New Caledonia passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Ville de Nouméa for the New Caledonia passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the New Caledonia passport photo?
People living in New Caledonia hold the French passport, so the photo is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), with the face 32 to 36 mm tall. The Nouméa town hall asks for one colour print, under 6 months old and never used before, on a light blue or light grey background, with a bare head, closed mouth, no smile and no glasses. Nouméa does not photograph applicants at the counter, so you bring the print.
New Caledonia is a French overseas collectivity, and its residents hold the ordinary French passport. The State issues it through the High Commission of the Republic, but you do not file there. You file at a town hall (mairie) that has a biometric station. The High Commission publishes a map of the equipped town halls, and at its last update, in September 2025, the map marked 24, from Koumac and Ouégoa in the north to Yaté and the Île des Pins in the south, plus Lifou, Maré and Ouvéa on the Loyalty Islands. There is no residence condition, so any equipped town hall may take your application.
You go in person and by appointment, and the Nouméa leaflet warns that any lateness cancels the slot. An online pre-application on the ANTS site is recommended. Residents can sign in with an NC Connect account instead of FranceConnect, then bring the pre-application number to the counter. That form does not supply the picture: Nouméa tells applicants to bring their own identity photographs and says its town hall does not take them on site, unlike some other communes of the territory.
New Caledonia passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ville de Nouméa:[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No digital file: bring one printed photo, not scanned or digitised |
| Head height | 32 to 36 mm from chin to top of skull, hair excluded (national norm) |
| Background | Light blue or light grey (Nouméa leaflet); the national norm also bans white |
| Colour | Colour |
| Photo age | Under 6 months old and not used before |
| Print quality | Not scanned, digitised, folded, marked or holed |
| 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:
The photo must be taken by an authorised professional or in a booth using a system approved by the Ministry of the Interior. (translated from French)
Key requirements
- Light blue or light grey only
The Nouméa leaflet names these two backdrops. The national norm accepts any plain light colour but bans white, so a white wall is the one choice to avoid wherever you apply.
- One print, supplied by you
Nouméa asks for a single identity photograph and states that it does not take photos on site. Another equipped town hall may differ: the checklist that Dumbéa publishes for a first adult passport asks for two photos, so confirm the number when you book.
- No glasses at Nouméa
The leaflet lists "without glasses" among its conditions. That is stricter than the national norm, which lets applicants keep thin, clear, reflection-free glasses on. If you apply elsewhere, ask whether the same condition is applied.
- Ears, neck and hairline in view
Nouméa lists a bare head with no scrunchie, headband or visible hair elastic, ears uncovered, hair inside the frame, neck visible, no bare shoulders and no clothing with military patterns. The face is front-on and centred, with the mouth closed, no smile and a straight gaze.
- Face 32 to 36 mm tall
The leaflet only says the photo must follow the norms in force. Those norms, set out by service-public and the arrêté of 5 February 2009, put the face at 32 to 36 mm from chin to top of skull, hair excluded, which is 70 to 80 per cent of the 45 mm height.
- A genuine print, not a scan
The leaflet says the photograph must not be scanned, digitised, folded, marked or holed. Hand it over flat and clean, as printed.
- Recent and unused
Taken within the last six months and never submitted with an earlier application.
- Authorised photographer or booth
Service-public says the photo must be taken by an authorised professional or in a booth using a system approved by the Ministry of the Interior, and the national ANTS site keeps a search tool for both.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Book the appointment first and arrive on time.
- Choose a light blue or light grey backdrop.
- Take your glasses off.
- Keep ears, neck and hairline clear of hair and elastics.
- Wear a top that covers your shoulders.
- Bring your pre-application number if you filed online.
- Ask your town hall how many prints it wants.
Don't
- Do not use a white background.
- Do not scan, fold, mark or punch the print.
- Do not wear a scrunchie, headband or visible hair elastic.
- Do not wear military-pattern clothing.
- Do not smile or open your mouth.
- Do not reuse a photo from an earlier document.
Sample photos
How a New Caledonia 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.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Nouméa's leaflet asks for no glasses at all. The national rule would let you keep thin, clear lenses on, but the leaflet makes no such exception, so take them off for a Nouméa appointment. At another town hall, check its own wording before you have the picture taken.
Headwear and religious dress
The head must be bare, and the leaflet names the items to remove: scrunchie, headband and visible elastic. The national norm gives hats, scarves and headbands as examples of what is not allowed. None of the pages read for this guide sets a religious or medical exception. Earrings and piercings are accepted nationally if the features of the face stay clearly visible.
Babies and children
A minor must attend the appointment in person, accompanied by someone with parental authority, and the Nouméa leaflet gives the validity as 5 years for a minor against 10 for an adult. It publishes no separate photo rule for children, so the same size, background and no-glasses condition apply. Ask the town hall about very young babies before the appointment.
Printed and digital photos
There is no digital route. The leaflet asks for one paper photograph, and the online pre-application does not collect a picture. A digital image can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on photo paper, but the leaflet refuses scanned or digitised photographs, and the national rule requires the picture to come from an authorised professional or an approved booth.
Where to submit the photo
Book an appointment at an equipped town hall; Nouméa takes bookings online, by telephone or at the reception desk of the Hôtel de Ville. Bring the original documents on its list, a paper tax stamp bought locally (never one bought online in euros), and the photo. Fingerprints are taken at the counter, and the passport is later handed over to you in person.
An emergency (temporary) passport is a separate, exceptional route at the High Commission in Nouméa, by appointment, for serious humanitarian or proven professional reasons. Its page says the normal town hall passport should be preferred. The photo rule for that route could not be read, so ask when you book.
How to get your New Caledonia passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the New Caledonia passport: 35 × 45 mm print, light blue or light grey background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: light blue or light grey only; one print, supplied by you; no glasses at Nouméa; ears, neck and hairline in view.
- Prepare a print or digital file. There is no digital route. The leaflet asks for one paper photograph, and the online pre-application does not collect a picture.
- Submit the photo with your application. Book an appointment at an equipped town hall; Nouméa takes bookings online, by telephone or at the reception desk of the Hôtel de Ville.
New Caledonia passport photo FAQ
It is 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm), the French passport size. The Nouméa leaflet states that format. The face should measure 32 to 36 mm from chin to top of skull under the national norm that the leaflet refers to.
Light blue or light grey. The national rule on service-public says a plain light colour and forbids white, so the Nouméa wording fits inside it. Pick one of the two named colours and keep the backdrop even, with no shadow.
At Nouméa, no: the leaflet says the photo must be without glasses. The national guidance would allow thin frames and clear lenses with no reflections, but the safe course is to remove them. Another town hall may word its condition differently.
The Nouméa leaflet asks for one. Dumbéa's checklist for a first adult passport asks for two photos of 35 x 45 mm. Town halls act under State authority but publish their own lists, so confirm the number with the town hall that holds your appointment.
No. The pre-application on the ANTS site speeds up the visit, and New Caledonia residents can sign in through NC Connect. You still bring the printed photo and the paper tax stamp, and Nouméa says plainly that applicants must supply their own photographs.
Not at Nouméa, whose leaflet says it does not photograph applicants on site, unlike other communes of the territory. French law lets communes in New Caledonia capture the face image when no professional photographer can supply it, so ask your own town hall.
You can apply at any equipped town hall in the territory, with no condition on where you live. The High Commission map shows stations on Grande Terre and on Lifou, Maré, Ouvéa and the Île des Pins, so most residents have one close by.
The leaflet does not mention printers. It does ban scanned or digitised photographs, and service-public says the photo must be taken by an authorised professional or in an approved booth. A print made from your own phone picture is therefore unlikely to meet the rule.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
- Fiji passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Papua New Guinea passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Solomon Islands passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Vanuatu passport 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 New Caledonia photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Oceania
Official sources
- Ville de Nouméa. Demande de titre d'identité - Passeport et/ou Carte Nationale d'Identité (leaflet) noumea.nc. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Ville de Nouméa. Demande de passeport et de carte nationale d'identité électronique noumea.nc. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Haut-Commissariat de la République en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Passeports nouvelle-caledonie.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Haut-Commissariat de la République en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Des démarches simplifiées (mairies équipées) nouvelle-caledonie.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Haut-Commissariat de la République en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Les passeports temporaires (passeports d'urgence) nouvelle-caledonie.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Haut-Commissariat de la République en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Information presse : pré-demande en ligne via NC Connect (6 février 2024) nouvelle-caledonie.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Ville de Dumbéa. Pièces à fournir : première demande de passeport pour un majeur demarches.ville-dumbea.nc. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA). Quelle photo fournir pour un titre d'identité (passeport, carte d'identité...) ? service-public.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Légifrance. Décret n° 2005-1726 du 30 décembre 2005 relatif aux passeports (articles 6-1 et 29) legifrance.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Légifrance. Arrêté du 5 février 2009 relatif à la production de photographies d'identité dans le cadre de la délivrance du passeport legifrance.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ville de Nouméa before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"New Caledonia passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/new-caledonia/passport-photo