Turkmenistan passport photo requirements
The 30 × 40 mm photo rules set by State Migration Service of Turkmenistan for the Turkmenistan passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Turkmenistan passport photo?
The Turkmen biometric passport has no published print size, because the State Migration Service records your electronic photo itself: under Article 29 of the Law on Migration, your documents count as accepted on the day your electronic photo and biometric data are taken. New passports are issued in Turkmenistan, with you present. Abroad, embassies issue a certificate for return instead, for which they ask for two 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm) photos.
The passport for leaving and entering Turkmenistan is a biometric passport issued by the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan. The Service began issuing it on 10 July 2008, and each passport is valid for up to five years. Article 29 of the Law of Turkmenistan on Migration sets out the procedure: you apply to the Service in writing or electronically, and the day your documents are accepted is the day your electronic photograph and biometric data are taken.
So the photo is part of an in-person enrolment, not a print you post. The law still provides for citizens who live permanently abroad to apply through Turkmen embassies, with the passport made at the Service's central office. In practice the embassy in Berlin states that a new biometric passport is not issued at the embassy. Citizens abroad must travel to Turkmenistan before their passport expires and hand in their documents in person, because biometric data can only be collected with the applicant present.
Printed photos still matter for one related document. A citizen abroad whose passport is lost, stolen or expired travels home on a certificate for return to Turkmenistan, and the embassies that issue it ask for two 3 x 4 cm photographs.
Turkmenistan passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by State Migration Service of Turkmenistan:[1]
| Print size | Passport: electronic photo taken by the Migration Service. Return certificate abroad: two 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm) prints |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No file to upload: the Service records the electronic photo when it accepts your documents |
| Background | Not published for the passport, whose photo the Service takes itself |
| Colour | Return certificate in London: colour prints |
| Print quality | Return certificate in London: prints on matte paper |
| Pixels when printed | 354 × 472 px at 300 dpi · 709 × 945 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
Key requirements
- The Service takes the photo
Article 29 of the Law on Migration counts the day your documents are accepted as the day your electronic photograph and biometric data are taken. The photo in the passport therefore comes from that enrolment, recorded by the State Migration Service.
- Apply in Turkmenistan, in person
The Berlin embassy says new biometric passports are issued on the territory of Turkmenistan by the State Migration Service, not at the embassy. Citizens living abroad must go to Turkmenistan and submit their documents personally before the old passport expires.
- Children attend too
Passports for minors are issued on the written or electronic application of one parent or another legal representative. The law makes the child's presence mandatory when a written application is accepted and when the passport is handed over.
- A changed face means a new passport
The law lists a change in fingerprints or facial appearance, through health or other circumstances, as a ground for replacing the passport. Expiry, a change of personal data, an error in the entries, damage and full visa pages are the other grounds.
- Lost abroad: certificate for return
Embassies issue a certificate for return to Turkmenistan when a passport is lost, stolen or expired. London asks for an explanatory note, a police certificate, copies of the lost documents if you have them and two colour 3 x 4 cm photos on matte paper.
- Collected by the holder
The passport is handed to the holder, or to the holder's legal representative, against a signature on presentation of an identity document. It is issued for a period of up to five years.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Plan a trip to Turkmenistan before your passport expires.
- Go to the State Migration Service in person to enrol.
- Bring your child when applying for the child's passport.
- Replace the passport if your facial appearance changes.
- Carry two 3 x 4 cm photos when applying for a return certificate.
- Print return-certificate photos in colour on matte paper for London.
Don't
- Do not expect a Turkmen embassy to issue a new biometric passport.
- Do not rely on an embassy extension note; that service has ended.
- Do not send an unauthorised person to collect the passport.
- Do not bring glossy prints to London for a return certificate.
Sample photos
How a Turkmenistan passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 30 × 40 mm and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Babies and children
A child's passport is issued on the written or electronic application of one parent or another legal representative, according to Article 29 of the Law on Migration. The same rule covers adults who have been declared legally incapable. The child must be present when a written application is accepted and again when the passport is handed over, and the application counts as accepted on the day the photo and biometric data are taken.
Children under 16 are exempt from the state duty or consular fee for the passport, as are veterans and people with a disability of any category. A child of Turkmen citizens born abroad who has no biometric passport can travel to Turkmenistan on a certificate for return; the Ankara embassy first registers the child's birth and asks for two 3 x 4 cm photographs.
Printed and digital photos
For the passport itself there is nothing to upload and no print size to meet: the electronic photo is captured by the Service when it accepts your documents. Prints come into play only for related consular paperwork. London wants two 3 x 4 cm colour prints on matte paper for a certificate for return, and the embassies in Ankara and New Delhi each list two 3 x 4 photos for it.
A digital photo can be cropped to 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm) and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter, which gives more than the two prints a return certificate needs.
Where to submit the photo
Inside Turkmenistan, apply to the offices of the State Migration Service. The New Delhi embassy notes that an application linked to urgent medical treatment abroad, or to the serious illness or death of a close relative living outside Turkmenistan, is considered within three working days.
Abroad, presidential decrees extended passports that expired between 1 January 2020 and 30 December 2024 until 31 December 2024, and embassies added an extension note with a QR code. Berlin says that service is no longer available and that a new passport must be obtained in Turkmenistan. The law also lets the President extend the passports of citizens who cannot return for reasons beyond their control.
How to get your Turkmenistan passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Turkmenistan passport: 30 × 40 mm print. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: the Service takes the photo; apply in Turkmenistan, in person; children attend too; a changed face means a new passport.
- Prepare a print or digital file. For the passport itself there is nothing to upload and no print size to meet: the electronic photo is captured by the Service when it accepts your documents. Prints come into play only for related consular paperwork.
- Submit the photo with your application. Inside Turkmenistan, apply to the offices of the State Migration Service.
Turkmenistan passport photo FAQ
No print size is published for the biometric passport itself. The State Migration Service records your electronic photo and biometric data on the day it accepts your application, as Article 29 of the Law on Migration sets out. Embassies ask for 3 x 4 cm photos only for related documents, such as the certificate for return.
Not at present, according to the embassy in Berlin. It says new biometric passports are issued only in Turkmenistan by the State Migration Service, so citizens abroad must travel home before their passport expires and submit their documents in person.
Yes. The Law on Migration makes a minor's presence mandatory when a written application is accepted and when the passport is handed over. A parent or other legal representative makes the application on the child's behalf.
Two photos of 3 x 4 cm. The London embassy wants them in colour on matte paper, alongside an explanatory note, a police certificate on the loss and copies of your lost passports. The embassies in Ankara and New Delhi also list two 3 x 4 photographs.
Up to five years. Turkmenistan has issued biometric passports since 10 July 2008. The passport is handed to the holder or a legal representative against a signature, on presentation of an identity document.
Yes. Among the grounds for replacing a passport, the Law on Migration lists a change in the holder's fingerprints or facial appearance because of health or other circumstances. A passport may also be replaced before its expiry date when necessary.
The State Migration Service of Turkmenistan. Citizens apply to its offices in writing or electronically, and the passport is made at the Service. Turkmen embassies handle related consular services, such as certificates for return, but Berlin says they do not issue new biometric passports.
Related photo specifications
Other Turkmenistan documents
- Visa photo 30 × 40 mm
Passports nearby
- Kazakhstan passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Kyrgyzstan passport photo 40 × 60 mm
- Tajikistan passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Uzbekistan passport photo 35 × 45 mm
Also 30 × 40 mm
- Armenia ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Azerbaijan passport photo 30 × 40 mm
- Azerbaijan visa photo 30 × 40 mm
- Azerbaijan ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Belarus citizenship photo 30 × 40 mm
- Bolivia safe conduct photo 30 × 40 mm
- Botswana residence permit photo 30 × 40 mm
- Brazil ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Brazil SPTrans Bilhete Único photo 30 × 40 mm
- Brazil employment record book photo 30 × 40 mm
- All Turkmenistan photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 30 × 40 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Asia
Official sources
- State Migration Service of Turkmenistan. Law of Turkmenistan on Migration, Article 29 (Turkmen) migration.gov.tm. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of Turkmenistan, Berlin. Extension of the biometric passport / Issuance of a new biometric passport germany.tmembassy.gov.tm. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of Turkmenistan, New Delhi. Biometric passports india.tmembassy.gov.tm. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of Turkmenistan, London. Loss of the passport (certificate for return) uk.tmembassy.gov.tm. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of Turkmenistan, Ankara. Certificate on return to Turkmenistan turkey.tmembassy.gov.tm. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of Turkmenistan, New Delhi. Repatriation certificate for citizens who lost their passports india.tmembassy.gov.tm. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with State Migration Service of Turkmenistan before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Turkmenistan passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/turkmenistan/passport-photo