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Sri Lanka passport photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka for the Sri Lanka passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 12 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Sri Lanka passport photo?

In Sri Lanka you cannot hand in a printed passport photo. An authorised photo studio, or the studio at a Department of Immigration and Emigration office, takes a digital ICAO photo, sends it online and gives you an acknowledgement note; the photo stays valid for 6 months. If you apply through a Sri Lankan mission abroad, missions ask for three colour prints of 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) on plain white, taken within the last 3 months, without glasses.

Sri Lankan passports are issued by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, which has its head office at Suhurupaya in Battaramulla and regional offices in Kandy, Matara, Vavuniya, Kurunegala and Jaffna. Since 10 August 2015 the Department has collected a digital photograph and fingerprints from applicants in Sri Lanka, with photos taken to International Civil Aviation Organization standards. Printed photographs are no longer accepted there. You visit an authorised studio, the studio sends the image to the Department's computer system, and you hand in the studio acknowledgement note with your form.

Since 29 October 2026 the online application has been open only to people who have held a passport before; first-time applicants go to the head office or a regional office. Online applicants type in the acknowledgement number of a photo they already have, or have the photo captured when they give fingerprints at the head office, a regional office or a Department for Registration of Persons unit at a divisional secretariat.

Citizens living abroad apply through a Sri Lankan embassy, high commission or consulate on Form K 35 A. Those applications go ahead without the digital photo and fingerprints: the mission takes printed photos, and fingerprints are captured on the applicant's first visit to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka:[1]

Print sizeAbroad: 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) prints; in Sri Lanka: digital photo taken by an authorised studio
Digital sizeNo file from you: the authorised studio uploads the photo and gives you an acknowledgement note
BackgroundMission prints: plain white (Muscat, Abu Dhabi); studios in Sri Lanka use a plain blue backdrop
ColourColour
Photo ageStudio photo valid for 6 months; mission prints taken within the last 3 months
Print qualityMission prints: not glossy or semi-glossy (Bangkok); scanned or edited photos refused (Abu Dhabi)
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: mission prints: plain white.

In the official words

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

No scanned and / or edited photographs are accepted

Applying for a New Sri Lankan Passport[11]

Domain Not Valid / This site is temporarily unavailable

General Information on Passports[1]

Key requirements

  • No prints in Sri Lanka

    The Department will not accept printed photographs for applications made in Sri Lanka. Your photo must come from a studio authorised by the Department, or from the studios at its head office and regional offices, and the studio forwards it straight into the passport system.

  • Keep the acknowledgement note

    Instead of prints, the studio hands you a Studio Acknowledgement Note. Present it with your application and supporting documents at the counter; online applicants enter its acknowledgement number in the form.

  • Six-month window

    Only photos taken within the last 6 months are valid for a passport application in Sri Lanka. Prints for a mission application must be newer still: the overseas form makes you certify they were taken within the last three months.

  • Eyes clear, no spectacles

    The Department's instructions to registered studios say the photo should show the applicant's eyes clearly without spectacles. The embassies in Muscat and Bangkok also want prints taken without spectacles.

  • Forehead and ears visible

    Caps and scarves may be worn on request, but the photographer must keep the forehead and ears clearly visible and stop the scarf casting a shadow on the face. Muscat and Bangkok ask for both ears visible and no hair over the face.

  • Stricter checks since 2018

    From 1 March 2018 the Department added stricter quality checks before its system accepts a studio photo, and it warned registered studios that more photos would be rejected as a result.

  • Mission prints on white

    For applications through a mission, Muscat asks for three colour photos of 3.5 x 4.5 cm with a white background, and Abu Dhabi for a plain white background with no patterns. Abu Dhabi also asks you to wear coloured clothing rather than white or a shade of white.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Use a studio on the Department's authorised list in Sri Lanka.
  • Bring the studio acknowledgement note with your application.
  • Apply within 6 months of the studio photo.
  • Keep your forehead and both ears visible.
  • Wear coloured clothing for white-background mission prints.
  • Check your mission's checklist for the number of prints.

Don't

  • Do not bring printed photos to a Department office in Sri Lanka.
  • Do not wear glasses in the photo.
  • Do not let a scarf cast shadows on your face.
  • Do not send scanned or edited prints to a mission.
  • Do not use glossy prints where the mission forbids them.

Sample photos

How a Sri Lanka passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 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

Take your glasses off. The Department's instructions to registered photo studios say the photo should show the applicant's eyes clearly without spectacles, and that applies to every passport photo a studio sends online.

Mission prints follow the same line: the embassies in Muscat and Bangkok both ask for photographs taken without spectacles. None of the passport pages we read mentions a medical exception, so ask the studio or mission before the photo is taken if you cannot remove your glasses.

Headwear and religious dress

Caps and scarves are allowed in the studio if you ask for them. The Department tells photographers to make sure the forehead and ears remain clearly visible and that the shadow of a scarf does not fall on the face.

For prints sent through a mission, Muscat wants the forehead and both ears exposed and the face not covered by hair, and Bangkok asks for a full front view of the face with both ears visible.

Babies and children

Every child now needs a separate passport, because children can no longer be included in a parent's passport. For applications in Sri Lanka, children of any age also need a digital photo from an authorised studio. Fingerprints are taken only from applicants aged 16 to 60, and the online application is open only from age 16.

For a minor under 16, both parents or the legal guardian come to the office with the child, and the passport can be valid for 3 or 10 years. Through a mission, Muscat asks for the same three colour 3.5 x 4.5 cm photos on white for a child as for an adult.

Which one you need depends on where you apply. In Sri Lanka the passport photo is digital only: the studio sends it online and you carry only the acknowledgement note. Abroad, the mission takes your prints with Form K 35 A, and the application is processed by the Department's Overseas Missions Branch.

For mission prints, a digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed at a photo lab or on a 4x6 inch sheet. Bangkok rejects glossy and semi-glossy prints, and Abu Dhabi will not take scanned or edited photographs.

Where to submit the photo

In Sri Lanka, hand the application form, acknowledgement note and documents to the head office at Suhurupaya, Battaramulla, or a regional office in Kandy, Matara, Vavuniya, Kurunegala or Jaffna. Since 29 October 2026 the regional offices need an online appointment; the head office does not. Applicants who have held a passport before can apply online and attend only to give fingerprints.

Abroad, apply at the Sri Lankan mission in your country, or the nearest one if there is none. A passport issued this way needs fingerprints captured at a Department office on your first visit to Sri Lanka, after reporting to immigration at the port of entry.

How to get your Sri Lanka passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Sri Lanka passport: 35 × 45 mm print, mission prints: plain white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: no prints in Sri Lanka; keep the acknowledgement note; six-month window; eyes clear, no spectacles.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Which one you need depends on where you apply. In Sri Lanka the passport photo is digital only: the studio sends it online and you carry only the acknowledgement note.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Sri Lanka, hand the application form, acknowledgement note and documents to the head office at Suhurupaya, Battaramulla, or a regional office in Kandy, Matara, Vavuniya, Kurunegala or Jaffna.

Make this photo online

Sri Lanka passport photo FAQ

Missions abroad ask for prints of 3.5 x 4.5 cm, which is 35 x 45 mm or 1.38 x 1.77 inches. In Sri Lanka there is no print size to meet, because an authorised studio takes a digital photo and sends it directly to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

No. Since 10 August 2015 the Department has taken passport photos only through its authorised studios or the studios at its own offices, and printed photographs are no longer accepted. Your own prints are useful only if you apply through a Sri Lankan mission abroad.

Six months. The Department says only photos taken within 6 months are valid, so an older studio photo has to be retaken before you apply. Mission prints have a shorter window: the overseas form asks you to certify they were taken within the last three months.

Yes, if you ask the studio. The Department lets applicants wear caps and scarves, provided the forehead and both ears are clearly visible and the scarf does not cast a shadow on the face.

Usually three recent colour prints of 3.5 x 4.5 cm. Muscat specifies a white background, forehead and both ears showing, no spectacles and photos taken within the last three months. Bangkok rejects glossy or semi-glossy prints, and Abu Dhabi refuses scanned or edited photos.

It is the reference an authorised studio gives you after uploading your photo to the Department. Present the acknowledgement note with a paper application, or enter the number in the online form if you already have a photo.

Yes. All passport applicants in Sri Lanka, including children, must provide a digital photograph through an authorised studio, and every child needs a separate passport. Fingerprints, however, are taken only from applicants aged 16 to 60.

Related photo specifications

Other Sri Lanka documents

Passports nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. General Information on Passports immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Instructions to Registered Photo Studio Owners when sending photos online immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Important Notice to Owners of Registered Photo Studios immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Requirements for Photo Studio Client immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Online Submission of Travel Document Applications: Local Applicants immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Online appointments and online passport applications (notice, 29 October 2026) immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  7. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Issue of Passports immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  8. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Overseas Applications immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  9. Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Form K 35 A: passport application for overseas applicants immigration.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  10. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Muscat. Issuance of Sri Lankan Passport / travel document oman.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  11. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi. Applying for a New Sri Lankan Passport abudhabi.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  12. Embassy of Sri Lanka, Bangkok. New Passport bangkok.embassy.gov.lk. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Sri Lanka passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/sri-lanka/passport-photo

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