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Netherlands visa photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands visa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 13 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Netherlands visa photo?

For a Schengen visa applied for at a Dutch embassy or consulate, bring a colour photo of 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm), no more than six months old, on a white or light-coloured background. At VFS Global or TLScontact you need no photo: one is taken digitally at your appointment. For an MVV long-stay visa, the embassy scans a 35 x 45 mm photo that must meet the Dutch passport requirements.

The Netherlands issues two main kinds of visa abroad. A Schengen visa covers short stays of up to 90 days; you apply in your country of residence at a Dutch embassy or consulate-general, or at a VFS Global or TLScontact visa application centre that handles the paperwork while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decides. The MVV (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf) is a type D entry visa for stays of more than 90 days, applied for together with a residence permit through the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

How you supply the photo depends on where you apply. At an embassy you hand in a printed photo; at an external service provider the photo is captured on the spot. For an MVV, embassy staff scan your printed photo and take your fingerprints and signature, because those biometrics are used to make your Dutch residence document. Once you are in the Netherlands, IND desks take their own digital photo when they still need one.

General Schengen photo standards are covered on the Schengen visa page. This page sets out what Dutch missions, the IND and the visa centres working for the Netherlands ask for.

Netherlands visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs:[1]

Print sizeEmbassy or consulate: 35 x 45 mm (3.5 x 4.5 cm) print; VFS Global or TLScontact: no print needed
Digital sizeNo upload: VFS Global and TLScontact take a digital photo at the appointment; embassies use your print
Head heightMVV (Dutch passport rules): 26 to 30 mm chin to crown from age 11
BackgroundSchengen visa: white or light-coloured; MVV: light grey, light blue or white
ColourColour photo
Photo ageNo more than 6 months old
Print qualityMVV: smooth, high-quality photo paper, at least 400 dpi, not a copy (Dutch passport rules)
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm26–30 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 26–30 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: schengen visa: white or light-coloured.

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

unaltered by computer software

Requirements for photos[13]

must comply with the requirements which also apply for Dutch passports

Appendix Fingerprints, passport photo and signature (7602)[9]

Key requirements

  • Embassy appointments need a print

    If you apply at a Dutch embassy or consulate-general, the visa checklists ask for an original photo that meets Dutch requirements: colour, no more than six months old, 3.5 x 4.5 cm, on a white or light-coloured background. The same wording appears in the checklists for each purpose of travel and for the entry visa after a lost or expired residence permit.

  • Visa centres take the photo

    If you apply through an external service provider, such as VFS Global or TLScontact, you do not need to submit a photo: a digital photo is taken at your appointment, where you also give fingerprints. Check which kind of location your appointment is at before you have prints made.

  • The MVV photo is scanned

    When you submit an MVV application yourself at the embassy or consulate, staff scan your passport photo and take your fingerprints, and you sign. The IND application form has a box for a 35 x 45 mm photo. The IND says the photo must comply with the requirements that apply to Dutch passports, and that a photo that fails them causes unnecessary delay.

  • Sponsor route: photo at the sticker appointment

    If your sponsor applied in the Netherlands, you bring a passport photo that meets Dutch requirements when you collect the MVV visa sticker, along with your passport and a copy of the IND approval letter. If you applied yourself at the embassy, your photo was taken in then and you bring only your passport.

  • Residence permits: the IND takes the photo

    At IND desks and service points, staff take a digital passport photo for your residence document, and the IND does not accept photos taken elsewhere by a photographer. The photo is taken against a light grey background, so the IND asks you not to wear completely white or light grey clothing.

  • Babies under 2: photographer and form

    For a residence document for a child under 2, you do not book a biometrics appointment. You post a passport photo, taken by a photographer, placed in the grey frame of the Appendix Passport photo form, without paperclips, tape or staples. The IND warns that a residence document cannot be made if the photo fails the requirements.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Find out whether your appointment is at an embassy or at a visa centre.
  • Bring a 35 x 45 mm colour print to an embassy appointment.
  • Use a photographer from the NetherlandsWorldwide list for your country.
  • Wear dark or coloured clothes to an IND biometrics appointment.
  • Have a photographer take the photo of a baby under 2.

Don't

  • Do not bring a photo more than six months old.
  • Do not use a dark or patterned background.
  • Do not wear a light grey or busily patterned head covering at the IND.
  • Do not fold the photo or attach it with tape, staples or paperclips.
  • Do not edit the photo with software.

Sample photos

How a Netherlands 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.

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

The NetherlandsWorldwide visa checklists say nothing about glasses beyond asking for a photo that meets Dutch requirements. For the MVV, the IND points to the Dutch passport rules, which allow glasses only when the eyes are fully visible, the lenses fully transparent and there is no disturbing reflection or shadow. If a reflection cannot be avoided, those rules say the glasses must come off.

Headwear and religious dress

At IND desks you may keep your head covered for religious or philosophical reasons, provided the covering does not hide your face. The IND recommends a plain covering that is not light grey, and warns that reflective fabric or busy patterns can make the photo fail.

For a printed MVV photo the Dutch passport rules apply: no caps or hats, and a religious or medical head covering must be plain, one colour and contrast with the background.

Babies and children

For MVV applications made abroad, children under 12 must come to the embassy or consulate with a parent who has authority or a guardian. Under the Dutch passport rules that apply to MVV photos, children under 6 are exempt from the position and expression requirements, and up to age 10 the head may measure 19 to 30 mm.

Once the family is in the Netherlands, the IND photographs children aged 2 and over at its desks, while for a baby under 2 you post a photographer's print with the Appendix Passport photo form. For a Schengen visa, a minor travelling without both parents also needs a signed consent form and copies of the absent parents' travel documents.

No Dutch visa application asks you to upload a photo file. Embassies take a printed photo; VFS Global and TLScontact capture a digital image at the counter; the IND does the same at its desks. For the MVV, the embassy scans the print you bring.

If you need a print, a digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4 x 6 inch sheet at a photo counter. NetherlandsWorldwide also lists, country by country, photographers who know the Dutch rules for passports, identity cards and visas, and suggests taking the RvIG photo matrix to any other photographer.

Where to submit the photo

Schengen visa: apply in your country of residence, usually at a VFS Global or TLScontact centre, or at a Dutch embassy or consulate-general, up to six months before the trip. Bring the signed application form, the checklist documents and your passport. You give fingerprints unless they were taken for a visa in the past 59 months and can be copied.

MVV: if you apply yourself, book an appointment at the Dutch embassy or consulate in your country of nationality or residence and bring the completed IND form, your passport photo and valid passport; then send the application to the IND within three weeks. If a sponsor applied, you collect the visa sticker at the embassy with a compliant photo.

Residence document: after arrival, book a biometrics appointment at an IND desk, an IND service point or an expat centre once the IND has written to you.

How to get your Netherlands visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Netherlands visa: 35 × 45 mm print, schengen visa: white or light-coloured background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: embassy appointments need a print; visa centres take the photo; the MVV photo is scanned; sponsor route: photo at the sticker appointment.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. No Dutch visa application asks you to upload a photo file. Embassies take a printed photo; VFS Global and TLScontact capture a digital image at the counter; the IND does the same at its desks. For the MVV, the embassy scans the print you bring.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Schengen visa: apply in your country of residence, usually at a VFS Global or TLScontact centre, or at a Dutch embassy or consulate-general, up to six months before the trip. Bring the signed application form, the checklist documents and your passport.

Make this photo online

Netherlands visa photo FAQ

It is 35 x 45 mm, written on the Dutch checklists as 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm. It must be in colour, no more than six months old and on a white or light-coloured background. You need the print only if you apply at an embassy or consulate; visa centres photograph you.

No. NetherlandsWorldwide says applicants who use an external service provider do not need to submit a photo, because a digital photo is taken at the appointment. Bring one only if you apply directly at a Dutch embassy or consulate-general.

A 35 x 45 mm passport photo that meets the requirements for Dutch passports: head 26 to 30 mm from chin to crown, a light grey, light blue or white background, colour, and no more than six months old. The embassy scans it with your fingerprints and signature; a non-compliant photo delays the application.

Not from applicants who attend a biometrics appointment: the IND takes a digital photo at its desk and does not accept photos taken elsewhere. The exception is a child under 2, for whom you post a photographer's print with the Appendix Passport photo form.

Avoid completely white or light grey clothing, because the IND photographs you against a light grey background. A religious head covering is allowed if it leaves the face uncovered; choose a plain one that is not light grey and has no reflective material or busy pattern.

NetherlandsWorldwide keeps a list per country of places that take photos meeting Dutch requirements for passports, identity cards and visas. Embassies can also tell MVV applicants where to have suitable photos made locally.

Yes. The Schengen visa checklists accept a white or light-coloured background, and the Dutch passport rules used for the MVV allow light grey, light blue or white.

Related photo specifications

Other Netherlands documents

Visas and travel authorisations nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Checklist: tourism (Schengen visa) netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Checklist: entry visa netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Step-by-step plan: Applying for a Schengen visa for the Netherlands netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applying for a Schengen visa for the Netherlands in Suriname netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applying for an MVV visa sticker for the Netherlands in India netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Getting Dutch passport photos taken outside the Netherlands netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Provisional residence permit (MVV) ind.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Apply for MVV and residence permit from abroad ind.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Appendix Fingerprints, passport photo and signature (7602) ind.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  10. Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Application for admission and residence to stay with a family member (9511) ind.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  11. Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Biometrics appointment: photo, signature and fingerprints ind.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  12. Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Appendix Passport photo form (7630) ind.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
  13. Government of the Netherlands. Requirements for photos government.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Netherlands visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/netherlands/visa-photo

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