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Macau passport photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Identification Services Bureau, Macao SAR Government for the Macau passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 4 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Macau passport photo?

A Macao SAR passport photo is 35 mm wide and 45 mm high, in colour, on a plain white background with no margin. From age 10 the head must measure 34 to 36 mm from chin to crown; for younger children 32 to 36 mm. It must be bare-headed, full-face and taken within the last 6 months. A print you hand in must come from a photography studio, or DSI photographs you at the counter or kiosk.

The Macao SAR passport is issued by the Identification Services Bureau (DSI) to Chinese nationals who hold a valid Macao SAR Permanent Resident Identity Card. It is valid for 10 years for holders aged 18 or over and 5 years for those under 18, and it can be renewed once it is within 9 months of expiry or has already expired. DSI publishes one photograph specification, form DSI-52-M, for travel documents and the resident identity card, but a travel document photo may be no more than 6 months old.

How the photo reaches DSI depends on where you apply. A self-service kiosk can photograph you during a renewal. In the "Macao One Account" app you pick the identification photo a contracted studio has added to your "My Photos" album, or take an instant identification photo in the app. At a DSI counter you hand in a studio print or are photographed on site free of charge. Residents in other countries apply by post and enclose a studio photograph.

Macau passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Identification Services Bureau, Macao SAR Government:[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), width x height; DSI calls it the 1.5-inch size
Digital sizeNo upload of your own file: online, use a contracted-studio photo in My Photos or the app's instant photo
Head height34 to 36 mm from chin to crown from age 10; 32 to 36 mm for children under 10
BackgroundPlain white, without margin
ColourColour photograph
Photo ageTaken within the last 6 months
Print qualityCounter and postal prints must be taken at a photography studio; folded or low-resolution photos are rejected
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm34–36 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 34–36 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: plain white.

Key requirements

  • Head size depends on age

    From the age of 10, the head must fill 34 to 36 mm of the 45 mm height, measured from the chin to the top of the head. For children under 10, DSI allows 32 to 36 mm.

  • Six months for travel documents

    A passport or travel permit photo must have been taken in the last 6 months. The longer 12-month allowance in the same DSI specification applies only to the resident identity card.

  • A studio print or a DSI camera

    At the counter and by post, a printed photo must be one taken at a photography studio. The alternatives are the free on-site photo at the counter, the kiosk camera, or a contracted studio's photo stored in My Photos.

  • White, borderless and evenly lit

    The background must be plain white and the photo must have no margin. DSI rejects photos with a shadow on the face or the background, and photos that are overexposed or underexposed.

  • Keep your natural appearance

    DSI forbids retouching that alters your natural appearance, naming moles and scars as examples. Effect lenses, coloured contact lenses and the iris-enlarging lenses known as "big eye" lenses are not accepted.

  • Every feature visible

    Look straight at the camera with your whole face showing. Hair must not fall in front of the eyes or eyebrows, and DSI asks you to avoid heavy make-up, camisoles, tube tops and clothing that is very dark, very light or reflective.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Use a plain white background with no border
  • Keep the head 34 to 36 mm high from age 10
  • Look straight into the camera
  • Have prints for the counter or post taken at a photography studio
  • Use a photo taken in the last 6 months
  • Choose thin frames, or take glasses off, so the eyes stay clear

Don't

  • Do not wear a hat, head wrap or hair accessory
  • Do not wear coloured, effect or "big eye" contact lenses
  • Do not retouch moles, scars or other features
  • Do not let hair cover your eyes or eyebrows
  • Do not wear tinted glasses or let the lenses reflect light
  • Do not hand in a folded or low-resolution photo

Sample photos

How a Macau 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.

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

DSI does not ban glasses, but it rejects a photo when the frame covers the eyes or other facial features, and it tells applicants to avoid thick, heavy black or white frames. Glare or reflection on the glasses or on the face is another ground for rejection, and DSI's sample sheet marks tinted lenses as unacceptable.

Contact lenses count as well: coloured lenses, effect lenses and iris-enlarging "big eye" lenses are all refused for a passport photo.

Headwear and religious dress

Head coverings are not allowed in a Macao SAR passport photo. DSI also asks you to leave off exaggerated accessories such as a head wrap or jewellery on the eyebrows, nose or lips, and its sample sheet of unacceptable photos shows a cap, a headband, a bow and a hair clip. No exception for religious or medical head coverings is published, so contact DSI before applying if this affects you.

Babies and children

Children use the same 35 x 45 mm white-background format, but the head may be smaller: 32 to 36 mm for a child under 10, and DSI's acceptable examples include a baby. For applicants under 18, both parents or the guardian must come to a kiosk with the child, and at the counter they show their original identification documents and sign the form.

Online, a parent lodges the application from their own "Macao One Account", which must already hold the child's identification photo in My Photos. Both parents or guardians pass facial recognition, and a parent or guardian collects the passport. The kiosk and app routes are open only to children who were at least 5 years old when their current identity card was issued.

There is no route for uploading a photo file you made yourself. In the app, the photo is either the identification photo a contracted studio adds to My Photos, taken within the past 6 months, or an instant photo taken in the app. At a counter, a parent can also show the QR code of a child's My Photos picture instead of handing in a print.

Prints are used for counter and postal applications, and DSI asks for them to be taken at a photography studio. DSI names no paper type, but its rejected examples include a folded photo and a low-resolution one. If any photo fails its checks after you apply, DSI asks you for another recent one.

Where to submit the photo

In Macao, apply at a self-service kiosk in a Government 24-hour self-service centre (no number tag needed), in the "Macao One Account" app, or at a DSI service counter after getting a number tag in advance. The counter is required if your identity card has expired (unless it is being renewed without data changes), if a representative applies for you, if you are interdicted or quasi-interdicted, or if the passport was lost or damaged before it expired.

From other countries or regions, except Mainland China and Hong Kong, use DSI's Postal Application Service: register online, print the application slip and mail Part 2 to Macau Postal Box No. 1089 with the form, a copy of your identity card, the studio photo, ten fingerprints on DSI's form and proof from the last 3 months that you cannot apply in person (schooling, employment or medical). DSI returns the passport only by express courier.

How to get your Macau passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Macau passport: 35 × 45 mm print, plain white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: head size depends on age; six months for travel documents; a studio print or a DSI camera; white, borderless and evenly lit.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. There is no route for uploading a photo file you made yourself. In the app, the photo is either the identification photo a contracted studio adds to My Photos, taken within the past 6 months, or an instant photo taken in the app.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Macao, apply at a self-service kiosk in a Government 24-hour self-service centre (no number tag needed), in the "Macao One Account" app, or at a DSI service counter after getting a number tag in advance.

Make this photo online

Macau passport photo FAQ

It is 35 mm wide by 45 mm high, which DSI calls the 1.5-inch size. From age 10 the head, measured from chin to crown, must be 34 to 36 mm; children under 10 may have a head of 32 to 36 mm. The background is plain white with no margin.

DSI describes no channel for a home-made print or for uploading your own file. Counter and postal applications ask for a studio photograph, and the app uses a contracted-studio photo in My Photos or its own instant photo. At the counter and kiosks DSI can photograph you instead.

It can, if you apply in person. At a DSI counter you may use a photo taken on site at no cost, and a self-service kiosk photographs you during a renewal. A postal application from abroad cannot use either option, so it needs a studio print taken within the last 6 months.

No more than 6 months. DSI's specification sets 6 months for travel documents, meaning the passport and the travel permit, and 12 months for the resident identity card. A photo that is still fine for an identity card may therefore be too old for a passport.

Yes, if the frames do not cover your eyes or other features and nothing reflects. DSI rejects photos with glare on the glasses or the face and photos with tinted lenses, and it advises against thick, heavy black or white frames.

Yes, from countries or regions other than Mainland China and Hong Kong. Use DSI's Postal Application Service and mail the documents to Macau Postal Box No. 1089 with a 1.5-inch, white-background studio photo taken in the last 6 months. The fee is paid online by credit card or by a representative in Macao.

Yes, in the Macao One Account app, if the passport expires within 9 months or has expired and you pass facial recognition. The photo must be a contracted studio's identification photo in My Photos from the last 6 months, or an instant photo taken in the app. Applicants aged 18 or over collect the new passport in person.

DSI checks the photo after you apply. If a photograph or image does not meet its requirements, it asks you to provide another recent photo, so that the photo does not cause problems when you later use the travel document.

Related photo specifications

Other Macau documents

Passports nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Identification Services Bureau, Macao SAR Government. Photograph Specifications (applicable to Macao SAR resident identity card and travel document), DSI-52-M (PDF) dsi.gov.mo. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Macao SAR Government Portal (content: Identification Services Bureau). Macao SAR Passport / Travel Permit: Application procedures for Macao SAR Passport gov.mo. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Macao SAR Government Portal (content: Identification Services Bureau). Application procedures for Macao SAR Passport (Postal Application) gov.mo. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Macao SAR Government Portal (content: Identification Services Bureau). Macao SAR Passport / Macao SAR Travel Permit (FAQs) gov.mo. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Identification Services Bureau, Macao SAR Government before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Macau passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/macau/passport-photo

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