Tanzania passport photo requirements
The photo rules set by Immigration Services Department, Tanzania for the Tanzania passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What are the Tanzania passport photo requirements?
For a Tanzanian e-passport you upload one recent, clear passport-size photo while completing the online form on the Immigration Services Department's passport portal. The portal's guidelines ask for a light blue background. No print size or pixel dimensions are published. You then print the form and hand it in with your documents at an immigration office, or abroad at a Tanzanian mission, where fingerprints are taken in person. Applicants under 16 need written consent from a parent or guardian.
Tanzanian passports are issued by the Immigration Services Department (Idara ya Uhamiaji). Every application now starts on the Department's e-Immigration passport portal, which is written in Swahili. The portal describes itself as a service that lets you fill in the passport application form electronically from anywhere. Once the form is complete, you print it and submit it, together with your supporting documents, at the immigration office nearest to you so that the application can be processed.
The portal's guidance lists what you need to have ready while filling in the form: your birth certificate, a parent's birth certificate or affidavit of birth, your National ID, a recent photo of yourself with a light blue background, and evidence of your trip or of the activity you do. The photo is attached to the online form as a file, so the background colour is the one rule the Department spells out.
Tanzanians abroad apply through their nearest embassy or high commission, still using the same online form. The missions do not print passports: their citizen-service pages state that passports are issued by the Immigration Department in Dar es Salaam. Missions take fingerprints in person, and some also photograph applicants during that visit.
Tanzania passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Immigration Services Department, Tanzania:[1]
| Print size | No dimensions published: one recent, clear passport-size photo, uploaded with the online form |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No pixel size published; the photo is attached as a file in the online application |
| Background | Light blue (the Swahili wording describes a blue that is not dark) |
| Photo age | Recent; no time limit is stated |
| File size | Not published by the portal; New Delhi mission guide (2019): each scanned attachment up to 1 MB |
| File format | New Delhi mission guide (2019): attachments as image files such as JPEG |
Key requirements
- Light blue, not white
The portal's list of documents needed while filling in the form asks for a recent photo of the applicant with a light blue background, written in English in brackets after the Swahili. Choose a pale, even blue rather than white or a deep blue.
- The photo goes into the online form
You attach the photo while completing the application, not on paper later. The embassy in Washington lists one passport-size photo, to be uploaded online, for a new passport and again for a lost or stolen one.
- Prepare it before you start
The portal groups the photo with the documents you must have at hand before you begin. New Delhi's 2019 guide told applicants to scan their passport-size photo and every attachment first, then upload them while filling in the form.
- Fingerprints are taken in person
Washington says all applicants for a new passport must appear in person at the embassy for fingerprints. New Delhi's notice says applicants attend the High Commission in person for fingerprints, signatures and photographs.
- No size or pixel rule
Neither the portal nor the embassy pages read give millimetre dimensions, a head size or pixel limits. The citizen-service pages of missions such as Brussels describe the photos only as un-mounted passport-size photographs, as directed by the issuing authority.
- Print the form, not the photo
After you finish, the portal expects you to print the completed form and take it, with the supporting documents, to an immigration office. New Delhi asked applicants to bring the printed application form in colour, with the original documents, to their appointment.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Use a plain, light blue background.
- Have the photo saved as a file before opening the form.
- Keep scans small; New Delhi capped each attachment at 1 MB.
- Print the completed form and take it to an immigration office.
- Abroad, attend the mission in person for fingerprints.
- Bring the original documents you uploaded.
Don't
- Do not use a white or dark blue background.
- Do not use an old photo; the portal asks for a recent one.
- Do not expect a mission abroad to print the passport.
- Do not bring a child under 16 without a parent's written consent.
- Do not skip the in-person visit after applying online.
Babies and children
Children apply with the same online form, and the portal asks every applicant for a parent's birth certificate or affidavit of birth. Tanzanian missions' citizen-service pages add that an applicant below the age of 16 needs the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
The embassy in Washington encourages Tanzanians to apply for passports for children under 18 born in the United States, as long as at least one parent still holds Tanzanian citizenship. It asks for the child's birth certificate, a parent's Tanzanian birth certificate and passport copy, and a request letter from the parents. The child must appear at the embassy for fingerprints, signature and picture.
Printed and digital photos
The photo is digital from start to finish. You attach it while filling in the online form, and Washington describes it as one passport-size photo to be uploaded online. What you print is the completed application form, which you take to the immigration office or mission with your documents.
The portal gives no pixel size or file limit. New Delhi's guide from 2019 asked for attachments as image files, such as JPEG, of no more than 1 MB each, so keeping the photo file under that size is a safe choice. A digital photo can be cropped and resized, then saved as a JPEG before upload.
Where to submit the photo
In Tanzania, choose a new application on the passport portal, fill in your details, attach the documents and review them before you accept. The portal then gives you a control number for payment. After paying, print the form and take it with your documents to your nearest immigration office; mission pages describe this as the Immigration Headquarters, the head office in Zanzibar, or any regional or district immigration office where you live. The portal also has a status page for tracking the application.
Abroad, the same form is used and the mission handles the rest. Washington takes the fee online during the application, asks for a shipping label or prepaid envelope, and requires a personal visit for fingerprints. New Delhi asked applicants to email the form and attachments, pay against a control number, and then book an appointment for photographs and fingerprints.
How to get your Tanzania passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Tanzania passport: light blue background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: light blue, not white; the photo goes into the online form; prepare it before you start; fingerprints are taken in person.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The photo is digital from start to finish. You attach it while filling in the online form, and Washington describes it as one passport-size photo to be uploaded online.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Tanzania, choose a new application on the passport portal, fill in your details, attach the documents and review them before you accept. The portal then gives you a control number for payment.
Tanzania passport photo FAQ
Light blue. The Immigration Services Department's passport portal asks for a recent photo of the applicant with a light blue background. The Swahili wording describes a blue that is not dark, so use a pale, even shade rather than white.
No dimensions are published. The portal and the missions ask for a recent, clear passport-size photo, and it is uploaded in the online form rather than printed. Neither the portal nor the Washington, Brussels or New Delhi pages give millimetres, pixels or a head size.
You upload it. The portal lists the photo among the documents needed while filling in the form, and the Washington embassy asks for one passport-size photo uploaded online. You print the completed application form, not the photo, and take it to the immigration office or mission.
It can be. New Delhi's e-passport notice says applicants appear in person for fingerprints, signatures and photographs. Washington requires a personal visit for fingerprints, and says children must appear for fingerprints, signature and picture.
Yes. You complete the same online form and then deal with your nearest Tanzanian embassy or high commission, which takes your fingerprints in person. The passport itself is not issued at the mission; the Immigration Department in Dar es Salaam issues it.
The portal lists your birth certificate, a parent's birth certificate or affidavit of birth, your National ID, the light blue background photo, a form fee and evidence of your trip or of your activities. Missions abroad may ask for more, such as an old passport.
Use the same online form. For applicants under 16, mission pages require a parent's or legal guardian's written consent. In Washington the child must also appear at the embassy for fingerprints, signature and picture, with the birth certificate and the parents' documents.
The portal's continue option is meant for applications that have not reached the final step. With your reference ID and application number you can correct your details, or download and print the form.
Related photo specifications
Other Tanzania documents
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
Passports nearby
- Comoros passport photo
- Djibouti passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Eritrea passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Ethiopia passport photo 30 × 40 mm
- Kenya passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Malawi passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Mauritius passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Mayotte passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Mozambique passport photo
- Réunion assport photo 35 × 45 mm
Official sources
- Immigration Services Department, Tanzania. Muongozo wa Maombi ya Pasipoti (passport application guidelines) eservices.immigration.go.tz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Immigration Services Department, Tanzania. Tanzania Passport Application (e-Immigration portal) eservices.immigration.go.tz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania, Washington DC. Passes and Passports us.tzembassy.go.tz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Tanzania High Commission, New Delhi. Consular Services (e-passport notice) in.tzembassy.go.tz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Tanzania High Commission, New Delhi. Guidelines for e-passport application in.tzembassy.go.tz. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania, Brussels. Tanzania Citizen Services be.tzembassy.go.tz. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Immigration Services Department, Tanzania before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Tanzania passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/tanzania/passport-photo