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New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Immigration New Zealand for the New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card, 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 New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card photo?

A New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) application needs 1 colour passport photo, taken less than 6 months ago, which Immigration New Zealand places on your virtual card. The photo panel on the application form is 35 x 45 mm, and the digital photo is emailed with your full name and passport number. Black and white photos are not accepted, and INZ's photo standard bans AI and other digital edits.

For New Zealand citizens, the APEC Business Travel Card is issued by Immigration New Zealand (INZ), part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The card lets frequent business travellers visit the participating APEC economies that have pre-cleared them without applying for a visa each time, and use the dedicated APEC lanes at immigration. To apply you need a current New Zealand passport, a genuine need for frequent short-term business travel and no criminal convictions.

Since August 2021 New Zealand has issued only the Virtual ABTC, a digital card displayed in an app on your phone. Plastic cards, including replacements, are no longer made, but a photo is still required: the application form notes that the photo will appear on your card.

You apply on the paper form MBIE 3522, post it to INZ with your supporting documents, and email the digital photo separately. INZ's ABTC page lists 1 acceptable digital photo among the documents you need and links to its visa and NZeTA photo standards, which therefore set the practical rules for the picture.

New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Immigration New Zealand:[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), the passport photo panel on form MBIE 3522
Digital sizeA digital photo is emailed; the ABTC pages set no pixel size
BackgroundNeutral and plain, with no other people or objects (INZ photo standard linked from the ABTC page)
ColourColour; black and white is not acceptable
Photo ageLess than 6 months old
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale.

In the official words

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

You cannot manipulate or digitally alter your photo using Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other digital editing tools.

Acceptable photos for a visa or NZeTA[3]

Key requirements

  • Colour and recent

    The ABTC form sets two photo conditions of its own: the photo must be less than 6 months old, and a black and white photo is not acceptable.

  • Email the digital photo

    Send the digital photo to INZ's ABTC lodgement email address with your full name and passport number, then tick the box on the form to show it was sent electronically. The form itself travels by post or courier.

  • Passport-photo shape

    The photo panel on the form is marked 3.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm high, which is 35 x 45 mm. Prepare the picture as an upright passport-style portrait in that shape, with your face centred.

  • Unedited, natural image

    The INZ standard linked from the ABTC page says the photo must not be manipulated or digitally altered with AI or other editing tools. Filters, skin smoothing, brightness or contrast changes and pasting your head onto a plain background all count as alterations.

  • Clear, front-on face

    Under the same standard your face should fill 70% to 80% of the image. Look straight into the camera with a neutral expression, mouth closed and eyes open, with your ears showing unless a religious or medical scarf covers them.

  • For the traveller alone

    An ABTC cannot cover a partner or dependent children; INZ says they would need visas instead. The application and its photo are for the card holder only.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Email the photo with your full name and passport number.
  • Tick the form's box to show the photo was sent electronically.
  • Use a colour photo taken in the last 6 months.
  • Frame it as an upright 35 x 45 mm passport-style portrait.
  • Stand in front of a plain, neutral background.
  • Check your passport does not expire within the next 12 months.

Don't

  • Do not send a black and white photo.
  • Do not reuse a photo older than 6 months.
  • Do not retouch the picture or swap the background.
  • Do not wear sunglasses or tinted lenses.
  • Do not let hair or a head covering hide your face.

Sample photos

How a New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm 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 ABTC form does not mention glasses, but the INZ photo standard it relies on allows prescription glasses with clear, untinted lenses, frames that do not cover your face and no glare in the picture. Sunglasses are not accepted, and INZ suggests taking glasses off if they cause problems.

Babies and children

The ABTC is only for the business traveller. INZ says you cannot get one, and will need a visa instead, if you want to include your partner and dependent children, so the scheme publishes no photo rules for children.

Because the card is virtual, your photo ends up on a phone screen rather than on plastic. INZ's ABTC page asks for the photo to be emailed as a digital file. The paper form still has a 35 x 45 mm passport photo panel, with a box to tick if you sent the photo electronically, so prepare the file in that passport-photo shape.

INZ does not publish a pixel size or file size for the emailed ABTC photo. What it does link to is its visa and NZeTA photo standard, which covers framing, lighting, background and the ban on digital alteration.

Where to submit the photo

Complete the application form, sign the declaration, attach your supporting documents and post everything to the APEC Business Travel Card team at Immigration New Zealand in Manukau, Auckland; the form also gives a courier address. Email the digital photo to INZ's ABTC lodgement address. You also need a copy of your passport's photo page, evidence of your role in your business, documents showing frequent business travel in the APEC region and a Ministry of Justice criminal record check less than 6 months old.

INZ emails an acknowledgement with your application number. Once INZ approves the application you download the ABTC app, and each economy that pre-clears you appears on the card as it decides. An expired card cannot be renewed: you apply again with a new photograph.

How to get your New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card: 35 × 45 mm print. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: colour and recent; email the digital photo; passport-photo shape; unedited, natural image.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Because the card is virtual, your photo ends up on a phone screen rather than on plastic. INZ's ABTC page asks for the photo to be emailed as a digital file.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Complete the application form, sign the declaration, attach your supporting documents and post everything to the APEC Business Travel Card team at Immigration New Zealand in Manukau, Auckland; the form also gives a courier address.

Make this photo online

New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card photo FAQ

The passport photo panel on the application form MBIE 3522 is marked 3.5 x 4.5 cm, so the photo is 35 x 45 mm. INZ asks for the photo as a digital file sent by email, and sets no separate pixel size for it.

Immigration New Zealand, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), runs the scheme for New Zealand citizens. It assesses the application, then releases it to the other APEC economies, which each decide whether to pre-clear you.

Yes. New Zealand has issued only Virtual ABTCs since August 2021, but the application still needs 1 acceptable digital photo, and the form says the photo will appear on your card.

Email the digital photo to INZ's ABTC lodgement address with your full name and passport number, and tick the box on the form showing it was sent electronically. The form and supporting documents go by post or courier.

No. The ABTC form says black and white photos are not acceptable. Use a colour photo taken within the last 6 months.

Yes. An expired ABTC cannot be renewed. You submit a new application with a new photograph and supporting documents, and INZ only accepts it within 6 months of your current card's expiry date.

INZ asks you to email a copy of your new passport's biographic page; it then updates the passport details and expiry date in the ABTC app. A change of name is different and needs a whole new application.

Related photo specifications

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Official sources

  1. Immigration New Zealand. APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) and Virtual ABTC for New Zealanders immigration.govt.nz. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Immigration New Zealand. APEC Business Travel Card Application (MBIE 3522) immigration.govt.nz. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Immigration New Zealand. Acceptable photos for a visa or NZeTA immigration.govt.nz. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Immigration New Zealand. Paying the International Visitor Levy immigration.govt.nz. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Immigration New Zealand before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"New Zealand APEC Business Travel Card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/new-zealand/apec-business-travel-card-photo

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