Cook Islands passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs for the Cook Islands passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Cook Islands passport photo?
Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens and use the New Zealand passport, so the Department of Internal Affairs sets the photo rules. An online application takes a colour portrait file: JPG or JPEG, 3:4 shape, 900 to 4500 pixels wide, 1200 to 6000 pixels high, 250 KB to 5 MB, taken less than 6 months ago. A paper application takes 2 identical 35 x 45 mm prints. Selfies and scans of prints are rejected, and edits are not allowed.
Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship, according to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), and the passport they apply for is the New Zealand one, issued by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). DIA says you must be a New Zealand citizen to apply, and its adult paper form states that anyone born in Niue, the Cook Islands or Tokelau is entitled to a New Zealand passport. A first-time applicant born in the Cook Islands sends the original birth certificate with the form.
From Rarotonga or the outer islands, DIA describes the online service as the easiest and fastest way to renew, and the photo is uploaded as a digital file during the application. The paper forms are meant for people without internet access and need two printed photos instead. MFAT's guidance for people overseas says only the Passport Offices in London, Sydney or New Zealand can issue a passport, so a paper application travels by post or courier, as the form explains for anyone living outside New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Two Cook Islands matters sit around the photo. The New Zealand High Commission in Avarua, on Takuvaine Road, lists notarial services such as witnessing statutory declarations, but its MFAT page does not mention passport applications or photos. And Cook Islands Status, an endorsement in the passport that recognises Cook Islands descent, is handled afterwards by the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI). Its listed requirements include a copy of the passport biodata page and birth certificates, and no photo.
Cook Islands passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs:[1]
| Print size | Online: no print size, only a 3:4 portrait ratio. Paper forms: 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) |
|---|---|
| Digital size | 900 x 1200 to 4500 x 6000 pixels, 3:4 portrait (online application) |
| Background | Plain, light-coloured, strong contrast with the face; paper forms: plain and light, but not white |
| Colour | Colour portrait |
| Photo age | Less than 6 months old |
| File size | Online: between 250 KB and 5 MB |
| File format | Online: .jpg or .jpeg |
| Print quality | Paper forms: high-quality, high-resolution photo paper; no matt paper, heavy-backed thermal paper or ink-jet printer |
| Pixels when printed | 413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
In the official words
Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:
Do not use filters or digitally alter your image. Your image must show your natural appearance. Do not edit, apply filters, or use AI tools to modify how you look.
Key requirements
- The online file
The upload is a colour portrait in .jpg or .jpeg with a 3:4 aspect ratio, 900 to 4500 pixels wide and 1200 to 6000 pixels high, from 250 KB to 5 MB. DIA does not accept a scan of a printed photo, so keep the original file.
- A helper holds the camera
Selfies are rejected. The person taking the picture stands about 1.5 m away with the lens level with your eyes, because a close shot makes the nose and forehead look larger and the ears harder to see.
- Backdrop and distance
Use a plain, light-coloured backdrop that contrasts strongly with your face, with no shadows or objects behind your head. Stand at least half a metre in front of it. The paper forms add that the background must be light but not white.
- Frame wide, then crop
Leave a clear gap above and beside your head and include your shoulders and upper chest. If the shot looks distorted, DIA says to step back, take a wider picture and crop it to the correct head size before you submit it.
- Natural appearance only
Filters, editing and AI tools that change how you look are not allowed. The paper forms say the photo must be a true image, not altered in any way, in focus, with no red-eye and no reflected light on the face.
- Paper prints
A paper form needs 2 identical colour prints, 35 mm wide by 45 mm high. The head, hair included, must be 80% of the image height and centred with a clear gap at the sides and top.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Check the file in DIA's online photo checker before you start the application.
- Ask someone else to take the photo from about 1.5 m away.
- Crop a wider shot to a 3:4 portrait, keeping a gap around your head and under your chin.
- Use the original digital file, not a scan of a print.
- Keep your hair out of your eyes and away from your face.
- Have your witness write your full name, their signature and the date on the back of one print (paper, first passport).
Don't
- Do not take a selfie.
- Do not smile or open your mouth.
- Do not use filters, beauty modes or AI tools.
- Do not wear sunglasses or tinted lenses.
- Do not stand against a white wall for a paper-form photo.
- Do not staple or paperclip prints to the paper form.
Sample photos
How a Cook Islands passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Prescription glasses may stay on if the lenses are not tinted and the frames are not thick. Sunglasses are not allowed. There must be a clear gap between your eyes and the frames, and no glare or reflection on the glass.
The paper-form guide shows the same limits with sample pictures: heavy frames, frames that hide the eyes, light reflecting on the lenses and tinted lenses are all marked unacceptable. If glare keeps appearing, taking the glasses off is the simpler fix.
Headwear and religious dress
Hats, hoods, headbands and other head coverings come off, unless you wear one for religious or medical reasons. If you keep one on, your whole face must stay visible.
A paper application adds a step for a religious or medical covering: you complete the statutory declaration (section 8 of the adult form PAS310, section 9 of the child form PAS305). It is signed in front of a Justice of the Peace, a lawyer, a Legal Executive, a Member of Parliament or a government officer with authority to take statutory declarations. If you want the High Commission in Avarua to witness it, ask the consular staff whether they can.
Babies and children
A baby is photographed lying on a plain, light-coloured sheet, shot from above, with the whole face visible and the eyes open. No other people or objects may appear in the picture, and nothing may cover the child's face.
The child paper form PAS305 is for under-16s and sets the same 35 x 45 mm size and 80% head rule. It also explains citizenship for children born in the Cook Islands: those born before 1 January 2006 are New Zealand citizens by birth, while later births qualify only if at least one parent was a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand, Niue, the Cook Islands or Tokelau at the time. The birth record states if a child is not a citizen by birth.
Printed and digital photos
Online applicants upload one file and post nothing. DIA's photo checker tells you whether a file is suitable for upload and gives reasons if it is not. Its terms warn that an approved file may still fail to upload if it is changed afterwards, and a staff member assesses the photo again as part of the application.
Paper applicants send 2 identical colour prints on high-quality, high-resolution photo paper. Colour film or low-gloss coated thermal paper is also accepted from a high-resolution printer; matt paper, heavy-backed thermal paper and ink-jet printers are not. DIA strongly recommends getting the prints from a business that offers a passport photo service. A digital photo can be printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter that meets those paper rules.
Where to submit the photo
Online, you apply through the DIA passport website and name an identity referee: someone aged 16 or over who has known you for more than a year, holds a current or expired New Zealand passport, and is not a relative, your partner or someone living at your address. The referee does not sign your photo. They may be asked to confirm your identity online with a RealMe login, which they can create at that point.
On paper, the adult form PAS310 is for people aged 16 or over without internet access who are applying for a first passport, have changed their name or are replacing a lost, stolen or damaged passport. The form asks people living outside New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom to post or courier it to the New Zealand Passport Office nearest them, and says they can also ask their nearest New Zealand Embassy or High Commission whether it will submit the application for an additional fee, adding that not all offices provide this service.
How to get your Cook Islands passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Cook Islands passport: 35 × 45 mm print, 4500 × 6000 px digital file, plain background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: the online file; a helper holds the camera; backdrop and distance; frame wide, then crop.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Online applicants upload one file and post nothing. DIA's photo checker tells you whether a file is suitable for upload and gives reasons if it is not.
- Submit the photo with your application. Online, you apply through the DIA passport website and name an identity referee: someone aged 16 or over who has known you for more than a year, holds a current or expired New Zealand passport, and is not a relative, your partner or someone living at your…
Cook Islands passport photo FAQ
Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship and apply for the New Zealand passport, which the Department of Internal Affairs issues. DIA's photo rules therefore apply. The Cook Islands Status stamp is a separate endorsement, handled by the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, that goes into the passport afterwards.
Online there is no print size: upload a digital colour photo in 3:4 portrait shape, 900 to 4500 pixels wide and 1200 to 6000 pixels high, from 250 KB to 5 MB. A paper application needs 2 identical prints, 35 mm wide and 45 mm high, with the head including hair at 80% of the image height.
Yes, with a helper. DIA rejects selfies, so ask someone to hold the phone about 1.5 m away at eye level while you stand at least half a metre in front of a plain, light background. Run the file through DIA's online photo checker before you apply.
Its MFAT page lists notarial services such as witnessing statutory declarations and does not mention passport photos or applications. DIA's paper form says to ask the nearest High Commission whether it will submit an application for an additional fee, and warns that not all offices provide that service. Call the consular staff to check.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration lists a copy of the passport biodata page, your birth certificate, the birth certificates of Cook Islands-born parents or grandparents, and name-change evidence where it applies. A photo is not on the list. You can apply online or at the customer service office in Avarua.
For the online service DIA asks for a plain, light-coloured background with strong contrast against your face, and its phone guide says pale blues, greys and creams work better than white. The paper forms go further: plain and light, but not white. A pale shade other than white meets both.
It must be less than 6 months old, online or on paper. DIA warns that your application may be delayed if the photo does not meet its requirements.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
- American Samoa passport photo 2 × 2 in
- French Polynesia passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Niue passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Pitcairn Islands photo 35 × 45 mm
- Samoa passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Tokelau passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Tuvalu passport photo 38 × 51 mm
- Wallis and Futuna 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 Cook Islands photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Oceania
Official sources
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. Passport photos passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Department of Internal Affairs. PAS310 Application for a New Zealand passport: Adult (8 April 2026) passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Department of Internal Affairs. PAS305 Application for a New Zealand passport: Child (8 April 2026) passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. What you need for your application passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. Identity referee or witness passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. Transcript: How to take a passport photo (iPhone) passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. Online Photo Checker: terms and conditions onlinephotochecker.passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Cook Islands mfat.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. New Zealand High Commission to the Cook Islands mfat.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Passports and visas mfat.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Government of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Status mfai.gov.ck. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Cook Islands passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/cook-islands/passport-photo