Norfolk Island passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Australian Passport Office (DFAT) for the Norfolk Island passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Norfolk Island passport photo?
Norfolk Island residents apply for the Australian passport, which needs 2 colour photos taken in the last 6 months, each 35 to 40 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high (35 x 45 mm fits). The face must measure 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown on a plain white or light grey background. Prints are dye sublimation on glossy paper of at least 200 gsm, and the image must not be edited.
Norfolk Island is an External Territory under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Norfolk Island Regional Council is its local government authority. The Council does not issue passports. Residents who are Australian citizens apply for the same Australian passport as people on the mainland, issued by the Australian Passport Office, which is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Passport Office's application pages describe one process for people in Australia and set out no separate one for the external territories.
One official source does name a local contact. The Department of Infrastructure's list of Australian Government services on the island gives Australia Post's on-island agent, at P&R Groceries on Taylors Road in Burnt Pine, under the heading Passports (Australian). The Council's own page places the Australia Post counter inside P&R Groceries, on the corner of Taylors Road and Ferny Lane. The department's page carries a February 2024 modification date and does not say what the agent does with an application, such as taking the photos, so confirm that with the agent before you rely on it.
Flights between the island and the mainland leave and arrive through international terminals, with Border Force clearance, and the department calls a valid passport the preferred form of photographic identification for those flights. The photo rules below come from the Passport Office's photo page and its guide for camera operators.
Norfolk Island passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Australian Passport Office (DFAT):[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) fits; accepted range is 35 to 40 mm wide, 45 to 50 mm high |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No digital file: 2 printed photos are handed in with the application |
| Head height | 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown |
| Background | Plain white or light grey that contrasts with your face |
| Colour | Colour prints of good quality |
| Photo age | Less than 6 months old |
| Print quality | Dye sublimation, not inkjet; heavy-weight glossy paper of at least 200 gsm |
| 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:
No editing, retouching or filters. No removal or replacement of background.
Glossy, heavy paper (200 gsm+), professionally printed photos only.
Key requirements
- Measure the print, then the face
The print can be 35 to 40 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high. Your face, from the bottom of the chin to the crown of the head, must then be 32 to 36 mm. A print that passes the first measurement can still fail the second.
- Print on the right paper
The Passport Office specifies dye-sublimation colour prints on heavy-weight glossy paper of at least 200 gsm and rules out inkjet output. The camera operator sheet repeats the paper weight and calls for professionally printed photos only.
- Unedited, from lens to print
The photo must show no retouching. The camera operator sheet bans editing, retouching and filters, plus removing or replacing the background, and Australia Post tells applicants to avoid digital enhancements.
- Even light on a plain wall
A plain white or light grey background that contrasts with your face, lit uniformly. The photo must show no shadows or reflections, and uneven lighting is shown as an unacceptable example.
- Looking straight ahead
Face the camera directly with the face centred, the head level and the edges of the face visible. Eyes open and a neutral expression for anyone over 3 years old.
- Make-up and piercings
Natural everyday make-up is fine if it does not change how you look. Permanent piercings may stay if they cause no reflection and block no part of the face.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Phone the Australia Post agent in Burnt Pine before planning the application.
- Take the picture in the last 6 months.
- Check face height (32 to 36 mm) as well as print size.
- Choose dye-sublimation prints on glossy 200 gsm paper.
- Stand at least 1.2 metres from the camera.
- Carry photographic identification when you fly to the island from the mainland.
Don't
- Do not submit a home inkjet printout.
- Do not retouch skin, remove moles or change the background.
- Do not keep wireless earbuds in.
- Do not wear glasses unless a medical reason stops you removing them.
- Do not let shadows fall across your face or the backdrop.
Sample photos
How a Norfolk Island 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
Take glasses off. The Passport Office accepts them only when a medical reason stops you removing them, and vision impairment on its own is not accepted. The frames must then leave the eyes clear and the lenses must show no reflection.
Wireless earbuds and AirPods are not treated as hearing aids and must be removed, but a hearing aid you usually wear may stay in for an adult, child or infant. If a medical condition stops you meeting any of the photo rules, supply a medical certificate or complete form B-11 to explain why.
Babies and children
Every child applying needs 2 passport photos of their own. A child under 3 may have their mouth open, but no one else may be visible, which rules out a hand supporting a baby. Australia Post says a child under 16 does not need to attend lodgement and a 16 or 17 year old must attend with a parent or guardian.
Australia Post says the parent or guardian must bring photo ID linking them to the child. The child's guarantor cannot be related to the child or the parent by birth or marriage, cannot live at the child's address and cannot work for Australia Post.
Printed and digital photos
Australia Post says instant passport photos can be taken at a participating Post Office without an appointment. The sources do not say whether the Norfolk Island agent offers that. If it does not, the picture can be taken anywhere, but it still has to reach the Passport Office as a professional dye-sublimation print on glossy paper of at least 200 gsm.
The Passport Office recommends a professional provider and does not recommend online photo services or mobile apps, citing identity fraud risk. A digital picture can be cropped to the print size before printing, but the application takes no digital file, only the prints.
Where to submit the photo
Lodging is in person at a participating post office with the completed form, both photos, the original identity documents and the fee. On Norfolk Island the contact listed by the Australian Government is the Australia Post agent at P&R Groceries, Taylors Road, Burnt Pine. Australia Post says no appointment is needed to lodge. If the agent does not take applications, ask Australia Post or the Passport Office how an island resident should lodge.
The Passport Office lodges applications at its own offices only by appointment, in special circumstances such as urgent travel in exceptional circumstances. The department says the island has regular air passenger services to Sydney and Brisbane, and the Passport Office has offices in both cities, along with Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth. A person who cannot lodge in person because they are physically unable to should contact the Passport Office.
How to get your Norfolk Island passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Norfolk Island passport: 35 × 45 mm print, plain white or light grey that contrasts… background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: measure the print, then the face; print on the right paper; unedited, from lens to print; even light on a plain wall.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Australia Post says instant passport photos can be taken at a participating Post Office without an appointment. The sources do not say whether the Norfolk Island agent offers that.
- Submit the photo with your application. Lodging is in person at a participating post office with the completed form, both photos, the original identity documents and the fee.
Norfolk Island passport photo FAQ
The Australian size: two colour prints of 35 to 40 mm wide by 45 to 50 mm high, so 35 x 45 mm is acceptable. The face must be 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown on a plain white or light grey background, and the photo must be under 6 months old.
The Department of Infrastructure lists Australia Post's on-island agent at P&R Groceries, Taylors Road, Burnt Pine, under Australian passports. That page was last modified in February 2024, so check with the agent that it still takes applications. Lodgement is otherwise at a participating post office, without an appointment.
It is unconfirmed. Australia Post offers instant passport photos at participating Post Offices, but the Norfolk Island pages read list the agent for postal services and passports without describing a photo service. Ask first, or arrive with prints that already meet the Passport Office rules.
Not required, but each passenger, children included, must show photographic identification such as a driver licence or proof of age card, for Australian Border Force clearance. A valid passport meets that requirement and is the preferred document. Flights use international terminals, so an incoming passenger card applies.
Not as a rule. The department says regular air services run to Sydney and Brisbane, and both cities have a passport office, but these offices take applications only by appointment and in special circumstances, such as urgent travel for exceptional reasons. For ordinary applications, use a participating post office.
No. The Passport Office lists an edited background and retouching as unacceptable, its camera operator sheet says no removal or replacement of the background, and it advises against mobile apps for passport photos because of the risk of identity fraud. Use a plain white or light grey wall.
A hearing aid you usually wear can stay in, for adults, children and infants. AirPods and other wireless earbuds are not hearing aids and must be taken out before the picture.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
- Australia passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Christmas Island passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands photo 35 × 45 mm
- New Zealand 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 Norfolk Island photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Oceania
Official sources
- Australian Passport Office (DFAT). Passport photos passports.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Australian Passport Office (DFAT), via the Australian Consulate-General Noumea. Camera operator guidelines: How to take a good passport photo noumea.consulate.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Australian Passport Office (DFAT). Adult passport: new passport and renewal passports.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Australian Passport Office (DFAT). Child passport passports.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Australian Passport Office (DFAT). Passport office locations passports.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Australian Passport Office (DFAT). Contact us passports.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Australia Post. Australian passport application tips auspost.com.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Australia Post. Passports and identity photos auspost.com.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. Norfolk Island government services infrastructure.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. Norfolk Island travel information infrastructure.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Norfolk Island Regional Council. About Norfolk Island nirc.gov.au. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Australian Passport Office (DFAT) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Norfolk Island passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/norfolk-island/passport-photo