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Ethiopia passport photo requirements

The 30 × 40 mm photo rules set by Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) for the Ethiopia passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 12 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Ethiopia passport photo?

In Ethiopia, the Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) takes the picture for a new passport at your appointment, so you bring no photo. To renew an expired passport, ICS lists one passport-sized photo attached during online registration, and may text you from 7876 to come in for a photo. ICS publishes no photo size. Abroad, the Paris embassy wants two or three recent colour ID-format prints on a white background, taken without glasses.

Ethiopian passports are issued by the Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS), which now issues ePassports. Applications made in Ethiopia start online. Since November 2025, ICS has pointed passport applicants to its portal at immigration.gov.et, which serves Addis Ababa and the branch offices; its older guidance names ethiopianpassportservices.gov.et. You register, pay, print your appointment confirmation and then go in person to the immigration office you chose.

How the photo is handled depends on the application. For a first passport, ICS says the appointment day is the only day you may give your fingerprints and have your picture taken, and its document list for a new passport names identity and birth documents but no photograph. For renewing an expired passport, ICS lists the expired passport and one passport-sized photo, and says the documents you attach during online registration must be clearly visible and readable.

Ethiopians abroad go through an embassy or consulate. The London embassy now says passport renewal is available online through the Ethiopian ePassport Portal, followed by an embassy appointment for which you bring original documents and the confirmation you were sent. The Paris embassy still takes paper applications with printed photos: three recent colour photos on a white background for a renewal, two to replace a lost or stolen passport.

Ethiopia passport photo size and specifications

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

Print sizeNo size published: ICS photographs new applicants at the appointment; renewals attach a passport-sized photo
Digital sizeNo pixel size published. Renewal in Ethiopia: one passport-sized photo attached during online registration
BackgroundWhite (Paris embassy). ICS publishes no background rule
ColourColour (Paris embassy)
Photo ageRecent (Paris embassy); no time limit published
Print qualityParis embassy: surname and first names in capital letters on the back of each photo
Pixels when printed354 × 472 px at 300 dpi · 709 × 945 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
30 mm40 mm
30 × 40 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: white.

Key requirements

  • First passport: picture taken on the day

    For a new passport in Ethiopia you attend the immigration office you selected on your appointment date. ICS says this is the only day you may give your fingerprints and have your picture taken. Its November 2025 list for a new passport is a renewed kebele ID, a birth card and a national ID (Fayda), not photographs.

  • Renewal: one passport-sized photo

    To renew an expired passport, ICS lists your expired passport and one passport-sized photo. Everything you attach during online registration must be clearly visible and readable, so upload a sharp, evenly lit image rather than a dark or blurred one.

  • An SMS from 7876 can call you in

    ICS sends texts from 7876. If one asks a renewal or replacement applicant to give a photo, go in person to the immigration office where you applied with your original passport (or the police report, for a lost passport) and your appointment confirmation. ICS does not deal with proxies for this.

  • Come before the appointment date passes

    In September 2025 ICS told applicants who had received an SMS to give fingerprints and photos to come before their appointment date with their original renewed kebele ID, certified birth certificate and Fayda ID. Those who come after the date has passed will not be served.

  • London: renew online first

    The London embassy says passport renewal services are available online through the Ethiopian ePassport Portal. For the embassy appointment, bring your original marriage certificate, birth certificate and passport, together with the confirmation information you were sent.

  • Paris: colour, white, no glasses

    The Paris embassy, which covers France, Spain, Portugal and the Holy See, asks for recent ID-format colour photos taken facing the camera, without glasses, on a white background, with your surname and first names written in capital letters on the back of each one.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Register and pay online before going to an immigration office.
  • Bring your original documents and the printed appointment confirmation.
  • Attach clear, readable scans when you renew online.
  • Check your embassy's list for the number of photos it wants.
  • Write your full name in capitals on the back of photos for Paris.
  • Go in person if a 7876 text asks you to give a photo.

Don't

  • Do not miss your appointment date: it is the only day for fingerprints and the picture.
  • Do not wear glasses in photos for the Paris embassy.
  • Do not send someone else to give your photo; ICS refuses proxies.
  • Do not upload blurred or unreadable documents.
  • Do not turn up after your appointment date has passed.

Sample photos

How a Ethiopia passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 30 × 40 mm 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

ICS publishes no rule on glasses. For a new passport the picture is taken at the immigration office on your appointment day, so follow the instructions you are given there.

For prints handed to an embassy, the Paris embassy asks for photos taken facing the camera without glasses (sans lunettes in its French text). The London embassy's current passport page lists no photographs at all. If you renew in Ethiopia and attach your own photo, ICS only says the attachment must be clearly visible and readable.

Babies and children

ICS publishes no separate photo rule for children. Its new-passport guidance asks every applicant under 40 for an authenticated birth certificate, and first-time applicants give their fingerprints and have the picture taken at the appointment.

The Paris embassy issues ePassports with fingerprints but exempts children under 14 from fingerprinting. Any application for a minor under 18 must include two copies of a document proving the direct parent-child link, such as a birth certificate, and the passport is collected by the person who made the application.

In Ethiopia the picture for a first passport is captured at the immigration office, so you need neither a print nor a file. A renewal uses one passport-sized photo attached as part of the online registration; ICS publishes no pixel size, file size or format for it.

Embassy applications that still use paper, such as those in Paris, need printed photos. A digital photo can be cropped to the size your embassy asks for and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter, then cut into separate photos. For Paris, write your name on the back of each one.

Where to submit the photo

In Ethiopia, register on the ICS online portal, pay with your chosen method within the time ICS allows, print the appointment confirmation and attend the immigration office you selected. An August 2025 ICS notice listed both ethiopianpassportservices.gov.et and immigration.gov.et for passport applications; the November 2025 notice names immigration.gov.et. Your passport delivery date arrives by SMS from 7876, and you collect the passport in person at the office where you applied.

Abroad, apply through the Ethiopian mission for your country. London sends renewals to the online ePassport Portal and then sees applicants by appointment. Paris takes renewals in person or by post, with a stamped, tracked return envelope. The Brussels embassy says passport applications are processed online through the Digital INVEA platform; when checked on 2 November 2026, the Digital INVEA site displayed a notice that its contract had stopped and asked applicants to contact ICS.

How to get your Ethiopia passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Ethiopia passport: 30 × 40 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: first passport: picture taken on the day; renewal: one passport-sized photo; an SMS from 7876 can call you in; come before the appointment date passes.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. In Ethiopia the picture for a first passport is captured at the immigration office, so you need neither a print nor a file.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Ethiopia, register on the ICS online portal, pay with your chosen method within the time ICS allows, print the appointment confirmation and attend the immigration office you selected.

Make this photo online

Ethiopia passport photo FAQ

ICS publishes no print size: it captures the picture itself at the appointment for a new passport, and asks only for a passport-sized photo with a renewal. Embassies set their own lists. Paris, for example, asks for ID-format colour photos on a white background without giving dimensions, so check the list of the mission handling your application.

No print is needed. ICS says you give your fingerprints and have your picture taken at the immigration office on your appointment date, and that this is the only day you can do so. Its document list for a new passport names your kebele ID, birth certificate and Fayda national ID, not photographs.

ICS lists one passport-sized photo with your expired passport, and says documents attached during online registration must be clearly visible and readable. It publishes no pixel size or file limit. If ICS later texts you from 7876 asking you to give a photo, go in person with your original passport and appointment confirmation.

Not for the Paris embassy, which asks for photos taken without glasses. ICS publishes no glasses rule. At an ICS appointment in Ethiopia the picture is taken at the office, so follow the staff's instructions there.

No. ICS says renewal and replacement applicants called in by SMS must appear in person to provide the photo, and that it does not process these applications through a proxy or power of attorney. In Paris, the passport must also be collected by the person who applied.

It depends on the embassy and the service. Paris asks for three photos for a renewal and two to replace a lost or stolen passport. London's current passport page sends renewals to the online ePassport Portal and lists original documents, not photographs, for the embassy appointment.

7876 is the number ICS uses to text passport applicants. It tells you your passport delivery date, or asks you to come to the office where you applied to give a photo, fingerprints or more information. Go before your appointment date: ICS says it will not serve applicants who come after that date has passed.

Related photo specifications

Other Ethiopia documents

Passports nearby

Also 30 × 40 mm

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Official sources

  1. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). How to Obtain a New Ethiopian Passport ics.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). How to Renew an Expired Ethiopian Passport ics.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). How to Obtain a Replacement Passport (Lost Passport) ics.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). Important Notice for Passport Service Applicants ics.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). Documents required to issue a new passport (Amharic) ics.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). Standard e-passport service (Amharic) ics.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS). For passport service users (Amharic) ics.gov.et. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Embassy of Ethiopia, London. Passport services ethioembassy.org.uk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. Embassy of Ethiopia, Paris. Renouvellement de Passeport ambassade-ethiopie.fr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  10. Embassy of Ethiopia, Paris. Remplacement de Passeport perdu ou volé (PDF) ambassade-ethiopie.fr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  11. Embassy of Ethiopia, Brussels. Passport Services ethiopianembassy.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  12. Digital INVEA. Passport Services digitalinvea.com. 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 passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/ethiopia/passport-photo

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