Russia passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information) for the Russia passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Russia passport photo?
A Russian passport photo is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), in colour or black and white, on an even white background. It shows the head and top of the shoulders, with crown to chin no more than 80% of the photo height. Face the camera with a neutral expression and closed mouth. The internal passport takes two identical prints and the 5-year travel passport three; for the 10-year biometric passport the office or consulate takes a digital photo.
Russia issues two passports to its citizens, and each follows its own photo route. The internal passport is the main identity document inside the country. Citizens aged 14 and over apply for it to a migration unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) or through a multifunctional public service centre (MFC). MVD Order No. 773 of 16 November 2020 sets the procedure, and the application comes with two identical personal photos of 35 x 45 mm.
The foreign-travel passport (zagranpasport) exists in two versions. For the 5-year passport you hand in printed photos: MVD Order No. 186 of 31 March 2021 asks for three of them, or two for a child under 14. The 10-year passport with an electronic chip follows MVD Order No. 996 of 31 December 2019. For it, the migration officer takes a digital photo when you attend, and refusing to be photographed is a ground for not accepting the application.
Russians living abroad apply for either travel passport in person at an embassy or consulate, under two Foreign Ministry orders of 9 January 2025. Both orders want a 35 x 45 mm photo on the application form, and for the 10-year passport the consulate also takes a digital photo itself. Applications started on the Gosuslugi state services portal carry a digital photo, which must meet the same rules as a print.
Russia passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information):[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) for the internal, 5-year and 10-year passports, in Russia and abroad |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No pixel size published. Gosuslugi applications attach a digital photo that meets the same rules as a print |
| Head height | MVD: crown to chin no more than 80% of the photo height. Consulates: face 70-80% of the photo area |
| Background | White and even, without stripes, spots, other objects or shadows |
| Colour | Colour or black and white |
| Photo age | No fixed period: the photo must match your age on the day you apply |
| Print quality | Internal passport: print 0.235 mm thick (plus or minus 0.075 mm), material of at least 110 g per square metre |
| 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:
Изображение на фотографии размещается таким образом, чтобы свободное верхнее поле над головой составляло 5 (± 1) мм.
Key requirements
- Head and shoulders in the frame
The photo must show the head and the top of the shoulders. MVD rules cap the distance from the crown of the head to the chin at 80% of the frame height. For the internal passport the regulation also asks for a free margin of 5 mm (plus or minus 1 mm) above the head.
- Straight, neutral, eyes open
Look straight at the camera, strictly full face, with a neutral expression and your mouth closed. Keep your eyes open and make sure your hair does not cover them.
- An even white background
The background must be white and even, with no stripes, spots, other objects or shadows. The Foreign Ministry orders for consulates use the same wording.
- No retouching
A photo edited to improve your appearance, or given artistic processing, is not accepted. Every feature of your face must be shown as it really is.
- No uniform, coat or coloured lenses
You may not be photographed in a uniform, in outdoor clothing or in a scarf that covers part of your chin. Contact lenses that change the natural colour of your eyes are refused too.
- Identical prints for the internal passport
The personal photos for the internal passport must be identical and match your age on the day you apply. If a temporary identity card is issued while the passport is being made, one more photo is needed.
- Biometric passport: photographed on the spot
For the 10-year passport the MVD office takes a digital photo and, from age 12, scans your index fingers. Consulates abroad also photograph you digitally when they accept the application.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Use a 35 x 45 mm photo for every Russian passport type.
- Keep the head and the top of the shoulders in the frame.
- Wear your glasses if you wear them all the time, with clear lenses.
- Leave about 5 mm of space above the head on internal passport prints.
- Bring identical prints that show how you look now.
- Ask whether your migration unit or MFC can take the photos for you.
Don't
- Do not retouch or beautify the photo.
- Do not wear tinted glasses or coloured contact lenses.
- Do not wear a uniform, a coat or a scarf over your chin.
- Do not let your hair fall over your eyes.
- Do not wear a head covering unless your religion requires it.
Sample photos
How a Russia 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
If you wear glasses all the time, the MVD regulations make it compulsory to be photographed in them. The lenses must not be tinted and the frame must not cover your eyes; the rules for the 10-year passport add that the eyes must be clearly visible.
The Foreign Ministry orders for passports issued abroad refuse photos with darkened lenses. A photo with closed eyes, dark glasses or an eye patch is accepted only on medical grounds. The MVD also refuses photos with contact lenses that change the natural colour of your eyes.
Headwear and religious dress
The photo is taken without a head covering. The exception is for citizens whose religious beliefs do not allow them to appear before strangers with their head uncovered: they may be photographed in a head covering that does not hide the oval of the face. The same exception appears in the MVD rules for all three passports and in both Foreign Ministry orders for consulates.
For the internal passport the regulation adds a focus requirement: the face must be sharp from the tip of the chin to the hairline, and from the nose to the ears. Separately, scarves that cover part of the chin are not allowed.
Babies and children
The internal passport is issued from age 14; the MVD regulation names citizens who have reached 14 as its applicants. Younger children can still have a foreign-travel passport of either type. For a child under 14, the 5-year passport needs two photos instead of three. A parent who wants children under 14 entered in their own 5-year passport adds two photos for each child at an MVD office, or one per child at a consulate.
For the 10-year passport a child is photographed digitally like an adult, and fingerprints are scanned from age 12. The UK Foreign Office notes that children born outside Russia and added to a parent's Russian passport may need their own passport to leave Russia.
Printed and digital photos
Prints are still the norm. The internal passport takes two identical 35 x 45 mm prints, and its regulation even specifies the print: 0.235 mm thick, give or take 0.075 mm, on material of at least 110 g per square metre. The 5-year travel passport takes three prints at an MVD office. Black-and-white and colour photos are both allowed.
On the Gosuslugi portal you attach a digital photo to the application instead. The regulations for both travel passports list a missing or non-compliant digital photo as a ground for refusing an online application. You still visit the office afterwards: for the 5-year passport you then hand in the printed photos, for the 10-year passport you are photographed and fingerprinted, and for an internal passport replacement you bring the original documents, a list that includes the two photos.
A digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
In Russia, apply at a migration unit of the regional MVD or at a multifunctional centre (MFC). A 5-year passport application can be lodged at any migration unit, or at any MFC with an agreement with the MVD, wherever you live, stay or happen to be in Russia. Where the equipment exists, the migration unit or MFC can take and print your photos on the spot. Replacement internal passports and both travel passports can also be started on Gosuslugi.
Outside Russia, embassies and consulates accept applications for both travel passports in person, with a 35 x 45 mm photo on the form. A new MVD regulation for the internal passport, Order No. 540 of 3 August 2026, takes effect on 31 March 2027 and replaces Order No. 773.
How to get your Russia passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Russia passport: 35 × 45 mm print, white and even background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: head and shoulders in the frame; straight, neutral, eyes open; an even white background; no retouching.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Prints are still the norm. The internal passport takes two identical 35 x 45 mm prints, and its regulation even specifies the print: 0.235 mm thick, give or take 0.075 mm, on material of at least 110 g per square metre.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Russia, apply at a migration unit of the regional MVD or at a multifunctional centre (MFC). A 5-year passport application can be lodged at any migration unit, or at any MFC with an agreement with the MVD, wherever you live, stay or happen to be in Russia.
Russia passport photo FAQ
All Russian passports use 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in): the internal passport, the 5-year travel passport and the 10-year biometric one, whether you apply in Russia or at a consulate. The head and top of the shoulders must be visible, and MVD rules limit crown to chin to 80% of the photo height.
Two identical personal photos of 35 x 45 mm, under MVD Order No. 773. Add one more if a temporary identity card is issued while your passport is being made. The photos must match your age on the day you apply.
At an MVD office, no prints are listed: the officer takes a digital photo when you attend, and refusing it means the application is not accepted. If you apply online, you upload a digital photo first. At a consulate abroad you still put a 35 x 45 mm photo on the application form, and the consulate then takes its own digital photo.
Yes, and if you wear them all the time you must. The lenses must not be tinted and the frame must not cover your eyes. Dark glasses are accepted only on medical grounds.
Only for religious reasons. Citizens whose beliefs do not allow them to appear before strangers with an uncovered head may wear a head covering, provided it does not hide the oval of the face. Otherwise the photo is taken without any head covering.
Yes. The MVD regulations and the Foreign Ministry orders all accept black-and-white or colour photos of 35 x 45 mm. The background must still be white and even, without shadows.
No. The rules ask for a neutral expression with the mouth closed, looking straight at the camera with your eyes open.
Not to improve how you look. A photo edited to improve the appearance of the face, or given artistic processing, is refused, and all features of the face must be shown accurately.
Where it has the equipment, yes. The MVD regulations allow photos to be taken and printed directly at the migration unit or at an MFC. For the 10-year passport the digital photo is always taken there.
Related photo specifications
Other Russia documents
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
Passports nearby
- Belarus passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Bulgaria passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Czech Republic passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Hungary passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Poland passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Romania passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Ukraine passport photo 100 × 150 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 Russia photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information). MVD Order No. 773 of 16.11.2020: regulation on issuing and replacing the internal passport (in Russian) publication.pravo.gov.ru. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information). MVD Order No. 186 of 31.03.2021: regulation on the foreign-travel passport (in Russian) publication.pravo.gov.ru. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information). MVD Order No. 996 of 31.12.2019: regulation on the foreign-travel passport with an electronic chip (in Russian) publication.pravo.gov.ru. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information). MFA Order No. 01 of 09.01.2025: issue of the chipped passport by embassies and consulates (in Russian) publication.pravo.gov.ru. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information). MFA Order No. 02 of 09.01.2025: issue of the foreign-travel passport by embassies and consulates (in Russian) publication.pravo.gov.ru. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information). MVD Order No. 540 of 03.08.2026: new internal passport regulation from 31.03.2027 (in Russian) publication.pravo.gov.ru. Checked 2 November 2026.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Russia travel advice: entry requirements gov.uk. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (Official Internet Portal of Legal Information) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Russia passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/russia/passport-photo