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Uganda passport photo requirements

The photo rules set by Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda for the Uganda passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 10 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What are the Uganda passport photo requirements?

Uganda has issued the East African e-passport since 7 December 2018, and your photo is captured when you report to a passport centre or mission for biometric enrolment. DCIC's checklists for new, renewed and lost passports list no photographs, and the embassy in Washington tells applicants not to bring passport-size pictures. No print size is published. The High Commission in Abuja is the exception: it lists two recent passport-size photographs for a new passport.

Ugandan passports are issued by the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Since 7 December 2018 Uganda has issued the East African Community e-passport, and the old machine-readable passports stopped being valid for international travel after 4 April 2022. The Passport Regulations provide for three types: diplomatic, official and ordinary.

Every application starts online on the DCIC passport portal. You complete the form, print the payment advice, pay, book an appointment and print the appointment form. Then you report to the passport centre you chose for enrolment, where your biometric details are captured. That is where the passport photo is taken, so DCIC's requirement lists name documents such as your national ID and a recommendation letter, but no photographs.

In Uganda there are Passport Control Offices in Kampala, Mbale, Mbarara and Gulu, and regional immigration offices that collect applications. Abroad, DCIC has rolled enrolment out to missions, starting with London, Washington DC, Abu Dhabi and Pretoria. Washington notes that passports are printed in Kampala, not at the embassy.

Uganda passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda:[1]

Print sizeNo print size published: the photo is captured at enrolment. Abuja lists two passport-size prints for a new passport
Digital sizeNo upload: the online form is followed by in-person biometric enrolment
BackgroundNot published; the photo is taken at the passport centre or mission

Key requirements

  • Online first, then enrolment

    Apply on the passport portal, pay, schedule an appointment and print the appointment form. On the day, report to the selected passport centre with the appointment form and the listed documents for enrolment, where your biometrics are captured.

  • The photo is taken for you

    The Washington embassy's renewal checklist says passport photos are not required because your photo will be taken during the renewal process, and it asks applicants not to come with passport-size pictures.

  • Abuja still lists prints

    The High Commission in Abuja captures biometrics too, yet its checklist for a new passport includes two recent passport-size photographs. It gives no size. Check your own mission's list before you go.

  • A recommender vouches for you

    New and renewal applications need a recommendation letter from a Ugandan of good standing who knows your citizenship, with a copy of the recommender's national ID. Washington asks the recommender to sign the form or a copy of their ID.

  • Declare any other passport

    To hold two passports you must first register as a dual citizen and show the certificate when you renew. Minors cannot hold dual citizenship until 18, and DCIC warns that an undeclared foreign passport can lead to confiscation of the Ugandan one or to prosecution.

  • Old paper-form photo rules

    The Passport Regulations, 2004 still describe photographs for their paper forms: full face, without a hat or veil, unmounted, no larger than 2.5 inches, on thin photographic paper, with a recommender certifying one as a true likeness. Today's e-passport checklists list no prints.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Complete the application on the passport portal before booking.
  • Pay every assessed fee separately using its own reference number.
  • Bring the printed appointment form to enrolment.
  • Bring your national ID and your recommender's ID copy.
  • Bring your child to the appointment with a parent's consent letter.
  • Check your mission's checklist in case it asks for prints.

Don't

  • Do not bring passport-size pictures to the Washington embassy.
  • Do not post your application to a mission; enrol in person.
  • Do not pay for several applicants on a single receipt.
  • Do not hide a foreign passport held by you or your child.

Headwear and religious dress

DCIC's current passport pages set no rule on hats or head coverings, because the photo is taken by staff at enrolment. The only published wording is in the Passport Regulations, 2004, whose paper application forms ask for photographs taken full face without a hat or veil.

Those forms also say the photographs must not be mounted and must not be glazed on the reverse side. If your mission still asks for prints, as Abuja does, a full-face photo without a hat or veil meets that older rule.

Babies and children

Children need their own e-passport. DCIC's checklist for minors is the birth certificate, the parents' national IDs and passports, a letter of consent from the parents and, for an adopted child, the adoption order from the High Court of Uganda. The Washington embassy asks for the child's old passport, a consent letter from one parent, the birth certificate and a copy of a parent's passport or national ID, and renewal applications for minors are paid individually like any other.

The child's photo is captured at enrolment along with everyone else's. The 2004 Regulations' paper form for a child asked for three copies of a recent photograph; the current checklists for minors list none. Children under 18 cannot hold dual citizenship.

There is no photo upload and, for most applicants, no print. The online form collects your details, and the photo is captured digitally when you enrol in person at the passport centre or mission. The Washington embassy tells applicants not to bring passport-size pictures.

Prints are worth having only where a mission still lists them, such as the two recent passport-size photographs on the Abuja checklist. Abuja gives no size, so ask the High Commission; a digital photo can then be cropped to that size and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.

Where to submit the photo

In Uganda, enrol at the Passport Control Office you booked: Kampala (the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Jinja Road, entrance on Old Port Bell Road), Mbale, Mbarara or Gulu. Regional immigration offices in places such as Jinja, Masaka, Fort Portal, Arua, Hoima, Masindi and Lira take applications and hand out finished passports.

Abroad, apply on the same portal and book enrolment at your mission. DCIC's FAQs say missions handle renewals, replacements and new passports for children of Ugandans in the diaspora, and that applicants must appear in person so the embassy can verify them. Washington no longer accepts applications by mail and returns passports in a prepaid courier envelope you provide.

How to get your Uganda passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Uganda passport. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: online first, then enrolment; the photo is taken for you; abuja still lists prints; a recommender vouches for you.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. There is no photo upload and, for most applicants, no print. The online form collects your details, and the photo is captured digitally when you enrol in person at the passport centre or mission.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Uganda, enrol at the Passport Control Office you booked: Kampala (the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Jinja Road, entrance on Old Port Bell Road), Mbale, Mbarara or Gulu.

Make this photo online

Uganda passport photo FAQ

Usually not. DCIC's checklists for new, renewal and lost passports list no photographs, because your photo is captured at biometric enrolment. The Washington embassy says passport photos are not required. Abuja is an exception and lists two recent passport-size photographs for a new passport.

DCIC publishes no print size, because the photo is taken at the passport centre or mission. Abuja asks for two passport-size photographs without giving a size. The old Passport Regulations, 2004 said photographs for their paper forms must be no larger than 2.5 inches.

DCIC's current pages set no rule, since staff take the photo at enrolment. The Passport Regulations, 2004 asked for photographs taken full face without a hat or veil on their paper forms, which is the only official wording published.

Yes, at missions that enrol e-passport applicants, such as London, Washington, Abu Dhabi, Pretoria and Abuja. DCIC's FAQs say missions handle renewals, replacements and new passports for children of Ugandans in the diaspora. You apply online first, then appear in person.

A birth certificate, the parents' national IDs and passports, and a letter of consent from the parents; an adopted child also needs the High Court adoption order. The child attends enrolment so their photo and biometrics can be captured. No prints are listed.

DCIC says applicants submit their applications personally to the embassy so that the applicant can be verified. Enrolment is also when your biometrics, including the photo, are captured. Washington stopped accepting mailed applications on 1 April 2022.

The appointment form, your national identity card, the old passport and a recommendation letter from a Ugandan who knows your citizenship, with a copy of their national ID. Attach academic documents if your profession is recorded or changing. No photographs are listed.

Related photo specifications

Other Uganda documents

Passports nearby

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Official sources

  1. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. Ordinary Passport immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. Renewal/Replacement of Passport immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. Lost/Damaged Passport immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. Ugandan Passport immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. FAQs - Citizenship and Passport Management immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. FAQs - Citizenship and Passport Management (page 2) immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. Uganda opens e-Passport Enrollment Centre in Pretoria immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda. The Passports Regulations, 2004 immigration.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. Embassy of the Republic of Uganda, Washington DC. Passports washington.mofa.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.
  10. Uganda High Commission, Abuja. Passport and consular services abuja.mofa.go.ug. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Uganda before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Uganda passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/uganda/passport-photo

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