Syria passport photo requirements
The 40 × 40 mm photo rules set by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic for the Syria passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Syria passport photo?
For a Syrian passport applied for at an embassy or consulate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates asks for two colour photos, size 4 x 4 (40 x 40 mm), on a white background, wearing dark clothing. Bring the prints to your MOFA SY appointment, where your fingerprints and electronic signature are recorded. The Prague embassy lists 4.5 x 3.5 instead and refuses photos used before. No current official page sets photo rules for applications made inside Syria.
Syrian passports are issued by the Immigration and Passports Directorate of the Ministry of Interior. Inside Syria, the Directorate said in February 2025 that applicants register on an online platform, entering their personal details and an image of their identity card and paying the fee electronically. Passports are issued at the Directorate's centres, including one opened at the Yalbugha complex in Damascus in September 2025. Abroad, Syrian embassies and consulates take applications through the passport issuance system at each mission, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
The photo rules on this page come from that mission channel. The ministry's service pages for a first passport, a renewal of an expired passport, a replacement for a lost or damaged one and a renewal because the pages are full all ask for two colour personal photos with a white background and dark clothing, size 4*4. All four pages were last updated on 29 March 2026. The official material read for this page does not say whether passport centres inside Syria photograph applicants or want prints, so ask the centre before you go.
The photo tool also offers 2 x 2 inch and 40 x 60 mm versions. No official Syrian source found for this page uses either size for passports. Use 40 x 40 mm unless your own mission publishes another size, as the embassy in Prague does.
Syria passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic:[1]
| Print size | 40 x 40 mm: the Foreign Ministry writes "4*4" with no unit; Prague embassy: 4.5 x 3.5 (35 x 45 mm), part of the shoulders visible |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No digital file: missions ask for printed photos; the MOFA SY app is used to book and to print the form |
| Background | White; the Prague embassy specifies a clean, plain white background |
| Colour | Colour photos, with dark clothing (Prague: a dark hijab too) |
| Photo age | Recent; Prague will not accept a photo that was used for an earlier application |
| Print quality | Two identical prints for each application at an embassy or consulate |
| Pixels when printed | 472 × 472 px at 300 dpi · 945 × 945 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
Key requirements
- Two colour prints
Every passport service page of the Foreign Ministry lists two personal photos in colour among the documents to bring. The Prague embassy warns that an application will not go ahead if the photos or documents do not meet its standards.
- White background
The ministry asks for a white background. Prague asks for a clean, plain white one and shows three sample photos of what it accepts.
- Dark clothing
Both the ministry and Prague require dark clothes. Prague adds that the same applies to the colour of a hijab.
- Size 4 x 4, unless your mission says otherwise
The ministry gives the size as 4*4 without a unit, which matches 40 x 40 mm. Prague gives 4.5 * 3.5, also without a unit, and asks for part of the shoulders to show.
- Face fully visible
Prague requires that there is no shadow and nothing covering the face or the person's features.
- A new photo each time
The ministry's English page asks for recent photos. Prague is stricter: a photo that has already been used cannot be used again.
- Fingerprints and signature at the mission
After you hand in the documents, the mission records your electronic signature and fingerprints on the passport system. Fingerprinting is compulsory for applicants aged 15 to 70.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Book the appointment in the MOFA SY app before going to the mission
- Bring two identical colour prints with a white background
- Wear dark clothing, and a dark hijab if you wear one
- Print the passport form from the app in colour and sign it
- Bring your ID card or a certified civil registry extract if the old passport has no national number
- Check the new passport for spelling mistakes before you leave the embassy
Don't
- Do not reuse a photo from an earlier application
- Do not wear light clothing; the rules ask for dark clothes
- Do not let shadows, hair or anything else cover your face
- Do not book through a broker; the ministry says the app serves citizens directly
- Do not go to the Prague embassy without an appointment
Sample photos
How a Syria passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 40 × 40 mm and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Headwear and religious dress
A hijab may be worn, but it should be dark. The Prague embassy's rule is that clothing must be dark and that this also applies to the colour of the hijab. The same embassy says nothing may cover the face or the person's features, so the face must stay uncovered and free of shadow.
The Foreign Ministry's own service pages say only that clothing must be dark. They publish no separate rule on religious or medical head coverings.
Babies and children
The ministry's lists make no exception for children, so a minor's application also needs two colour photos. For an applicant under 18, the father or paternal grandfather must attend with a copy of his passport. A mother can apply with a guardianship deed from a Sharia judge in Syria, certified by the Foreign Ministry and less than three months old, or with the guardian's consent; the renewal and replacement pages say this consent can be given by video call. If the father has died or is travelling, an uncle or a brother may apply once the documents have been checked.
Fingerprints are not taken from children under 15. A baby born abroad must first be registered: the ministry says the birth certificate is certified by the host country's foreign ministry and recorded at the Syrian embassy, the birth is then registered in Syria, and an individual civil registry extract with a personal photo is issued. Only then can the passport be requested from the mission.
Printed and digital photos
Missions want paper photos. Each service page lists two printed personal photos next to the passport form, which is printed in colour from the MOFA SY app. Since a February 2026 update the app lets you fill in that form before your visit and follow each stage, including fingerprint checks and immigration approval. The official pages describe no photo upload in the app.
If you take the picture at home, a digital photo can be cropped to 40 x 40 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter. For Prague, whose 4.5 x 3.5 reads as 35 x 45 mm, crop to that size instead.
Where to submit the photo
Abroad, book through the MOFA SY app, which the ministry made available worldwide on 13 November 2025, and then attend the mission in person. The service pages give in-person submission and collection at the mission's attestation hall. Prague accepts ordinary (not urgent) applications only and hands the passport over in person against a fingerprint; it cannot be posted or collected by someone else.
Inside Syria, applications go to the Immigration and Passports Directorate's centres. In February 2025 the Directorate said people living abroad may also register for a passport in Syria through relatives or a legal agent.
How to get your Syria passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Syria passport: 40 × 40 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: two colour prints; white background; dark clothing; size 4 x 4, unless your mission says otherwise.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Missions want paper photos. Each service page lists two printed personal photos next to the passport form, which is printed in colour from the MOFA SY app.
- Submit the photo with your application. Abroad, book through the MOFA SY app, which the ministry made available worldwide on 13 November 2025, and then attend the mission in person. The service pages give in-person submission and collection at the mission's attestation hall.
Syria passport photo FAQ
For applications at Syrian embassies and consulates, the Foreign Ministry asks for 4 x 4, which is 40 x 40 mm, in colour on a white background. Some missions publish their own size: Prague lists 4.5 x 3.5, which matches 35 x 45 mm. Follow your mission's page if it has one.
Two. The ministry's renewal page lists two colour personal photos with a white background and dark clothing, size 4 x 4, together with the booking confirmation, the colour-printed form from the MOFA SY app and the passport being renewed.
No official Syrian source found for this page mentions 2 x 2 inches for passports. That size is about 51 x 51 mm, larger than the ministry's 4 x 4 (40 x 40 mm), so use 40 x 40 mm unless your mission states otherwise.
Dark clothing. The ministry and the Prague embassy both ask for it, and Prague says a hijab must be dark too. There should be no shadow on the face and nothing covering it.
Not at the Prague embassy, which says a photo already used before cannot be used. The ministry's English page asks for recent photos, so have new prints made for each application.
The ministry's procedure lists only your electronic signature and fingerprints as taken at the mission, while the two photos appear on the list of documents you bring. Fingerprints are compulsory from age 15 to 70.
The official material read for this page does not say. The Immigration and Passports Directorate's February 2025 instructions for registering in Syria mention personal details, an image of the identity card and electronic payment, not portrait photos. Ask the passport centre before you go.
Use the Foreign Ministry's MOFA SY app for iPhone or Android, which works at all Syrian missions. The ministry says booking goes through its own platform only and warns against brokers and intermediaries. Prague will not accept an application without a prior appointment.
Related photo specifications
Other Syria documents
Passports nearby
- Azerbaijan passport photo 30 × 40 mm
- Bahrain e-passport photo 32.5 × 43 mm
- Bahrain passport photo 40 × 60 mm
- Georgia passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Iraq passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Israel passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Jordan passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Lebanon passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Oman passport photo 40 × 60 mm
- Palestine passport photo 30 × 40 mm
Also 40 × 40 mm
- Argentina visa photo 40 × 40 mm
- Argentina DNI (national identity card) photo 40 × 40 mm
- Bolivia visa photo 40 × 40 mm
- Cameroon passport photo 40 × 40 mm
- Central African Republic passport photo 40 × 40 mm
- Chad passport photo 40 × 40 mm
- Côte d'Ivoire assport photo 40 × 40 mm
- Rwanda visa photo 40 × 40 mm
- All Syria photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 40 × 40 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Asia
Official sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Issuance of a passport for the first time (service page) mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Passport renewal (replacement for an expired passport) mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Issuance of a passport (replacement for a lost or damaged passport) mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Passport renewal (pages full) mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Launch of Electronic Services Portal (MOFA SY app) mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. MOFA SY app launched worldwide (news, 13 November 2025) mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Prague. Issuing and renewing passports (Arabic) syrianembassy.cz. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Immigration and Passports Directorate sets out passport registration (Arabic, 2 February 2025) sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Update to the MOFA SY app for passports abroad (Arabic, 11 February 2026) sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Interior Minister inaugurates Immigration and Passports Center in Yalbugha Complex sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Syria passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/syria/passport-photo