Ireland visa photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice for the Ireland visa, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Ireland visa photo?
An Irish visa application needs two identical colour photos printed on photographic paper, 35 to 38 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high. Your face must take up 70% to 80% of the picture, against a plain white or light grey background, and the photos must be less than six months old. They go to your application office with your passport and documents after you complete the AVATS online form.
Irish visas are issued by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), part of the Department of Justice. An application has three parts: you create it online in AVATS, the Irish visa system, you pay the fee, and you send your passport and supporting documents to the application office printed on your summary sheet. That office may be the Dublin visa office, an international visa office or an Irish embassy or consulate, depending on where you apply from.
Two passport-sized photos of the applicant go in with those documents. ISD publishes one set of photo rules for all visa types, and if your photos do not meet them, the application is delayed until correct ones are supplied. ISD takes supporting documents only on paper, not on USB sticks, memory cards or file-sharing links, and the photos are part of that paper bundle.
In some countries the application also involves biometrics: your fingerprints and a live facial image captured by the application office. Whether this applies depends on the country where you live, and it comes on top of the printed photos rather than replacing them.
Ireland visa photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice:[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) up to 38 x 50 mm: 35-38 mm wide and 45-50 mm high |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No digital file: send two identical printed photos with your documents |
| Head height | Face 70% to 80% of the photo; a close-up of the face and top of the shoulders |
| Background | Plain white or light grey, with no shadows or glare |
| Colour | Colour |
| Photo age | Less than 6 months old |
| Print quality | Photographic paper; the back of each photo white and unglazed |
| 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 face must take up 70% to 80% of the photo
Key requirements
- Two identical prints
Both photos must show exactly the same image, taken less than six months before you apply. Print them from one picture rather than taking two shots.
- A close-up, not a half-length shot
The photo is a close-up of your face and the top of your shoulders, and your face must take up 70% to 80% of it. Centre your head, look directly at the camera and do not tilt or turn your head in any direction.
- White or light grey only
The background must be plain white or light grey, with good contrast against your face and no shadows or glare in the picture or behind you. Cream, which Irish passport rules accept, is not on the visa list.
- Neutral expression
Do not smile, frown or squint. Keep your eyes open, your mouth closed and your hair clear of your eyes.
- Colour, focus and exposure
Photos must be in colour, sharply focused and correctly exposed, with good colour balance, natural flesh tones and no red eye.
- Label them, do not attach them
Write your name and your Visa Application Transaction Number on the back of each photo, then put both in the envelope with the application form. Do not staple or attach them to the form or summary sheet.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Order two prints of the same photo on photographic paper.
- Make your face fill 70% to 80% of the photo.
- Use a plain white or light grey background.
- Write your name and AVATS transaction number on the back of each.
- Send the photos with your documents within 30 days of creating the AVATS application.
- Keep your eyes clearly visible if you wear glasses.
Don't
- Do not staple or clip the photos to the form.
- Do not use a coloured or patterned background.
- Do not wear sunglasses or tinted or coloured lenses.
- Do not wear a hat, cap or headband.
- Do not tilt or turn your head.
- Do not send photos that are six months old or older.
Sample photos
How a Ireland visa 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
Sunglasses and glasses with tinted or coloured lenses are not allowed. If you normally wear glasses you may keep them on, but your eyes must be clearly visible in the photo, and the rule against glare anywhere in the image covers your lenses too.
The sample board on the ISD rules page includes a man wearing ordinary clear glasses among its accepted examples.
Headwear and religious dress
Hats, caps, headbands and other head or hair coverings must come off. The one exception is a covering worn for religious reasons, and then your face must stay clearly visible. The visa rules name religious reasons only; they list no medical exception.
The Irish Embassy in Beijing adds, in its own visa guidance, that hair bands are not allowed.
Babies and children
Every visa applicant needs their own two photos, babies included, and a parent or legal guardian makes the application for anyone under 18. The same rules apply to children: a plain white or light grey background, the face fully visible and no shadows across it. The ISD sample board shows a baby photo rejected because an adult's hands are holding the child, next to an accepted one with nobody else in view.
Where biometrics are collected, children under five are exempt from giving them. They still need the printed photos.
Printed and digital photos
There is no digital photo route for an Irish visa. The rules ask for prints on photographic paper with a white, unglazed back, and both prints must show the same image. A digital photo can be cropped to the visa size and printed at a photo counter, as long as the face fills 70% to 80% of the frame and both copies come from that one image.
Where your application office takes biometrics, the live facial image it captures is separate from these prints. The office named on your summary sheet tells you whether you need to give biometrics and how.
Where to submit the photo
After you finish the AVATS form, print, sign and date the application summary sheets. Send them with your passport, the two photos and your other documents to the office address on the summary sheet within 30 days of creating the application. Put the photos loose in the same envelope as the form.
On the back of each photo, ISD's photo rules ask for the applicant's name and the visa application transaction number in block capitals, while the document list for visit visas asks you to sign your name in your native script and add the transaction number. If you are applying for a re-entry visa, leave the number out. In some countries an outside company collects applications: the Irish Embassy in Beijing, for example, says applicants in China and Mongolia must lodge them in person at a VFS Global visa application centre.
How to get your Ireland visa photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Ireland visa: 35 × 45 mm print, plain white or light grey background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: two identical prints; a close-up, not a half-length shot; white or light grey only; neutral expression.
- Prepare a print or digital file. There is no digital photo route for an Irish visa. The rules ask for prints on photographic paper with a white, unglazed back, and both prints must show the same image.
- Submit the photo with your application. After you finish the AVATS form, print, sign and date the application summary sheets. Send them with your passport, the two photos and your other documents to the office address on the summary sheet within 30 days of creating the application.
Ireland visa photo FAQ
Each photo must be 35 to 38 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high, so the common 35 x 45 mm passport size fits. Your face should take up 70% to 80% of the photo, framed as a close-up of your face and the top of your shoulders.
Two, and they must be identical: the same image, printed twice on photographic paper. Each applicant, including each child, needs their own pair.
Yes. ISD accepts a plain white or light grey background. It must be free of shadows and glare, with good contrast between your face and the background.
Yes, if you normally wear them and your eyes are clearly visible. Sunglasses and tinted or coloured lenses are not allowed, and the photo must not show glare.
To your application office, with your passport, signed summary sheets and other documents, within 30 days of creating the AVATS application. The office address is printed on the summary sheet. Put the photos in the same envelope as the form without stapling them.
Your name and your Visa Application Transaction Number from AVATS. ISD's photo rules ask for these in block capitals; the visit visa document list asks you to sign your name in your native script. For a re-entry visa, leave the transaction number out.
It must be less than six months old. Because both photos must show exactly the same image, print them from a single picture.
Only if you wear it for religious reasons, and your face must remain clearly visible. Hats, caps and headbands worn for other reasons must be removed.
Related photo specifications
Other Ireland documents
Visas and travel authorisations nearby
- Denmark visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Estonia long-stay visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Estonia visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Finland visa photo 36 × 47 mm
- Norway visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Sweden visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- United Kingdom electronic travel authorisation (ETA) photo
- United Kingdom visa photo 35 × 45 mm
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 Ireland photo specifications
- Visas and travel authorisations: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice. Photograph rules for visa applications irishimmigration.ie. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice. Visit family/friend visa irishimmigration.ie. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice. Giving your details on AVATS for a visa/preclearance application irishimmigration.ie. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Embassy of Ireland, China. Visas: general information ireland.ie. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland). Photo guidelines (passports) ireland.ie. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice. How to apply for a short stay 'C' visit/tourist visa irishimmigration.ie. Checked 1 November 2026.
- Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice. Coming to visit Ireland irishimmigration.ie. Checked 1 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Ireland visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/ireland/visa-photo