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Croatia visa photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia for the Croatia 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 Croatia visa photo?

For a Croatian Schengen (C) or long-stay (D) visa you present a 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) colour photo, which is scanned or taken when you apply. Croatia's Ordinance on Visas asks for a neutral frontal face, the head about two-thirds of the frame and no taller than 36 mm, a light single-colour background and glossy paper. Once in Croatia, the MUP biometric residence permit uses a smaller 30 x 35 mm photo.

Croatia's embassies and consulates, run by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP), issue Schengen airport transit (A) and short-stay (C) visas as well as Croatia's long-stay visa (D). When Croatia is your main destination, you apply in person at the competent Croatian mission or, in many countries, at a VFS Global visa application centre. If neither exists where you live, you may apply at the nearest Croatian mission in another country. You fill in the form online at crovisa.mvep.hr, print it, bring it with your documents and give fingerprints for the Visa Information System.

Croatia's Ordinance on Visas has its own photo article. You present a colour photo of 35 x 45 mm, scanned or taken at the time you lodge the application, and it has to meet the conditions the ordinance lists. The D visa uses the same photo. Residence permits are a separate procedure: the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) handles temporary stay and biometric residence permits inside Croatia, with a different photo size.

Croatia visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia:[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) colour photo for A, C and D visas
Digital sizeNo upload: the online form is printed, and the photo is scanned or taken when you apply
Head heightAbout 2/3 of the photo, max 36 mm; VFS Israel: 30 to 36 mm from chin to hair
BackgroundLight and monochromatic, no pattern, contrasting with face and hair; VFS China asks for white
ColourColour
Photo ageRecent (MVEP); VFS Israel and VFS China: not older than 6 months
Print qualityGlossy, smooth high-quality paper without surface structure (Ordinance on Visas)
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm30–36 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 30–36 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: light and monochromatic.

In the official words

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

One colour photograph (35x45 mm, not older than 6 months, white background, no photoshop)

Croatia Schengen visa (C) checklist, P.R. of China[8]

Key requirements

  • Scanned or taken when you apply

    Article 11 of the Ordinance on Visas has the applicant present a colour 35 x 45 mm photograph, scanned or taken at the time of submitting the application. Bring a compliant print even where the centre also captures your image.

  • Head size and position

    The head, from the tip of the chin to the top of the head, must take up about two-thirds of the photo and be no more than 36 mm tall, placed in the centre. The eyes must be at least 8 mm apart, measured centre to centre, and optimally 10 mm.

  • Urgent travel exception

    A person travelling urgently for justified reasons may submit a photo that does not meet the ordinance's rules on head size and position or on paper and background.

  • Visa centres add their own checklists

    VFS Global centres check photos against local lists. VFS Israel asks for two recent colour photos, no smile and a light background, and treats a non-compliant photo as an incomplete application. VFS China asks for one photo on white, not older than six months and not edited.

  • D visa uses the same photo

    Every category of long-stay visa (D), whether for people granted temporary stay, those who will apply for it at a police station, or international lorry and bus drivers, lists a 35 x 45 mm colour photograph in accordance with ICAO standards.

  • Residence permit photo is 30 x 35 mm

    Inside Croatia, MUP asks for a 30 x 35 mm photo with a temporary stay application and with the biometric residence permit application, and takes fingerprints and a signature in person.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Fill in the form at crovisa.mvep.hr and bring the printed copy
  • Bring a 35 x 45 mm colour print even if the centre also photographs you
  • Check the VFS checklist for your country for the number of photos
  • Keep your face neutral, mouth closed and eyes open
  • Order separate 30 x 35 mm photos for a residence permit in Croatia
  • Apply no earlier than six months and normally no later than 15 days before travel

Don't

  • Do not smile or turn your head to the side
  • Do not use a patterned or dark background
  • Do not edit the photo or alter the background
  • Do not include another person in a child's photo
  • Do not reuse a 35 x 45 mm visa photo for the MUP residence permit
  • Do not expect to apply at a Croatian mission if another Schengen country is your main destination

Sample photos

How a Croatia 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

Croatia's Ordinance on Visas mentions glasses in one place only: a blind applicant who wears sunglasses may attach a photo taken with them on. It does not otherwise ban glasses, but it requires a frontal shot with the eyes open, and the MVEP pages ask for a photo in line with ICAO standards.

Because VFS centres check photos against their own lists before the mission sees them, read the photo section of your local centre's checklist before choosing to keep your glasses on.

Headwear and religious dress

The ordinance accepts a head covering worn for religious or medical reasons, provided the photo shows the cheeks, chin and forehead. VFS Israel repeats the same condition in its photo specifications. There is no provision for fashion headwear.

Babies and children

A legal representative lodges the visa application for a minor. The ordinance's rule for children's photos is short: the child must be alone in the picture, with the face fully visible and the eyes open, so no parent or helper may appear in it.

For residence permits issued in Croatia, MUP takes no signature from a child under 12, but the 30 x 35 mm photo is still required.

There is no photo upload with a Croatian visa. MVEP says the online form at crovisa.mvep.hr must be printed and submitted with the other documents, and the ordinance has the photo scanned or taken when you lodge the application. VFS China, for example, asks for a printed photo and also collects your fingerprints and a digital photo at the centre or embassy.

Paper rules differ by channel. The ordinance asks for high-quality glossy and smooth paper, while VFS Israel asks for photos printed on normal photographic paper. A digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.

MUP's residence permit application in Croatia also takes a print, at 30 x 35 mm.

Where to submit the photo

Lodge a C visa at the Croatian embassy or consulate responsible for where you live, or at a VFS Global centre in the countries MVEP lists, from Algeria and Canada to the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. Apply no more than six months, and as a rule no later than 15 calendar days, before the trip.

A D visa is applied for before entering Croatia, at the mission or a VFS centre. Within 30 days from the start of the visa's validity, the holder contacts the police administration or station to register an address and obtain a biometric residence permit, or to lodge the temporary stay application, with a 30 x 35 mm photo. Lorry and bus drivers are exempt from this step.

How to get your Croatia visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Croatia visa: 35 × 45 mm print, light and monochromatic background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: scanned or taken when you apply; head size and position; urgent travel exception; visa centres add their own checklists.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. There is no photo upload with a Croatian visa. MVEP says the online form at crovisa.mvep.hr must be printed and submitted with the other documents, and the ordinance has the photo scanned or taken when you lodge the application.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Lodge a C visa at the Croatian embassy or consulate responsible for where you live, or at a VFS Global centre in the countries MVEP lists, from Algeria and Canada to the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.

Make this photo online

Croatia visa photo FAQ

35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), in colour. Croatia's Ordinance on Visas requires the head to fill about two-thirds of the photo and stay under 36 mm, on a light, plain background, printed on glossy paper.

The ordinance speaks of one photograph, and VFS China asks for one. VFS Israel asks for two recent photos. Check the checklist of the mission or VFS centre where you apply.

No. The ordinance requires a neutral facial expression with eyes open and mouth closed on a frontal shot, and VFS Israel adds that the face must be shown without a smile.

No. MVEP lists a colour photograph of 35 x 45 mm, in line with ICAO standards, for every category of long-stay visa, and fingerprints are taken when you apply.

30 x 35 mm. MUP asks for a photo of that size with the biometric residence permit application, and the ordinance on stay of third-country nationals uses 3 x 3.5 cm for the temporary stay application. It is smaller than the 35 x 45 mm visa photo.

No. MVEP says the form completed at crovisa.mvep.hr must be printed and handed in with the other documents. The photo is scanned or taken when you lodge the application at the mission or visa centre.

The Ordinance on Visas lets a person travelling urgently for justified reasons submit a photo that does not meet its rules on head size, position, paper or background. The other conditions, such as a neutral frontal face, still apply.

Related photo specifications

Other Croatia documents

Visas and travel authorisations nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia. Applying for a Schengen visa for Croatia mvep.gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia. Supporting documents for Schengen visa mvep.gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia. Applying for long-stay visa (D) and supporting documents mvep.gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia. Ordinance on Visas (Official Gazette 109/21), unofficial translation mvep.gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia (MUP). Biometric residence permit mup.gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Narodne novine (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia). Pravilnik o boravku državljana trećih zemalja u Republici Hrvatskoj (NN 20/2022), Articles 8 and 53 narodne-novine.nn.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. VFS Global for the Embassy of Croatia in Israel. Croatia visa information (Israel): photo specifications visa.vfsglobal.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. VFS Global for the Embassy of Croatia in China. Croatia Schengen visa (C) checklist, P.R. of China vfsglobal.com. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

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

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