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Ethiopia eVisa photo requirements

The 2 × 2 in photo rules set by Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) for the Ethiopia eVisa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 6 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Ethiopia eVisa photo?

The Ethiopian e-Visa portal (evisa.gov.et) asks for a recent colour passport-sized photo uploaded as JPEG, JPG or PNG and under 2 MB. Its photograph tips show a 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) photo taken within the last six months against a white background, neither over- nor under-exposed, with no selfies and no filters or retouching. An image with a blurred or unclean background is not acceptable.

Ethiopia's e-Visa is issued online by the Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) through evisa.gov.et, the government's official e-Visa website. You fill in the application, attach a passport-sized photo and a colour scan of your passport, and pay online. The visa counts from the arrival date you give in the application, not from the date it is issued, and your passport must have at least six months left after the date you plan to enter Ethiopia.

Every visa type on the portal, from tourist to business, conference, journalist and investment visas, lists a recent passport-size photo among the mandatory documents. The photo is uploaded at the attachment step of the application form, which shows the upload notes and a photograph tips graphic. Those notes and tips are the only photo rules the portal publishes: it gives no pixel dimensions and no head size.

The portal also warns that some fraudulent websites copy the look of the official e-Visa site, that the Ethiopian government has no agreement with their owners, and that applications or payments made through them are not acceptable.

Ethiopia eVisa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS):[1]

Print size2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm), as shown in the portal's photograph tips
Digital sizeNo pixel size published; upload the photo as an image file
BackgroundWhite; an image with a blurred or unclean background is not acceptable
ColourColour, not over- or under-exposed
Photo ageTaken within the last six months
File sizeLess than 2 MB
File formatJPEG, JPG or PNG (PDF is allowed for other attachments, not for the photo)
Pixels when printed600 × 600 px at 300 dpi · 1200 × 1200 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
2 in2 in
2 × 2 in photo drawn to scale. Background: white.

In the official words

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

No filters or retouching tools - you don't need them!

Apply for e-Visa (application form, attachment step and photograph tips)[1]

Key requirements

  • Under 2 MB

    Each image or document you attach must be less than 2 MB. A larger file is refused with a message asking for a file size of maximum 2M, so reduce the photo before uploading if your phone saves very large images.

  • An image file, not a PDF

    The portal says the photo and the passport copy should only be JPEG, JPG or PNG images. PDF is accepted for other attachments, such as letters, but not for these two.

  • 2 x 2 inches on white

    The photograph tips graphic at the upload step shows a 2 x 2 inch photo measured against a ruler, and a photo taken with a white background.

  • Recent and correctly exposed

    The tips ask for a photo taken within the last six months, in colour, and neither over- nor under-exposed. The portal's general guidance repeats that a colour passport-sized photo is required.

  • No selfies

    The tips mark a selfie with a cross. Ask someone else to take the picture, square on and at a normal distance, instead of holding the phone at arm's length.

  • No filters or retouching

    The tips also cross out filters and retouching tools, adding that you don't need them. Upload the photo as it was taken, without beauty effects or added graphics.

  • Clear and readable

    Every attachment must be clear and readable, and an image with a blurred or unclean background is not acceptable. Stand in front of a plain, clean white wall with even light.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Apply only on the official portal, evisa.gov.et.
  • Save the photo as JPEG, JPG or PNG under 2 MB.
  • Use a plain white background with even light.
  • Use a colour photo taken within the last six months.
  • Attach a clear colour scan of your passport's data page.
  • Note your reference number to check the visa status later.

Don't

  • Do not upload a selfie.
  • Do not apply filters or retouching tools.
  • Do not upload the photo as a PDF.
  • Do not use a blurred or cluttered background.
  • Do not apply or pay through look-alike visa websites.

Sample photos

How a Ethiopia eVisa 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.

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 portal's upload notes and photograph tips say nothing about glasses, either to allow or to forbid them. What they do require is a clear colour image, correctly exposed, against a clean white background.

If your glasses reflect light or tint your eyes in the picture, the image is unlikely to count as clear, so taking them off for the photo is the simpler choice.

Babies and children

Children travelling to Ethiopia need their own e-Visa, and each visa type lists a recent passport-size photo of the applicant, so every child needs a separate photo meeting the same rules as an adult's.

The portal says a business visa is not issued to anyone under 18. Parents who come to Ethiopia on business visas with their children can apply for tourist visas for the children instead.

The e-Visa application is fully digital: the photo is uploaded, and you post or hand in no prints. Once approved, the e-Visa can be downloaded from the portal, and other ICS services ask for a printout of it, for example when applying for an Ethiopian Origin ID in Ethiopia.

A phone or camera photo can be cropped to a 2 x 2 inch square and saved as a JPEG under 2 MB before upload. Keep the original unedited apart from the crop.

Where to submit the photo

Apply at evisa.gov.et: choose the visa type, complete the form, attach the photo and passport copy at the attachment step, and pay online. You can check the status of an application with your passport number and reference number, complete a pending payment, and download the visa from the same portal. For e-Visa questions, the Washington embassy refers applicants to ICS on +251 111 262 635 or support@evisa.gov.et.

The Paris embassy notes that the e-Visa is valid only for entry through Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Short extensions can be requested on the portal before the visa expires; longer ones are handled in person at the ICS head office in Addis Ababa.

How to get your Ethiopia eVisa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Ethiopia eVisa: 2 × 2 in print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: under 2 MB; an image file, not a PDF; 2 x 2 inches on white; recent and correctly exposed.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. The e-Visa application is fully digital: the photo is uploaded, and you post or hand in no prints.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Apply at evisa.gov.et: choose the visa type, complete the form, attach the photo and passport copy at the attachment step, and pay online.

Make this photo online

Ethiopia eVisa photo FAQ

The photograph tips graphic shown at the portal's upload step gives 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm). The portal publishes no pixel dimensions, so what matters for the upload is a square colour image, in JPEG, JPG or PNG, under 2 MB.

The photo must be a JPEG, JPG or PNG image of less than 2 MB. PDF is accepted for other documents but not for the photo or the passport copy. A file over the limit is rejected with a message asking for a maximum of 2M.

The portal does not ban phone cameras, but its photo tips rule out selfies, filters and retouching tools. Have someone else take the picture against a white background, in colour and correctly exposed, then crop it to a square and save it under 2 MB.

White. The photograph tips show a photo taken with a white background, and the upload notes say an image with a blurred or unclean background is not acceptable. A plain white wall without shadows or objects behind you meets both points.

No. The portal's tips say "No filters or retouching tools - you don't need them!" Upload the photo as taken; cropping and reducing the file size to fit the 2 MB limit are not retouching.

Yes. Each visa type lists a recent passport-size photo of the applicant, so a child applying for a tourist visa needs a separate photo. Business visas are not issued to anyone under 18; children travelling with parents on business visas apply for tourist visas.

evisa.gov.et, run by the Immigration and Citizenship Service. The portal warns that several fraudulent websites copy its look, that the Ethiopian government has no agreement with them, and that visa applications or payments made through them are not acceptable.

Related photo specifications

Other Ethiopia documents

Visas and travel authorisations nearby

Also 2 × 2 in

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Official sources

  1. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). Apply for e-Visa (application form, attachment step and photograph tips) evisa.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). Things You Should Know About Ethiopian e-Visa evisa.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). Tourist Visa evisa.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). Ethiopian e-Visa official website evisa.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington DC. Service Details - Visa consular.ethiopianembassy.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Embassy of Ethiopia, Paris. Visas ambassade-ethiopie.fr. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Ethiopia eVisa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/ethiopia/evisa-photo

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