Finland photo specifications
Photo sizes and rules for 6 documents issued in Finland, taken from the issuing authorities and linked to their official pages.
At a glance
Most Finnish documents use the police passport photo standard: 36 x 47 mm on paper, or 500 x 653 pixels on the police photograph server, with a head of 32 to 36 mm. It covers the passport, identity card, European Firearms Pass and firearms handling permit, and is the basis for driving licence and residence permit photos. Finnish Schengen visa checklists cite ICAO guidance of 35 to 40 mm width instead.
Overview
A Finnish passport photo is 36 x 47 mm on paper, or exactly 500 x 653 pixels as a JPEG of no more than 250 KB on the police photograph server, with the head 32 to 36 mm from crown to chin against a plain, light, neutral background, ideally light grey. It may be in colour or black and white and no more than six months old.
Four authorities ask for photos in Finland. The police issue passports and identity cards and grant firearms permits; the European Firearms Pass needs two passport photos and the firearms handling permit a photo or retrieval code. Traficom issues driving licences, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) issues residence permit cards, and Finnish embassies and consulates issue visas.
The photo itself rarely changes between them, because the police instruction and Decree 1168/2016 are the common reference. What changes is how the photo reaches the authority. The police take a retrieval code from a photo studio, a photo you upload yourself, or a paper photo at a station. Traficom cannot use a studio code at all: it reuses your passport or identity card photo, or takes two prints, and drops the six-month age limit. Migri takes a photo-shop code in Enter Finland or a paper photo. Visa missions want a colour print with the signed form.
Photo specifications by document
Passports
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport | 36 × 47 mm | 500 × 653 px | Plain light background in one flat, neutral… |
Visas and travel authorisations
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa | 36 × 47 mm | — | Plain light-coloured background |
Identity cards
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| ID card | 36 × 47 mm | 500 × 653 px | Plain light background, flat and in a neutral… |
Driving licences
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driving licence | 36 × 47 mm | — | Plain light background in a single neutral… |
Residence and work permits
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residence permit | 36 × 47 mm | — | Plain light background, one flat and neutral… |
Licences and permit cards
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firearms permit | 36 × 47 mm | 500 × 653 px | Plain light background, single-coloured and… |
Frequently asked questions
Police documents do: the passport, the identity card and the firearms handling permit. Migri also takes a retrieval code from a photo shop in Enter Finland for residence permits and card renewals. Traficom cannot use a studio code for a driving licence and reuses your passport or identity card photo instead.
Both are 36 mm wide and 47 mm high on paper, or exactly 500 x 653 pixels as a JPEG of up to 250 KB on the police photograph server. The head measures 32 to 36 mm from crown to chin at every age.
Generally no. The police offer photography only at the Helsinki Airport service point, for an extra fee and for urgent applications from transit passengers. Traficom reuses the photo on your passport or identity card, and Migri asks for a photo from a photo shop.
Often. A passport photo less than six months old can be attached automatically to an identity card application, and Traficom can use the photo on a valid passport or identity card for your driving licence. Visa photos are separate and must be in colour.
You can, but the police warn that phones and tablets usually have wide-angle lenses and are used close up, which makes the nose and the middle of the face look too big. Poor lighting and too short a shooting distance are the faults they see most in home photos. Keep enough distance, hold the camera straight in front of your face as the decree requires, and light the face evenly.
Nearby countries
Other countries in Northern Europe:
- Åland Islands
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Guernsey
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Jersey
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
Official sources
- Police of Finland. Passport photographs poliisi.fi. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Police of Finland. Passport photograph instructions by the police (PDF) poliisi.fi. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Ministry of the Interior, published in Finlex. Decree 1168/2016 on photographs attached to passports and identity cards (Finnish, PDF) finlex.fi. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Police of Finland. European Firearms Pass poliisi.fi. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Traficom. Driving licence permit traficom.fi. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Applying for a residence permit migri.fi. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. A visa to visit Finland um.fi. Checked 3 November 2026.
Cite this page
"Finland photo specifications". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/finland