Mexico photo specifications
Photo sizes and rules for 3 documents issued in Mexico, taken from the issuing authorities and linked to their official pages.
At a glance
Most Mexican documents need no photo from you. The SRE photographs passport applicants at its offices and consulates; consulates capture visa applicants' faces biometrically, although some still list one passport-size print; and the INM takes the permanent residence card photo digitally at its office. The exception is the electronic visa, where you upload a .jpg, .jpeg or .png face photo without glasses on a white background.
Overview
You do not supply a photo for a Mexican passport: the SRE photographs you at the passport office or consulate, from the front, in colour, on a white background, with the head uncovered and no glasses, so there is no print size to meet and no file to upload.
Two Mexican authorities are involved. The Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) issues passports to Mexican citizens through its passport offices and consulates, and its consulates also issue visas to foreigners. The Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) issues residence cards inside Mexico. Neither sets a print size for these documents today.
Passport: nothing to bring, for adults and children, in Mexico or abroad, first passports and renewals alike. Visa: no fixed size; consulates capture biometrics, some 2026 checklists still ask for a passport-size print, and the e-visa takes an uploaded file. Permanent residence: no print; the consulate captures biometrics for the visa and the INM photographs you for the card with ears and forehead showing.
Photo specifications by document
Passports
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport | — | — | White, on the SRE's capture at the appointment |
Visas and travel authorisations
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa | — | — | White |
Residence and work permits
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent resident visa | — | — | White, where a consulate still asks for a print |
Frequently asked questions
Usually not. Passport applicants are photographed by the SRE, and residence card applicants by the INM. For visas, the 2025 guidelines replaced the photo with a biometric capture, but some consulates still list one passport-size print, so check the checklist of the consulate you visit.
The electronic visa. Nationals of countries the SRE designates upload a face photo without glasses, on a white background and similar to their passport photo, as a .jpg, .jpeg or .png file, together with an image of the passport data page.
The INM, at the office handling your case. Since an agreement published on 25 July 2025, applicants no longer hand in three child-size prints; they authorise a digital photo with forehead and ears uncovered, without earrings or glasses.
No. The passport regulation names glasses among the objects that may not cover the face, the e-visa rules ask for a photo without glasses, and the INM takes the card photo without glasses or earrings.
They describe rules that have changed. A 2016 reform of the passport regulation made the SRE's own photo the rule, in force at offices in Mexico by 1 July 2018 at the latest, and the INM dropped its requirement of three child-size photos, including a right-profile view, in 2025. The two passport-size prints taken within 30 days that some guides list belong to the documento de identidad y viaje for foreigners, not to the Mexican passport.
Nearby countries
Other countries in Central America:
Official sources
- Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (gob.mx). Pasaporte Mexicano gob.mx. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Consulado de México en Austin (SRE). Reglamento de Pasaportes y del Documento de Identidad y Viaje (consolidated text, reforms to DOF 03-03-2015) consulmex.sre.gob.mx. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Diario Oficial de la Federación. Decreto de reforma al Reglamento de Pasaportes y del Documento de Identidad y Viaje (DOF 17/08/2016) dof.gob.mx. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Diario Oficial de la Federación (SEGOB and SRE). Lineamientos Generales para la expedición de visas (DOF 25/07/2025) dof.gob.mx. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Diario Oficial de la Federación (SEGOB). Acuerdo de simplificación de trámites ante el INM (DOF 25/07/2025) dof.gob.mx. Checked 3 November 2026.
Cite this page
"Mexico photo specifications". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/mexico