduate or postgraduate qualification, people over 60, applicants with a cognitive disability, and members of indigenous communities that share border territory with Colombia. You may sit the test up to twice.
The Ministry sends the carta de naturaleza to the mayor's office where you live. You attend in person and swear, or solemnly affirm, allegiance before the mayor or a delegate. If you do not complete this within six months, the carta can be revoked unless you obtain an extension.
Related photo specifications
Other Colombia documents
- Passport photo
- Visa photo 30 × 40 mm
- ID card photo 40 × 50 mm
- Driving licence photo
- Residence visa photo 30 × 40 mm
Also 40 × 50 mm
- Afghanistan passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Albania passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Belarus passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Belarus driving licence photo 40 × 50 mm
- Belarus residence permit 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
- All Colombia photo specifications
- Citizenship and naturalisation: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 40 × 50 mm photo
- Photo specifications in South America
Official sources
- Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería). Naturalización (requisitos) cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería). Guía de usuario: Trámite Naturalización en Línea (SITAC, updated 12 July 2024) cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería). Solicitar Trámite Naturalización (SITAC form) tramitesmre.cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería), normograma. Ley 2332 de 2023 (nacionalidad) cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Colombia nationality photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/colombia/nationality-photo