Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo requirements
The 2 × 2 in photo rules set by Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Coopération Internationale, Francophonie et Diaspora Congolaise for the Democratic Republic of the Congo passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo?
Your photo for the new Congolese biometric passport is captured in person, with your fingerprints, at an enrolment centre in the DRC or at a Congolese embassy, so no size applies to it. Several embassies, including Paris, Berlin and Stockholm, still ask you to bring two recent passport photos, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' services page lists two 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) prints taken within 6 months. No current official page gives 35 x 45 mm.
Congolese passports are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kinshasa. A new biometric passport was launched in 2025, and since 5 June 2025 applications have been made online through the Ministry's passport portal, passeport.gouv.cd. The Ministry says the new booklet has a contactless RFID chip, a polycarbonate data page and 38 pages, meets ICAO standards and is valid for 5 years. Passports already issued stay usable until they expire, and the Ministry says the two models coexist until 2030.
The core steps are the same everywhere. You first obtain a tax identification number (NIF) from the Direction Générale des Impôts, then pre-register on the portal by entering your personal details. An email brings a QR code and a payment reference, and you pay online or at an Equity BCDC bank counter. In the DRC, the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) checks your documents before you go to a DERMALOG enrolment office. Abroad, the embassy for your country of residence checks your file and arranges the capture.
At the capture appointment your biometric data are recorded: the Ministry names the photo and fingerprints, and Stockholm adds the signature. What you bring varies by mission. Washington lists no prints for the passport and Brussels lists none either, though it charges for photos taken on site. Paris, Berlin, Beijing and Stockholm ask for two recent passport photos, and Paris also wants a digital ID photo. The only size on an official page for the new passport is the 2 x 2 inches of the Ministry's services page.
Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Coopération Internationale, Francophonie et Diaspora Congolaise:[1]
| Print size | Not set for the photo taken at capture. Ministry services page: two 2 x 2 in (51 x 51 mm) prints |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No pixel size published. Paris asks for one digital ID photo uploaded with your scanned documents |
| Background | Not published for passport photos. Brussels: white background (fond blanc) for tenant-lieu prints |
| Photo age | Taken within the last 6 months (Ministry services page; Paris embassy) |
| File format | Paris digital ID photo: JPG or PNG |
| Pixels when printed | 600 × 600 px at 300 dpi · 1200 × 1200 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
In the official words
Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:
Deux photos d'identité (2″x2″) prises au cours des 6 derniers mois
2 photographies d'identité identiques parfaitement ressemblantes, de face et tête nue au format 35mm x 45mm
Key requirements
- Online pre-registration first
Every application starts on the Ministry's passport portal, but you need a tax identification number (NIF) from the Direction Générale des Impôts before you can register. Berlin says the NIF is compulsory for everyone, children included. The portal takes your personal details and emails you a QR code with a payment reference.
- Photo and fingerprints taken at capture
The Ministry describes the capture as the recording of your biometric data, photo and fingerprints. New Delhi asks applicants to book an appointment to have their fingerprints and picture taken at the embassy, and Stockholm records photo, fingerprints and signature on the day.
- Prints depend on the embassy
Paris and Berlin list two recent passport photos for adults and minors, and Stockholm asks for two passport photos at capture. Beijing wants two recent passport photos "in the official format" scanned with your emailed file (translated from French). Berlin and Brussels can take photos on site for a small charge.
- A digital photo in Paris
The Paris embassy asks for one digital ID photo in JPG or PNG, uploaded with your other documents scanned as PDF, JPG or PNG. The originals are checked at the appointment, and a valid consular card is required for every application.
- Book the capture
Paris requires an appointment for capture, booked on the embassy's website at least seven working days after payment, with arrival at 9 a.m. Washington asks you to email your biometric information sheet, payment proof and passport copy to request one, after waiting 72 hours for the payment to register.
- Produced in Kinshasa
Embassies do not print passports. Washington says the Ministry in Kinshasa issues all of them and the embassy only collects and forwards your biometric data. In the DRC, you collect the passport at the capture site on the date and time of your appointment.
- Travel documents still use prints
If you cannot get a passport in time, a one-way travel document (tenant-lieu or laissez-passer) takes printed photos: two 2 x 2 inch prints taken within 6 months in Washington, and two identical photos on a white background in Brussels. New Delhi says it is valid for 60 days, for travel to the DRC only.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Get your NIF before you start the passport pre-registration.
- Print the pre-registration sheet with its QR code and your payment proof.
- Check your embassy's current list before having prints made.
- Bring two recent passport photos where your embassy asks for them.
- Use photos taken within the last 6 months.
- Bring the originals and copies of every document to the capture.
Don't
- Do not turn up for capture in Paris without a booked appointment.
- Do not rely on pre-2025 checklists; the process changed on 5 June 2025.
- Do not expect the embassy to print the passport; production is in Kinshasa.
- Do not book a Paris appointment less than seven working days after paying.
- Do not apply in Washington if you hold refugee status; the embassy cannot issue those passports for now.
Sample photos
How a Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 2 × 2 in and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Babies and children
A child applies through the same online steps as an adult, with extra documents. Stockholm asks for a parental authorisation for anyone under 18, and Berlin requires a NIF for children too. For a minor, Paris lists the printed pre-registration sheet, the payment proof, a consular card, two recent passport photos, an identity document or school certificate, a legalised parental authorisation, the birth certificate, the parents' passports and proof of address.
Washington asks for the child's original birth certificate, a legalised parental authorisation, the child's residence card and any previous passport, and the Congolese parent's passport. Beijing asks for the original birth certificate, a parental authorisation and the passport of one Congolese parent. The photo rule does not change for children: Paris, Berlin and Beijing ask for two recent passport photos for a minor, as they do for an adult.
Printed and digital photos
The official material mentions three kinds of photo. The photo recorded as biometric data is taken live at capture, at a DERMALOG enrolment office in the DRC or at an embassy. Printed passport photos are asked for by several embassies for the file: two recent prints in Paris, Berlin and Stockholm, and scans of two prints in Beijing. Paris also asks for one digital ID photo in JPG or PNG, with no pixel size or file size stated.
Sizes are scarce. The Ministry's services page asks for two 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) photos taken within 6 months; no embassy page read for this page gives a size for passport prints, and Washington uses 2 x 2 inches for its tenant-lieu and visa photos. The 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) format appeared on Stockholm's checklist for the previous passport, which that embassy has since replaced. If you need prints, a digital photo can be printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
In the DRC, capture centres opened in Kinshasa first and are being installed in the provincial capitals; the Ministry's FAQ refers to all 26 provinces. After payment, take your documents to the ANR for verification, then go to the enrolment office with the ANR authorisation, your QR code and your personal documents. You collect the passport at the capture site.
Abroad, apply through the DRC embassy for your country of residence. Beijing, for example, serves Congolese living in China, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, and has files checked by its ANR office before calling applicants for capture. Stockholm notifies you by email or SMS when the passport is ready and lets a proxy collect it with a signed authorisation and a copy of your ID. Washington returns passports by mail in a prepaid tracked envelope that you supply.
How to get your Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Democratic Republic of the Congo passport: 2 × 2 in print, not published for passport photos. Brussels… background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: online pre-registration first; photo and fingerprints taken at capture; prints depend on the embassy; a digital photo in Paris.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The official material mentions three kinds of photo. The photo recorded as biometric data is taken live at capture, at a DERMALOG enrolment office in the DRC or at an embassy.
- Submit the photo with your application. In the DRC, capture centres opened in Kinshasa first and are being installed in the provincial capitals; the Ministry's FAQ refers to all 26 provinces.
Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo FAQ
There is no single size. Your photo is captured with your fingerprints at the appointment, so no size applies to it. Where prints are asked for, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' services page gives 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm); embassy checklists for the new passport say only "passport photos". The 35 x 45 mm size came from an older Stockholm checklist.
Yes, at embassies that carry out the capture. New Delhi asks you to book an appointment to have your fingerprints and picture taken, and Stockholm records your photo, fingerprints and signature on the day. Some embassies still ask you to bring prints as well.
Usually two. Paris, Berlin and Stockholm ask for two recent passport photos at capture, Beijing wants two scanned with your emailed file, and the Ministry's services page lists two. Washington's passport checklist lists none, and Paris adds one digital photo.
The Ministry describes the online step as entering your personal details, after which you receive a QR code and a payment reference by email. It does not mention a photo upload. Paris asks separately for a digital ID photo in JPG or PNG with your scanned documents.
None of the current official pages read for this page publishes rules on glasses, head coverings or expression for the Congolese passport photo. The photo is taken by staff at capture; if you are bringing prints, ask your embassy what it accepts.
This one-way travel document still uses prints. Washington asks for two 2 x 2 inch photos taken within the last 6 months, and Brussels for two identical identity photos on a white background. New Delhi says the document is valid for 60 days and only for travel to the DRC.
Yes, until it expires. The Ministry says holders of the previous passport can keep using it, that the old and new models coexist until 2030, and that there is no need to renew before then.
In Kinshasa. Washington says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues all passports and the embassy only collects and forwards your biometric data. Paris and Berlin publish lists of passports that have arrived, and Stockholm tells applicants by email or SMS when theirs is ready.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
- Angola passport photo
- Cameroon passport photo 40 × 40 mm
- Central African Republic passport photo 40 × 40 mm
- Chad passport photo 40 × 40 mm
- Equatorial Guinea passport photo
- Republic of the Congo passport photo 35 × 45 mm
Also 2 × 2 in
- American Samoa passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Armenia eVisa photo 2 × 2 in
- Bahamas passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Bahamas eVisa photo 2 × 2 in
- Bahamas visa photo 2 × 2 in
- Belize passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Belize visa photo 2 × 2 in
- Belize residence permit photo 2 × 2 in
- Egypt visa photo 2 × 2 in
- Ethiopia eVisa photo 2 × 2 in
- All Democratic Republic of the Congo photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 2 × 2 in photo
- Photo specifications in Africa
Official sources
- Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Coopération Internationale, Francophonie et Diaspora Congolaise. Services: Passeport biométrique diplomatie.gouv.cd. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Coopération Internationale, Francophonie et Diaspora Congolaise. Foire aux questions: le nouveau passeport diplomatie.gouv.cd. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Coopération Internationale, Francophonie et Diaspora Congolaise. Lancement du nouveau passeport biométrique (27 May 2025) diplomatie.gouv.cd. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Coopération Internationale, Francophonie et Diaspora Congolaise. Traitement des anciennes demandes de passeports (9 July 2025) diplomatie.gouv.cd. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Stockholm. Passeport: process en 7 étapes ambardcstockholm.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ambassade de la RD Congo en France, Paris. Passeport: documents à fournir ambardcparis.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ambassade de la RD Congo en France, Paris. Demande de passeport (communiqué of 27 January 2026) ambardcparis.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Washington DC. Passport & Visa | Tenant Lieu ambadrcusa.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ambassade de la République Démocratique du Congo, Bruxelles. Conditions d'obtention ambardc.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ambassade de la République Démocratique du Congo, Berlin. Chancellerie: Passeport ambardc.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ambassade de la République Démocratique du Congo, Beijing. Communiqué: ouverture du processus de capture biométrique (31 July 2025) ambardcchine.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, New Delhi. Passport & Consular Card ambardc-india.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Coopération Internationale, Francophonie et Diaspora Congolaise before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Democratic Republic of the Congo passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/passport-photo