Falkland Islands passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by HM Passport Office (GOV.UK) for the Falkland Islands passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Falkland Islands passport photo?
The Falkland Islands publish no photo rules of their own, so HM Passport Office rules apply. Take 2 identical printed photos to the Customs and Immigration Service in Stanley, each 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, with your head measuring 29 to 34 mm from chin to crown. The background must be plain cream or light grey. Photos must be in colour, taken in the last month and not altered by software.
The Falkland Islands Government does not set a passport photo standard. Its Customs and Immigration Service takes in passport applications at the office on Ross Road in Stanley, and the service describes its work as including British and BOTC passport applications for those who qualify, next to work permits and visit visas. The application itself is the paper process that HM Passport Office (HMPO) runs for British applicants living abroad.
You apply in person, or send someone to apply for you, and you bring photo ID, your original supporting documents with a colour photocopy of each, and your current passport with a full colour photocopy. When the new passport is ready, the Stanley office contacts you and you collect it there. HMPO's guidance for its own staff, updated on 5 May 2026, says British overseas territories citizens living in a territory apply for a variant passport at their local government office, and it makes an exception for those living in the Falkland Islands.
On photos, the GOV.UK page for the islands asks for 2 identical new photos that follow the passport photo rules, and the Customs and Immigration pages add nothing more. The sections below therefore set out HMPO's printed photo rules, the ones the GOV.UK page tells Falkland Islands applicants to follow.
Falkland Islands passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by HM Passport Office (GOV.UK):[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in): 45 mm high by 35 mm wide |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No digital file: 2 identical printed photos go in with the paper form |
| Head height | 29 to 34 mm from the crown of the head to the chin |
| Background | Plain cream or light grey, in clear contrast to you |
| Colour | In colour, on plain white photographic paper with no border |
| Photo age | Taken in the last month; a new photo for each new passport |
| Print quality | Professional standard, in focus, no creases or tears, not cut down from a larger picture |
| 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:
Your photos must be: ... unaltered by computer software
Your photos must be: printed to a professional standard
Key requirements
- Prints go in with the paper form
The Falklands route is a paper application, so the photos are prints. HMPO asks for 2 identical ones. Its printed photo page says photos sent in should be separated from each other and left loose, not attached to the form, and unmarked on both sides unless one needs a countersignature.
- Print size and head size
Each print measures 45 mm high by 35 mm wide. The image of you, from the crown of your head to your chin, must be between 29 mm and 34 mm high. A print that is a cut down version of a larger picture does not meet the rule.
- Cream or light grey backdrop
Stand against a plain cream or light grey background that contrasts clearly with you. Nobody and nothing else may appear in the picture, no shadows may fall on your face or behind you, and red eye is not accepted.
- Close-up, facing forward
The picture shows your full head and upper shoulders. Face the camera squarely with a plain expression and your mouth closed, and keep both eyes open and visible, with no hair across them.
- Taken in the last month
The photo must be no more than a month old. You also need a fresh one for every new passport, even if you look exactly as you did on the last one.
- No software changes, professional print
HMPO wants prints that are unaltered by computer software. They must be printed to a professional standard, clear and in focus, in colour on plain white photographic paper with no border.
- Countersigned photo
Where the form needs a countersignature, HMPO's overseas guidance has the countersignatory certify one photo, not both. They write on the reverse that it is a true likeness of you, then sign and date it.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Take 2 identical prints from the same photo to the Stanley office.
- Apply in person, or send a person you trust with your documents.
- Check the photo is under a month old on the day you apply.
- Keep the prints loose and clean on both sides.
- Take your glasses off for the photo if you can.
- Have the prints made on plain white photo paper.
Don't
- Do not post your application to HM Passport Office yourself.
- Do not trim a larger picture down to 35 x 45 mm.
- Do not use filters, retouching or other software changes.
- Do not wear sunglasses or tinted glasses.
- Do not attach the prints to the form.
- Do not stand in front of a busy or patterned background.
Sample photos
How a Falkland 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, head height and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Leave your glasses off unless you have to wear them. If you do keep them on, they must not be sunglasses or tinted, and neither the frames nor any glare, reflection or shadow may cover your eyes. The Customs and Immigration Service says nothing about glasses of its own, so follow the HMPO rule.
Headwear and religious dress
A head covering is acceptable only when you wear it for religious or medical reasons. Nothing may cover your face, and hair must not hang in front of your eyes.
Babies and children
A child must be alone in the picture. A baby must not hold a toy or use a dummy. Children under 6 do not have to look at the camera or keep a plain expression, and a child under one does not need open eyes. You may steady a baby's head with a hand, as long as the hand does not show in the photo.
Printed and digital photos
This route uses prints, not an upload. The GOV.UK page for the islands tells you to download the form, include 2 identical new photos and apply in person, and it offers no online or digital-file option. HMPO's digital photo rules belong to its online service, which the Stanley route does not use.
If you start from a digital picture, it can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4 x 6 inch sheet at a photo counter, then cut into separate prints. HMPO still expects a professional standard of print on plain white photographic paper.
Where to submit the photo
Hand the application in at the Customs and Immigration Service, Ross Road, Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ. The Falkland Islands Government states that all overseas applications must come through this office, and that applications reaching HMPO without having passed through it are returned to the applicant. British citizens are told to email the office for the UK passport application forms, and members of HM Forces and their dependants who can apply through BFPO get a separate contact on the same page.
The same office also controls arrivals on the weekly Saturday LATAM flight from Punta Arenas and the RAF Airbridge flights from RAF Brize Norton, so check its published opening hours before you plan the visit. Its pages do not mention a photo service, so arrive with your 2 prints already made.
How to get your Falkland Islands passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Falkland Islands passport: 35 × 45 mm print, plain cream or light grey background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: prints go in with the paper form; print size and head size; cream or light grey backdrop; close-up, facing forward.
- Prepare a print or digital file. This route uses prints, not an upload. The GOV.UK page for the islands tells you to download the form, include 2 identical new photos and apply in person, and it offers no online or digital-file option.
- Submit the photo with your application. Hand the application in at the Customs and Immigration Service, Ross Road, Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ.
Falkland Islands passport photo FAQ
The islands follow HM Passport Office. Each print is 45 mm high by 35 mm wide (35 x 45 mm), and you take 2 identical ones. Your head, from the crown to the chin, must measure between 29 and 34 mm. The Falkland Islands Government publishes no separate size.
At the Customs and Immigration Service on Ross Road in Stanley. The Falkland Islands Government says all overseas applications must come through this office. You apply in person, or someone can apply for you, and you bring photo ID, original documents and your current passport.
No. The Falkland Islands Government states that applications received by HM Passport Office that did not originate from the Customs and Immigration Office on Ross Road will be returned to the applicant. Use the Stanley office.
A plain cream or light grey background that contrasts clearly with you. No shadows may fall on your face or behind you, no other people or objects may be in the picture, and red eye is not accepted.
Only if you have to. Sunglasses and tinted glasses are not allowed, and the frames, glare, reflections or shadows must not cover your eyes. If your lenses catch the flash, take the glasses off for the photo.
No. The route described for the islands is a paper form with 2 identical photos, handed in at the Stanley office. HM Passport Office's digital photo rules are for its online service, which this route does not use.
The Customs and Immigration pages do not mention a photo service. They describe the office as the place where applications are received, so arrive with 2 identical prints that already meet the HMPO rules.
The Customs and Immigration pages say the office deals with applications for British and BOTC passports for those who qualify. Which one you can hold depends on your nationality status, which the office can explain. This page covers the photo for the application route that GOV.UK describes for the islands.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
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 Falkland Islands photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in South America
Official sources
- HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Overseas British passport applications: Falkland Islands passport.service.gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Falkland Islands Government. Customs & Immigration Service gov.fk. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Falkland Islands Government. Customs & Immigration: About us gov.fk. Checked 3 November 2026.
- HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Get a passport photo: Printed photos gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
- HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Applying for a passport from outside the UK: guidance notes gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
- HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Types of British passports: caseworker guidance gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with HM Passport Office (GOV.UK) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Falkland Islands passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/falkland-islands/passport-photo