Ukraine passport photo requirements
The 100 × 150 mm photo rules set by State Migration Service of Ukraine for the Ukraine passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Ukraine passport photo?
For a Ukrainian ID card or biometric passport for travelling abroad you do not bring a photo: the official who takes your application photographs you. A parent applying for a child under 12, or someone who cannot move independently because of long-term illness, may hand in one 10 x 15 cm colour print to be scanned instead. Only the old 1994 booklet passport still takes small photos: two 35 x 45 mm prints.
Ukraine issues two biometric documents to its citizens: the passport of a citizen of Ukraine in the form of an ID card, the main identity document inside the country, and the passport for travelling abroad. Both are issued by the State Migration Service (DMS). You can apply at a DMS office, at an administrative service centre (TsNAP) or at a Passport Service centre run by the DMS state enterprise Dokument. Ukrainians who live abroad apply at a consulate or at one of the Passport Service centres outside Ukraine.
The photo is a biometric capture, not a print you supply. While forming your application, the official records your digitised face image, your signature from age 14 and your index fingerprints from age 12, all with the tools of the Unified State Demographic Register. The photo rules are set by Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) order No 875 of 18 October 2019, which follows ICAO Doc 9303 and covers both the live capture and any print handed in for scanning.
A print matters in only a few cases. A parent may bring one colour 10 x 15 cm photo for a child under 12 instead of bringing the child, and the same option exists for people who cannot move independently because of a long-term illness. The 1994-model booklet passport, now issued only under a court decision, still has 35 x 45 mm photos glued into it.
Ukraine passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by State Migration Service of Ukraine:[1]
| Print size | Most applicants: none, photographed at the office. Child under 12: one 10 x 15 cm print. 1994 booklet: two 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No file upload: the office photographs you or scans the print into the State Demographic Register |
| Head height | Head 70% to 80% of the 10 x 15 cm print, upper shoulders 20% to 30% |
| Background | Plain and light (white or light grey), contrasting with the face, clothes and hair |
| Colour | Colour |
| Photo age | 10 x 15 cm print: the image must not look more than 6 months old |
| Print quality | Thick photographic paper; no ink marks, creases, scratches or stains; clean back; straight, smooth edges |
| Pixels when printed | 1181 × 1772 px at 300 dpi · 2362 × 3543 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
In the official words
Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:
Retouching, editing, correction and preliminary processing of the photographic image are not permitted. (translated from Ukrainian)
Key requirements
- Photographed when you apply
For the ID card and the passport for travelling abroad, the official who forms your application form takes the face image with Register equipment. You bring identity documents rather than pictures, sign the printed form, and from age 12 have your index fingerprints scanned.
- Neutral face, eyes open
Look straight at the camera with your eyes open, so that the iris and pupil are clearly visible. Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed, without turning or tilting your head and neck. Both sides of the face must be visible and the shoulders should form a straight horizontal line.
- Light, even background
The background must be uniform and light, white or light grey, and contrast with your face, clothes and hair. Lighting must be even, with no shadows, spots or glare on the face or background, and no red-eye or flash marks.
- Hair, make-up and jewellery
Hair, wigs and hairpieces must not cover the eyes or face, and the hairstyle may take up no more than 30% of the image. Light, muted make-up is allowed if the skin colour stays natural; temporary face drawings and stickers are not. Everyday facial and ear jewellery is allowed if it hides no more than one of the order's facial control points and does not reflect the flash.
- Only you in the frame
No other person or object may appear in the picture. Headphones, wireless hands-free sets and other sound devices must come off, unless you need one for medical reasons and have a medical certificate.
- Health exceptions
With a medical certificate you may be photographed with closed eyes or an eye patch, without a neutral expression because of facial features, with a tilted head or an open mouth. People who cannot move independently may be photographed lying down or in a special seat with a suitable background behind the head.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Look straight at the camera with your mouth closed.
- Wear clothes that contrast with a white or light grey background.
- Bring a medical certificate if your health affects your pose or eyes.
- Bring one 10 x 15 cm colour print if your child under 12 stays at home.
- Have any print made on thick photographic paper.
- Apply in person from age 14, with your ID card or e-passport.
Don't
- Do not retouch, edit or filter a print you hand in.
- Do not wear sunglasses or tinted or photochromic lenses.
- Do not wear decorative or colour-changing contact lenses.
- Do not let hair or a wig cover your eyes or face.
- Do not write on the back of the print.
- Do not wear headphones or a hands-free headset.
Sample photos
How a Ukraine passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 100 × 150 mm, head height and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
MVS order No 875 bans glasses in the photo unless you wear them all the time in everyday life. If you do, the lenses must be clear and free of stains, cracks and scratches, the frame must be undamaged, and it must not cover your eyes. Sunglasses and glasses with dark or photochromic lenses are not allowed, and neither are contact lenses that change the colour of the iris or the shape of the pupil.
Passport Service centres give stricter advice for their own photo sessions: take glasses and contact lenses off before you are photographed, and if you keep glasses on, avoid large frames and reflections in the lenses.
Headwear and religious dress
Hats, head covers, capes and other accessories are not allowed, unless you wear a head covering every day because of your religious beliefs. Headwear or other items needed for medical reasons are accepted with a medical certificate, and the Passport Service gives the example of people whose appearance has changed through chemotherapy, who may be photographed in a wig or head covering.
A covering worn for medical reasons must not change the shape of the forehead, cheekbones, cheeks, chin or eyes, and must not cover the face or chin.
Babies and children
A passport for travelling abroad can be issued from birth. It is valid for 4 years for a child and for 10 years from age 16. A parent or other legal representative applies for a child under 14, and from 14 the applicant applies in person. Fingerprints are scanned from age 12, so from then on the child must attend.
Under 12, a parent may bring one colour 10 x 15 cm print instead of the child; the office scans it to create the face image. Children under three may be photographed lying down or in a child or special seat, with a suitable background behind the head, and need not keep a neutral expression. The first ID card is issued at 14, with the photo taken at the office.
Printed and digital photos
Neither document has a digital upload. In the normal case the photo is captured at the office straight into the State Demographic Register, so you need neither a print nor a file.
Where a print is allowed, MVS order No 875 asks for a colour 100 x 150 mm photo, with the long side parallel to the centre line of the face, the head filling 70% to 80% and the shoulders 20% to 30%. It must not be retouched, edited or pre-processed, no filters or special effects may be used, and the image must not look older than six months. The DMS lists only the size for the two 35 x 45 mm booklet photos; a 35 x 45 mm digital photo can be printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
In Ukraine, apply at a DMS office, a TsNAP or a Passport Service centre; Passport Service centres accept you whatever your registered address. Some cases must go to a DMS office, for example a first ID card for someone returning to live in Ukraine after living abroad. You collect the passport where you applied, showing your ID card.
Abroad, apply at a Ukrainian embassy or consulate, or at a Passport Service centre outside Ukraine, which can also take ID card applications. Booklet passports whose 25 or 45 photo fell due from 30 days before 24 February 2022 stay valid; the new photos must be glued in, or the passport exchanged, within 30 days after martial law ends.
How to get your Ukraine passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Ukraine passport: 100 × 150 mm print, plain and light background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: photographed when you apply; neutral face, eyes open; light, even background; hair, make-up and jewellery.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Neither document has a digital upload. In the normal case the photo is captured at the office straight into the State Demographic Register, so you need neither a print nor a file.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Ukraine, apply at a DMS office, a TsNAP or a Passport Service centre; Passport Service centres accept you whatever your registered address.
Ukraine passport photo FAQ
Usually not. For an ID card or a biometric passport for travelling abroad, the DMS, TsNAP, Passport Service or consular official photographs you while forming your application, and the image goes straight into the State Demographic Register. A print is only needed in the special cases the rules list, such as a child under 12 who does not attend.
If your child is under 12 and does not come to the appointment, bring one colour print of 10 x 15 cm (100 x 150 mm). The office scans it to create the face image. It must be on thick photographic paper, unretouched, with the head filling 70% to 80% of the photo. From age 12 the child must attend for fingerprints and is photographed on the spot.
Only if you wear them all the time. MVS order No 875 then requires clear, undamaged lenses and a frame that does not cover the eyes; sunglasses, dark lenses and photochromic lenses are banned. Passport Service centres advise taking glasses and contact lenses off for their photo sessions.
No. The order asks for a neutral expression, a closed mouth and open eyes looking straight at the camera. Children under three are excused from the neutral expression, and adults may depart from it because of facial features or a health condition confirmed by a medical certificate.
Only for the 1994-model booklet passport. Holders of a booklet glue in a new photo at 25 and at 45, handing in two 35 x 45 mm prints within a month of the birthday, and a booklet issued for the first time under a court decision also takes two. The ID card and the passport for travelling abroad do not use them.
A uniform light background, white or light grey, that contrasts with your face, clothing and hair. Lighting must be even, with no shadows, spots or glare. The Passport Service also suggests avoiding light-coloured clothes, which would blend into the background.
The Diia app holds digital versions of your ID card and passport for travelling abroad, and the Passport Service accepts the e-passport in Diia when you apply for a passport for travelling abroad. The photo itself is still taken at the counter: from age 14 the application is made in person.
Related photo specifications
Other Ukraine documents
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Driving licence photo 35 × 45 mm
Passports nearby
- Belarus passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Bulgaria passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Czech Republic passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Hungary passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Poland passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Romania passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Russia passport photo 35 × 45 mm
Also 100 × 150 mm
- Moldova ID card photo 100 × 150 mm
- All Ukraine photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 100 × 150 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- State Migration Service of Ukraine. Issue of the passport of a citizen of Ukraine for travelling abroad dmsu.gov.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
- State Migration Service of Ukraine. ID card: first issue at age 14 dmsu.gov.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
- State Migration Service of Ukraine. Gluing photos into the passport at 25 and 45 dmsu.gov.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
- State Migration Service of Ukraine. First issue of a 1994-model passport under a court decision dmsu.gov.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (legislation database). MVS order No 875: requirements for the digitised face image and photographs zakon.rada.gov.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (legislation database). Cabinet of Ministers resolution No 152 of 7 May 2014 (passport for travelling abroad) zakon.rada.gov.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
- State Enterprise Dokument (Passport Service), DMS. Passport Service: frequently asked questions pasport.org.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Diia, Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Digital documents available in Diia diia.gov.ua. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with State Migration Service of Ukraine before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Ukraine passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/ukraine/passport-photo