Niue passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs for the Niue passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Niue passport photo?
Under New Zealand law all Niueans are New Zealand citizens, so a Niuean applies for the New Zealand passport and follows the Department of Internal Affairs photo rules. Online, upload a colour portrait JPG or JPEG at 3:4, from 250 KB to 5 MB, 900 to 4500 pixels wide and 1200 to 6000 high, less than 6 months old. Paper forms want two identical 35 x 45 mm prints. Someone else holds the camera; selfies are rejected.
Niue is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, and under New Zealand law all Niueans are New Zealand citizens, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) puts it. The passport is therefore the New Zealand passport, and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) decides what photo goes in it. DIA's adult form confirms that a person born in Niue is entitled to a New Zealand passport, and asks a first-time applicant to send in the original birth certificate.
The passport is not issued in Alofi: MFAT says only the Passport Offices in London, Sydney or New Zealand can issue one. A Niuean therefore applies online, uploading a digital photo, or posts or couriers a paper form with two printed photos. The paper adult form is meant for people without internet access, and DIA warns that paper applications take longer because they need extra processing.
One Niue-specific item sits beside the passport. The Government of Niue said on 12 June 2024 that the Niue visa exemption, previously called the Niue Exempt Label, is issued to people of Niuean descent, is affixed to passports and allows travel to Niue on a one-way ticket. The Niue Immigration Office handles it, fees apply, and the release names no photo requirement for it.
Niue passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs:[1]
| Print size | Online: no print size, just a 3:4 portrait shape. Paper forms: 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) |
|---|---|
| Digital size | 900 x 1200 to 4500 x 6000 pixels, 3:4 portrait (online service) |
| Background | Plain and light-coloured, strongly contrasting with the face; paper forms: plain and light, but not white |
| Colour | Colour portrait |
| Photo age | Under 6 months old |
| File size | Online: 250 KB to 5 MB |
| File format | Online: .jpg or .jpeg |
| Print quality | Paper forms: high-quality, high-resolution photo paper; never matt paper, heavy-backed thermal paper or ink-jet |
| 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:
Do not use filters or digitally alter your image. Your image must show your natural appearance. Do not edit, apply filters, or use AI tools to modify how you look.
Key requirements
- Digital portrait, 3:4
For the online service, supply a colour portrait as a .jpg or .jpeg file. Its shape must be 3:4, its size between 250 KB and 5 MB, and its dimensions 900 to 4500 pixels across by 1200 to 6000 pixels down. Scans of printed photos are not accepted.
- Camera at eye level
Whoever takes the photo should stay 1.5 m from you and hold the camera level with your eyes. Standing closer distorts the face, and DIA rejects selfies outright.
- A wall or sheet behind you
Choose a plain, light-coloured wall or sheet that contrasts strongly with your face. Nothing may sit behind your head and no shadow may fall on it. Keep at least half a metre between you and the backdrop. The paper forms add the words "but not white".
- Shoulders in, head centred
Centre your head with space above it and on both sides, and include your shoulders and upper chest. Face the lens squarely, not tilted or turned, with your hair clear of your eyes and face.
- No retouching
The picture must show your natural appearance. DIA bans editing, filters and AI tools that modify how you look. Cropping to size is fine: DIA's phone guide shows how to set a 3:4 crop.
- Paper-form prints
Send 2 identical colour prints, 35 x 45 mm, taken within the last 6 months. The head, including hair, fills 80% of the height. The image must be in focus, with no red-eye and no reflected light on the face.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Test the file in DIA's online photo checker before you begin the application.
- Stand at least half a metre in front of a plain, light wall.
- Ask a helper to shoot from 1.5 m away with the camera at your eye level.
- Keep your shoulders and upper chest inside the frame.
- Set the crop to 3:4 and keep a gap around your head.
- Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open.
Don't
- Do not send a selfie or a scan of a printed photo.
- Do not apply filters, beauty effects or AI changes.
- Do not smile or frown.
- Do not wear sunglasses or thick-framed glasses.
- Do not use a white backdrop on a paper form.
- Do not print paper-form photos on an ink-jet printer.
Sample photos
How a Niue passport 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.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Glasses are allowed when they are prescription, untinted and not thick-framed. Sunglasses are out. DIA wants a visible gap between each eye and the frame, and no glare or reflection on the lenses.
On a paper form the wording differs a little: the eyes must show clearly through the lenses with no reflection, heavy-rimmed frames must come off, and tinted lenses that obscure the eyes are not allowed.
Headwear and religious dress
A head covering is acceptable only for religious or medical reasons; otherwise hats, hoods and headbands come off. Either way, the whole face has to be visible.
Paper applicants tick the head-covering statement in the statutory declaration (section 8 of the adult form PAS310, section 9 of the child form PAS305) and sign it in front of an authorised witness: a Justice of the Peace, a lawyer, a Legal Executive, a Member of Parliament or a government officer who can take statutory declarations.
Babies and children
To photograph a baby, lay the child on a plain, light-coloured sheet and shoot from above. The whole face shows, the eyes are open, and no other person or object is visible.
The child form PAS305 states that children born in Niue before 1 January 2006 are New Zealand citizens by birth. For births from that date, a child qualifies only if at least one parent was a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand, Niue, the Cook Islands or Tokelau at the time. A child's first passport also needs the original birth certificate sent with the form.
Printed and digital photos
Nothing is printed for the online service. You upload the file at the end of the application, and DIA's photo checker, which keeps an uploaded photo for 14 days, reports whether it suits the service. A staff member still assesses the photo after you submit, and an approved file may be refused if it is altered afterwards.
A paper application needs physical prints instead. DIA lists high-quality, high-resolution photo paper as the standard, with colour film or low-gloss coated thermal paper allowed from a high-resolution printer. A digital photo can be printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter if the print meets those paper rules; DIA strongly recommends a business that offers a passport photo service.
Where to submit the photo
The New Zealand High Commission to Niue is on Tapeu-Porritt Road in Alofi. Its MFAT page gives contact details and says nothing about passports. MFAT's general guidance adds that emergency travel documents are not available through its Niue office, and sends people to the DIA passport website for a standard passport.
Online, you name an identity referee who is 16 or over, has known you for more than a year, holds a current or expired New Zealand passport, and is not family, your partner or someone at your address. The referee signs nothing and may be asked for a RealMe login. On paper, the form tells people outside New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom to post or courier it to the Passport Office nearest them, or to ask their nearest High Commission whether it will submit it for an additional fee, noting that not all offices do.
How to get your Niue passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Niue passport: 35 × 45 mm print, 4500 × 6000 px digital file, plain and light-coloured background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: digital portrait, 3:4; camera at eye level; a wall or sheet behind you; shoulders in, head centred.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Nothing is printed for the online service. You upload the file at the end of the application, and DIA's photo checker, which keeps an uploaded photo for 14 days, reports whether it suits the service.
- Submit the photo with your application. The New Zealand High Commission to Niue is on Tapeu-Porritt Road in Alofi. Its MFAT page gives contact details and says nothing about passports.
Niue passport photo FAQ
The New Zealand passport. MFAT says all Niueans are New Zealand citizens under New Zealand law, and DIA's adult form states that anyone born in Niue is entitled to one. DIA, not an office on Niue, issues it, and DIA's photo rules apply.
The Government of Niue's release of 12 June 2024 names no photo requirement. It says the exemption is issued to people of Niuean descent, is affixed to passports and is handled by the Niue Immigration Office. Your passport photo is judged by DIA under the rules on this page.
Its MFAT page lists an address and contact details and does not mention passports or photos. DIA's paper form says to ask the nearest High Commission whether it will submit an application for an additional fee, and that not all offices provide the service, so ask before you rely on it.
An online application takes a digital file only: colour, 3:4 portrait, 900 to 4500 pixels wide and 1200 to 6000 high, 250 KB to 5 MB. A paper application takes two identical prints at 35 x 45 mm.
Yes. Have someone else hold the phone, because selfies are rejected, and crop the picture to a 3:4 ratio with a gap around your head. DIA says to step back for a wider shot, then crop to the correct head size, if a close photo looks distorted.
No. DIA wants a neutral expression with no smile, your mouth closed and your eyes open, facing the camera straight on without tilting your head.
No. DIA says to avoid filters and digital alteration: the image must show your natural appearance, and you may not edit it, apply filters or use AI tools to modify how you look. Pick a plain, light wall instead, and stand half a metre in front of it.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
- American Samoa passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Cook Islands passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- French Polynesia passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Pitcairn Islands photo 35 × 45 mm
- Samoa passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Tokelau passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Tuvalu passport photo 38 × 51 mm
- Wallis and Futuna 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 Niue photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Oceania
Official sources
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. Passport photos passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Department of Internal Affairs. PAS310 Application for a New Zealand passport: Adult (8 April 2026) passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Department of Internal Affairs. PAS305 Application for a New Zealand passport: Child (8 April 2026) passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. Identity referee or witness passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs. Online Photo Checker: terms and conditions onlinephotochecker.passports.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Niue mfat.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. New Zealand High Commission to Niue mfat.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Passports and visas mfat.govt.nz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Government of Niue. Niue Immigration Department announces changes for Niue visa exemption and permanent residency for passports (12 June 2024) gov.nu. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with New Zealand Passports, Department of Internal Affairs before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Niue passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/niue/passport-photo