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Saudi Arabia passport photo requirements

The 40 × 60 mm photo rules set by Umm Al-Qura (official gazette), Ministry of Interior decision 15588 for the Saudi Arabia passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 7 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Saudi Arabia passport photo?

A Saudi passport issued or renewed through Absher uses the photo already held in the Ministry of Interior system, so you do not upload a new one. Jawazat says a different photo must first be changed in your civil record through Civil Affairs, whose rules call for a recent colour photo on a white background, facing forward, without glasses. The paper procedure for children asked for two 4 x 6 cm (40 x 60 mm) prints on white.

Saudi passports are issued by the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) of the Ministry of Interior. The directorate launched the electronic Saudi passport on 10 February 2022. Citizens aged 21 and over issue or renew their passport from their own account on Absher, the ministry's online platform, and can choose a validity of five or ten years. The finished passport is delivered by Saudi Post or collected from a passports office.

Most applicants never hand in a passport photo. In November 2025 Jawazat's customer care account explained that when a passport is issued or renewed, the photo documented in the computer system is used. Anyone who wants a different photo has to contact the Ministry of Interior's Agency for Civil Affairs and have the photo in their civil record changed first. The photo rules that matter are therefore the Civil Affairs rules, set out in Article 17 of the Civil Status implementing regulation.

Printed photos belong to the older paper procedure. For passports for children aged 15 and under, Jawazat listed two recent 4 x 6 cm photos on a white background in 2021. That is the 40 x 60 mm version on this page; the section on print and digital explains when each size applies.

Saudi Arabia passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Umm Al-Qura (official gazette), Ministry of Interior decision 15588:[1]

Print sizeAbsher: no print, the photo in your civil record is used; paper procedure for children: 4 x 6 cm (40 x 60 mm)
Digital sizeNothing to upload: Absher uses the photo already held in the Ministry of Interior system
BackgroundWhite (Civil Affairs photo rules, and the 4 x 6 cm prints for children)
ColourColour (Civil Affairs photo rules)
Photo ageRecent; the Civil Status regulation sets no number of months
Print qualityPaper procedure (2021): prints must not be instant photos or reproduced from another photo
Pixels when printed472 × 709 px at 300 dpi · 945 × 1417 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
40 mm60 mm
40 × 60 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: white.

Key requirements

  • Absher reuses your civil record photo

    Jawazat says the photo documented in its computer system goes into the new or renewed passport. There is no step in the Absher passport service where you attach a photo file.

  • Change the photo at Civil Affairs first

    If your face has changed or you dislike the old picture, Jawazat directs you to the Agency for Civil Affairs to replace the photo in your civil record. Renew the passport after that change is made.

  • White background, full face from the front

    Article 17 of the Civil Status implementing regulation requires a recent, clear colour photo that shows every facial feature, taken from the front against a white background.

  • No glasses, no decorative lenses

    The same article rules out glasses and non-medical contact lenses, and it requires the photo to be free of any adornment.

  • Photos and fingerprints from age 12

    Jawazat has said fingerprints and photos are mandatory when a passport is issued or renewed for a child aged 12 or over. Parents must also get a national identity card for the dependant from Civil Status before applying.

  • Paper prints: 4 x 6 cm and original

    The paper procedure for children asked for two 4 x 6 cm prints on white that were neither instant photos nor reproductions of another picture.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Check that the photo on your civil record is one you are happy to travel with
  • Update that photo through Civil Affairs before you renew on Absher
  • Face the camera directly against a plain white background
  • Use 4 x 6 cm (40 x 60 mm) prints if an office asks you for paper photos
  • Book a Civil Status appointment for a dependant's national ID before the passport application

Don't

  • Do not look for a photo upload button in the Absher passport service
  • Do not wear glasses or coloured contact lenses in the Civil Affairs photo
  • Do not wear a work uniform or jewellery in the photo
  • Do not hand in photocopied or instant prints with a paper application

Sample photos

How a Saudi Arabia passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 40 × 60 mm 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

Glasses are not allowed. Article 17 of the Civil Status implementing regulation, as amended by the Minister of Interior in June 2022, says the personal photo is taken without glasses and without non-medical lenses. Because Absher passports reuse the civil record photo, the same rule applies to the picture that ends up in your passport.

The wording separates glasses from lenses: medical contact lenses are not excluded, but coloured or decorative ones are. Take off any spectacles before the Civil Affairs photo is taken.

Headwear and religious dress

Jawazat's 2021 list for paper passport applications required Saudi national dress for applicants over 15. The Civil Status regulation adds that the photo may not show professional clothing or the dress of any particular group, so uniforms are out. Neither text spells out how the shemagh or ghutra must be worn.

For women, a Civil Affairs spokesman said in June 2022 that hair and neck must still be covered in civil status ID photos, even though the amended Article 17 no longer uses that wording. Girls aged 10 to 14 may appear with their hair uncovered, and older women with certain health conditions may be exempted. The regulation also requires every facial feature to be visible, so the face itself cannot be covered.

Babies and children

Jawazat tells citizens who issue or renew passports for their dependants to book an e-appointment with Civil Status first, so that the dependant has a national identity card before the application goes in. From age 12, photos and fingerprints are a mandatory part of issuing or renewing the passport. Article 17 lets the Agency for Civil Affairs set special photo rules for certain age groups, but those rules are not published in the regulation itself.

Under the paper procedure for children aged 15 and under, a parent or a person holding an electronic authorisation had to be present, and the application carried two 4 x 6 cm photos on a white background. Check with Jawazat whether your child's case still goes through that route or through the family services in Absher.

The 40 x 60 mm version matches the 4 x 6 cm prints that Jawazat asked for with paper applications for children. The 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) version does not match any current official rule for the Saudi passport that we could find, so do not use it for a passport application.

If you renew through Absher, no print and no file are needed: the passport takes the photo already held on your civil record. A new picture only helps if Civil Affairs accepts it into that record. A digital photo can be printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter and cut to 4 x 6 cm where an office still wants paper prints.

Where to submit the photo

Inside Saudi Arabia, citizens aged 21 and over issue or renew their passport from their own Absher account. In 2021 Jawazat listed office procedures for applicants aged 15 and under, with the guardian attending, and finished passports for women and children could be collected from a passports office or received by post. To change the photo itself, go to the Agency for Civil Affairs, not to Jawazat.

Jawazat said in 2021 that citizens outside the Kingdom renew their passports through the Kingdom's missions abroad. The embassy websites, such as those in Washington and London, currently list Absher, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs digital services and KSA VISA rather than passport photo instructions, so ask the consular section what it needs before you print anything.

How to get your Saudi Arabia passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Saudi Arabia passport: 40 × 60 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: absher reuses your civil record photo; change the photo at Civil Affairs first; white background, full face from the front; no glasses, no decorative lenses.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. The 40 x 60 mm version matches the 4 x 6 cm prints that Jawazat asked for with paper applications for children.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Inside Saudi Arabia, citizens aged 21 and over issue or renew their passport from their own Absher account.

Make this photo online

Saudi Arabia passport photo FAQ

No. Jawazat says the passport uses the photo documented in the Ministry of Interior system when it is issued or renewed. You only need a new picture if you want to replace that photo, and the replacement is made in your civil record through Civil Affairs.

Contact the Ministry of Interior's Agency for Civil Affairs and ask for the photo in your civil record to be changed. Once the new photo is on record, issue or renew the passport through Absher and it will use the updated picture.

Absher applications do not use a printed photo at all. For the paper procedure for children aged 15 and under, Jawazat listed two recent photos of 4 x 6 cm (40 x 60 mm) on a white background.

No. The Civil Affairs photo rules in Article 17 of the Civil Status implementing regulation say the photo is taken without glasses and without non-medical lenses. Since the passport reuses that photo, take your glasses off when it is taken.

A Civil Affairs spokesman said in June 2022 that women must still cover their hair and neck in civil status ID photos, with an exception for girls aged 10 to 14. The whole face must stay visible, because the regulation requires every facial feature to show.

From age 12, yes: Jawazat has said fingerprints and photos are mandatory to issue or renew a passport for children of that age. Jawazat also asks for the dependant's national identity card to be issued at Civil Status before the passport application.

Related photo specifications

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Official sources

  1. Umm Al-Qura (official gazette), Ministry of Interior decision 15588. Amended articles of the Civil Status implementing regulation (Article 17, personal photo) uqn.gov.sa. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Ajel, quoting the General Directorate of Passports. Jawazat explains how to change the photo in the current passport ajel.sa. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Ajel, quoting the General Directorate of Passports. Saudi passports: 10 important facts about the passport ajel.sa. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Saudi Gazette via Zawya. Fingerprint, photo mandatory to obtain passports for children aged 12 years and above zawya.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Arab News. Women in Saudi Arabia must still cover hair and neck in ID photos: Civil Affairs spokesman arabnews.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Saudipedia. General Directorate of Passports saudipedia.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington us.saudiembassy.sa. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Umm Al-Qura (official gazette), Ministry of Interior decision 15588 before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Saudi Arabia passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/saudi-arabia/passport-photo

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