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Portugal visa photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos) for the Portugal visa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 10 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Portugal visa photo?

Portuguese national visas, residence (D) and temporary stay (E), need two identical, recent passport-type photos good enough to identify you; a Schengen application lists one. Missions set the details: the Consulate General in Macau and Hong Kong asks for 35 x 45 mm (3.5 x 4.5 cm) colour prints with no digital retouching, and the VFS centre in Cape Verde for 35 to 40 mm wide, on a plain light background, no more than 6 months old.

Portugal issues visas through its embassies and consulates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE). There are Schengen short-stay visas and national long-stay visas, which are either residence visas (type D), such as the D7 for retirees and people living on their own income, or temporary stay visas (type E). You apply at the Portuguese consular post for your nationality or residence. In about 25 countries the MNE has contracted VFS Global, TLScontact or BLS to accept national visa applications on its behalf.

The MNE's document lists for national visas ask for two identical, current passport-type photographs in good condition for identifying the applicant; the Schengen list asks for one. The long-stay application form has a box marked FOTO on page one, and by signing it you accept that your photograph is taken and, if necessary, your fingerprints collected. Size, background and age limits are left to each mission, so read the checklist of the post or visa centre you will use. Rules common to all Schengen states are covered on the Schengen visa page.

Portugal visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos):[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) in Macau and Hong Kong; VFS Cape Verde: 35 to 40 mm wide; MNE lists: passport type
Digital sizePaper application; VFS UAE also lists at least 240 x 320 pixels in a 3:4 ratio
Head heightVFS Cape Verde and UAE: face fills 70 to 80% of the photo
BackgroundPlain, light-coloured (VFS centres); not specified by the MNE or the Macau and Hong Kong consulate
ColourColour (Macau and Hong Kong)
Photo ageCurrent (MNE); no more than 6 months old (VFS Cape Verde and UAE)
File sizeVFS UAE: no more than 120 KB
File formatVFS UAE: JPEG only
Print qualityMacau and Hong Kong: high resolution, no digital retouch. VFS: sharp, no ink marks or creases
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm31.5–36 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 31.5–36 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: plain.

In the official words

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

Two passport photos: both photos must be similar, colored, with no digital retouch, (size 3.5 x 4.5 cm), high resolution, and should allow a clear identification of the applicant.

Visto de residência D7: lista de documentos (PT, CN, EN)[8]

Key requirements

  • Two photos for a national visa

    Residence and temporary stay visa lists ask for two identical passport-type photographs that are up to date and clear enough to identify you. The Schengen short-stay list asks for one.

  • Size depends on the mission

    The MNE gives no millimetres. Macau and Hong Kong asks for 3.5 x 4.5 cm; the visa centre in Cape Verde asks for 35 to 40 mm wide, with your face taking up 70 to 80% of the picture.

  • No digital retouching

    Macau and Hong Kong requires colour photos at high resolution with no digital alterations. Retouched pictures are not accepted there.

  • Whole face visible

    Macau and Hong Kong refuses photos in which caps, hats, beanies, hair or earrings hide the face or part of it. VFS Cape Verde allows head coverings only for religious reasons, with the face visible from chin to forehead.

  • Biometrics at the consulate

    For a Schengen visa the consular post photographs you on its own machines and takes ten fingerprints at your first application; data from an application less than 59 months old can be copied. The national visa form also has you consent to a photo being taken.

  • Glued to the form

    VFS in the UAE asks for one photo glued in the space on the application form, and a photo per child travelling on a parent's passport, glued to that parent's form.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Bring two identical photos for a residence or temporary stay visa.
  • Check your consulate's or visa centre's own checklist for the size.
  • Use 35 x 45 mm colour prints if you apply in Macau or Hong Kong.
  • Keep your face visible in full, from chin to forehead.
  • Use a plain, light-coloured background and even lighting.
  • Use a photo taken in the last six months when you apply through VFS.

Don't

  • Do not retouch or digitally alter the photo.
  • Do not wear a cap, hat or beanie, or let hair or earrings cover your face.
  • Do not wear tinted lenses or frames that cross your eyes.
  • Do not hand in creased or ink-marked prints.
  • Do not let anyone else appear in the picture, even with a baby.

Sample photos

How a Portugal visa 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.

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 MNE lists say nothing about glasses. The VFS centre in Cape Verde accepts them on conditions: lighter frames if possible, no tinted lenses, no flash reflection on the lenses, and no part of the frame covering your eyes. If your glasses fail any of those points, take them off for the photo.

Headwear and religious dress

The Macau and Hong Kong consulate will not accept photos in which a cap, hat or beanie, or hair or earrings, hide the face or parts of it. The VFS centre in Cape Verde permits a head covering only for religious reasons, and even then your face must show in full from chin to forehead.

Babies and children

Every child applying for a national visa needs their own photos, and the application form is signed by the person who holds parental authority or legal guardianship. For Schengen visas, children under 12 are exempt from giving fingerprints. VFS in the UAE asks for one photo for each child who travels on a parent's passport, glued to that parent's form.

Keep other people, toys and chair backs out of the frame, as the Cape Verde visa centre requires, and make sure the child's eyes are open and visible.

Portuguese visa applications are lodged on paper with printed photos, and the national visa form has its photo box on the first page. The MNE also runs an e-Visa portal, but its photo specification could not be read. One visa centre, VFS in the UAE, also gives digital values: at least 240 x 320 pixels in a 3:4 ratio, JPEG only, no larger than 120 KB, at 300 dpi.

A digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter. Where a mission bans digital alterations, as Macau and Hong Kong does, leave the face and background as they were photographed.

Where to submit the photo

Apply at the Portuguese consular post for your nationality or residence, or at the external provider that post uses. The MNE lists VFS Global in 20 countries, among them Brazil, China, India, the UK and the US, TLScontact in Algeria and Thailand, and BLS in Morocco and Russia. In Cape Verde, the VFS centre in Praia takes national visa applications.

Expect to attend in person for a Schengen visa, because the photo and fingerprints are taken when the application is handed in and the applicant has to appear personally. The Macau and Hong Kong consulate may interview national visa applicants and keeps every document except the passport, so keep copies of what you submit.

How to get your Portugal visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Portugal visa: 35 × 45 mm print, 240 × 320 px digital file, plain background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: two photos for a national visa; size depends on the mission; no digital retouching; whole face visible.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Portuguese visa applications are lodged on paper with printed photos, and the national visa form has its photo box on the first page. The MNE also runs an e-Visa portal, but its photo specification could not be read.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Apply at the Portuguese consular post for your nationality or residence, or at the external provider that post uses.

Make this photo online

Portugal visa photo FAQ

The MNE only says passport type. Missions fill in the detail: the Consulate General in Macau and Hong Kong asks for 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm), and the VFS centre in Cape Verde for a photo 35 to 40 mm wide with the face taking up 70 to 80% of it. Check the checklist of the post where you apply.

Two identical photos. The MNE's residence visa list asks for two identical, current passport-type photographs, and the Macau and Hong Kong D7 checklist specifies two colour prints of 3.5 x 4.5 cm with no digital retouching, at high resolution.

The MNE does not ban them. VFS Cape Verde accepts glasses with lighter frames, clear lenses, no flash reflection and no frame across the eyes. Tinted lenses are not accepted there.

For a Schengen visa, yes: the consular post takes a photo on its own machines and records your fingerprints at the first application. You still bring the printed photos the checklist asks for, one for Schengen and two for a national visa.

Not for applications in Macau and Hong Kong, where the consulate asks for colour photos with no digital retouching. Other missions' lists read did not mention editing, but the photo must still identify you clearly.

The VFS centres in Cape Verde and the UAE ask for a plain, light-coloured background. The MNE and the Macau and Hong Kong consulate do not specify a colour; the latter asks for colour photos with good identification conditions.

Yes, each child applicant needs their own. Where a child travels on a parent's passport, VFS in the UAE asks for one photo per child glued to the parent's form. Children under 12 give no fingerprints for a Schengen visa.

Related photo specifications

Other Portugal documents

Visas and travel authorisations nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos). Vistos nacionais: documentação instrutória, residência vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos). Vistos nacionais: documentação instrutória, estada temporária vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos). Vistos Schengen: documentação para efeitos de curta duração vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos). Vistos Schengen: biometria vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros. Pedido de visto de longa duração (formulário) vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos). Vistos nacionais: prestadores de serviços externos vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos). Vistos nacionais: onde deve solicitar visto vistos.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Consulado Geral de Portugal em Macau e Hong Kong. Visto de residência D7: lista de documentos (PT, CN, EN) cgportugal.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. VFS Global (for the Embassy of Portugal in Cape Verde). Portugal visa information, Cape Verde vfsglobal.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
  10. VFS Global (for the Embassy of Portugal in the UAE). Portugal visa information, United Arab Emirates vfsglobal.com. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Portal Diplomático, Vistos) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Portugal visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/portugal/visa-photo

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