Portugal photo specifications
Photo sizes and rules for 4 documents issued in Portugal, taken from the issuing authorities and linked to their official pages.
At a glance
Portugal's passport and its Cartão de Cidadão, the national ID card, need no photo from you: the IRN or the consulate captures it when you apply. Prints are needed for a temporary passport (two passport-type colour photos under a year old) and for visas, where national visas take two passport-type photos and the Macau and Hong Kong consulate sets 35 x 45 mm. Parents send a JPEG for a baby's first card.
Overview
A Portuguese electronic passport needs no photo from you: your face is captured digitally at the IRN counter or the consulate when you apply, so there is no print size, background or file to prepare, and printed photos matter only for a consular temporary passport and for visas. The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) issues the electronic passport and the Cartão de Cidadão in Portugal, and Portuguese consular posts do the same abroad. Both are biometric documents: your face is captured digitally at the counter together with your fingerprints, so there is no print size to meet. The Cartão de Cidadão is also the Portuguese ID card; the old Bilhete de Identidade is no longer issued. The one home photo in this system is the picture parents attach when they request a baby's first card online.
Visas come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through embassies, consulates and contracted visa centres such as VFS Global. They still use printed passport-type photos glued to the form: two for a national residence or temporary stay visa and one for a Schengen visa, with size, background and age limits set by each mission. Foreign residents deal with AIMA, which records biometric data at appointments it schedules.
Photo specifications by document
Passports
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport | — | — | Temporary passport: plain |
Visas and travel authorisations
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa | 35 × 45 mm | 240 × 320 px | Plain, light-coloured |
Identity cards
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| ID card | 240 × 320 px | 240 × 320 px | Baby photo: neutral and light-coloured |
Citizenship and naturalisation
| Document | Print size | Digital size | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizen card | 35 × 45 mm | 240 × 320 px | Baby photo: neutral and light-coloured |
Frequently asked questions
Not for the electronic passport or the Cartão de Cidadão, whose photos are captured when you apply. You need printed passport-type photos for a temporary passport issued by a consulate and for visas. For a baby's first citizen card, the parents provide a digital photo.
The Cartão de Cidadão, issued by the IRN. It is valid for five years until age 25 and ten years after, works as a travel document in the EU and Schengen area, and has carried a larger photo since the 2024 redesign.
The MNE asks for passport-type photos without giving millimetres: two for national visas and one for Schengen. The Macau and Hong Kong consulate sets 3.5 x 4.5 cm, colour and unretouched, and the VFS centre in Cape Verde 35 to 40 mm wide on a plain, light background.
The Cartão de Cidadão, from age 25, online or by automatic renewal, both of which reuse the photo on file. The passport cannot be requested online: only the holder can apply, in person.
Nearby countries
Other countries in Southern Europe:
- Albania
- Andorra
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Italy
- Malta
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Spain
Official sources
- Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça). Passaporte eletrónico justica.gov.pt. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado. Cartão de Cidadão (novo modelo e perguntas) irn.justica.gov.pt. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas, Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros. Passaporte temporário portaldascomunidades.mne.gov.pt. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos). Vistos nacionais: documentação instrutória, residência vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Consulado Geral de Portugal em Macau e Hong Kong. Passaporte cgportugal.org. Checked 3 November 2026.
Cite this page
"Portugal photo specifications". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/portugal