Independent reference to official photo rules

Not affiliated with any government. Always confirm with the issuing authority before you apply.

WorldPhotoSpecsOfficial photo rules for every country

Visas and travel authorisations

United Kingdom visa photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK) for the United Kingdom visa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 8 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

Rate this page

Quick answer

What size is the United Kingdom visa photo?

Most UK visa applicants never post a printed photo. Your face is photographed at a visa application centre with your fingerprints, captured in the ID Check app, or uploaded as a file. UKVI's upload rules: a JPG or JPEG of at least 600 x 750 pixels, 50 KB to 6 MB, portrait, in colour, on a plain light-coloured background, showing head, shoulders and upper body, unfiltered and not mirrored. Where a visa centre asks for a print, it is 35 x 45 mm.

UK visas are decided by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), part of the Home Office. You apply online at GOV.UK, and as part of the process you give your biometric information: your fingerprints and a photograph of your face. Most applicants do this at an appointment at a visa application centre run by an external company, where staff take the photograph. Some can use the UK Immigration: ID Check smartphone app instead, and you are told which route applies when you start the application.

When a digital photo of your face has to be supplied, UKVI's guidance on taking one, published in February 2026, sets the rules. The same guidance is linked from the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) process, which visitors of many nationalities now need in place of a visa.

Successful applicants get an eVisa, a digital record of their immigration status, rather than a sticker in the passport. UKVI stopped issuing visa vignettes to successful new applicants on 1 July 2026.

United Kingdom visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK):[1]

Print sizeNo print for digital uploads; where a visa centre asks for a printed photo, 35 x 45 mm
Digital sizeAt least 600 x 750 pixels, vertical (portrait) orientation
BackgroundPlain light-coloured, in clear contrast with you
ColourIn colour
File size50 KB to 6 MB
File formatJPG or JPEG
Print qualityWhere asked for (for example, in Havana): 1 recent colour passport-sized print
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: plain light-coloured.

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

Your photo must not be altered by computer software or through other means (for example, by adding a filter).

Take a photo of your face for a visa application or permission[1]

Key requirements

  • File format and size

    Upload a JPG or JPEG at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, held upright rather than sideways. The file must weigh at least 50 KB and no more than 6 MB, a lower ceiling than the 10 MB allowed for passport photos.

  • A new photo of you

    The image must not be the photo already printed in your passport or identity card, a scan or snapshot of another photo, or a picture of your document. It has to be a fresh picture of your face.

  • No filters, edits or flipping

    UKVI refuses images altered by software or by other means, giving a filter as an example. The picture must not be mirrored or flipped either, so check the saved image if you used a front-facing camera.

  • Head, shoulders and upper body

    Frame the shot wider than a passport print: UKVI wants your head, shoulders and upper body in view. You must be dressed appropriately, with your shoulders and torso clothed.

  • Well-lit, plain and uncluttered

    Take the photo in a well-lit room against a plain light-coloured background that contrasts with you. No other people or objects, no shadows on your face or behind you, and no red eye.

  • Facing the camera

    Face the camera and look straight into it with a plain expression, mouth closed and eyes open. Your facial features must be clearly visible, with no hair in front of your eyes.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Use a well-lit room and a plain, light-coloured wall.
  • Ask another person to take the photo to cut the risk of rejection.
  • Save the file as a JPG or JPEG between 50 KB and 6 MB.
  • Keep the picture upright, in portrait orientation.
  • Wear clothing that covers your shoulders and torso.
  • Bring a 35 x 45 mm print only if your visa centre's instructions ask for one.

Don't

  • Do not upload the photo from your passport or ID card.
  • Do not scan or photograph an existing print.
  • Do not apply beauty filters or any other edits.
  • Do not upload a mirrored front-camera image.
  • Do not include other people, objects or busy backgrounds.
  • Do not wear sunglasses or tinted glasses.

Sample photos

How a United Kingdom visa photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm and background colour.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Glasses

UKVI asks you not to wear glasses in the photo unless you have to. If you must, they cannot be sunglasses or tinted, and neither the frames nor any glare, reflection or shadow may cover your eyes; your eyes have to be seen clearly.

The ID Check app sets the same expectation for the selfie it asks for: nothing may cover your face or eyes. If your lenses catch the light, move away from the window or lamp, or take the glasses off.

Headwear and religious dress

Head coverings are not allowed in a UK visa photo unless worn for religious or medical reasons, and your facial features still need to be clearly visible. The ID Check app applies the same exception for religious or medical head coverings.

At a visa application centre, staff take the photograph themselves, so follow their instructions on the day. If you wear a covering for religious or medical reasons, your face must still be uncovered for the picture.

Babies and children

Every child needs their own photo, with nobody else in it. Babies must not hold toys or use dummies. If you are applying on a child's behalf, make sure the picture is of the child's face, not yours. Under-6s do not have to look straight at the camera or keep a plain expression, and babies under one may have their eyes closed: support the head with a hand kept out of shot, or lay the baby on a plain light-coloured sheet and photograph from above.

At a visa application centre, children under 16 must come with an adult over 18. Children under 5 attend to have their photograph taken but do not give fingerprints. In the ID Check app, applicants aged 9 or younger are not asked to scan their face.

Your face can be captured in three ways. At a visa application centre, staff take a digital photograph alongside your fingerprints, so you do not need a photo of your own for that step. In the UK Immigration: ID Check app, you scan your face (the screen flashes) and then take a photo of yourself against a plain, light background, head straight, with head, shoulders and upper body in view. Where an application or the ETA asks you to upload a file, the February 2026 digital rules apply in full.

Printed photos are now the exception. Some country-specific instructions still ask for one: applicants in Cuba, for example, are told to bring 1 recent passport-sized (45 mm x 35 mm) colour photograph to the visa application centre at the British Embassy in Havana. Check the instructions for the country where you apply before printing anything.

Where to submit the photo

Start with the online application at GOV.UK. You book an appointment at a visa application centre as part of the application and must attend within 240 days of submitting it, or start again. If you are allowed to use the ID Check app, you open it when you reach the identity step and usually avoid an in-person appointment; if the app cannot read your document chip, you can book an appointment at a visa application centre or a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point instead.

For an ETA, you either use the UK ETA app, which scans your passport and face with your phone camera, or apply online with a photo of the passport and a photo of the face of the person applying. GOV.UK warns that an ETA may be delayed or rejected if the face photo breaks the rules.

How to get your United Kingdom visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the United Kingdom visa: 35 × 45 mm print, 600 × 750 px digital file, plain light-coloured background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: file format and size; a new photo of you; no filters, edits or flipping; head, shoulders and upper body.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Your face can be captured in three ways. At a visa application centre, staff take a digital photograph alongside your fingerprints, so you do not need a photo of your own for that step.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Start with the online application at GOV.UK. You book an appointment at a visa application centre as part of the application and must attend within 240 days of submitting it, or start again.

Make this photo online

United Kingdom visa photo FAQ

For an upload there is no print size. UKVI asks for a JPG or JPEG at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, between 50 KB and 6 MB, in portrait orientation. Where a visa application centre asks for a printed photo, as the one in Havana does, it is a passport-sized print, 35 mm wide and 45 mm high.

Usually not. At a visa application centre, staff take a digital photograph of your face together with your fingerprints. A few country-specific instructions still ask for a print, such as 1 recent 45 mm x 35 mm colour photo for applicants in Cuba, so read the guidance for the country where you apply.

No. UKVI's rules say the uploaded photo must not be the same photo that is in your passport or identity card, and must not be a scan or photo of another photo or of the document itself. Take a new picture of your face.

Yes. UKVI says the photo can come from a phone or tablet. It recommends that another person takes it, which reduces the chance of rejection. Check that the image is not mirrored, keep it upright, and save it as a JPG or JPEG between 50 KB and 6 MB.

Only if you need them. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are not accepted, and the frames, glare, reflections or shadows must not cover your eyes. UKVI says your eyes must be seen clearly.

The ETA uses the same UKVI rules for digital photos of faces. On the UK ETA app your phone camera scans your face; if you apply online you upload a photo of your face and a photo of your passport. Each traveller, including babies and children, needs their own ETA and photo.

Common breaches of the published rules are a filter or edit, a mirrored selfie, a file under 50 KB or over 6 MB, a landscape image, a busy or dark background, shadows, red eye, other people in shot, or reusing the photo printed in your passport. Uncovered shoulders and torso are also against the rules.

Related photo specifications

Other United Kingdom documents

Visas and travel authorisations nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

Was this page helpful?

No ratings yet. Be the first to rate this page.

Official sources

  1. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). Take a photo of your face for a visa application or permission gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). How to apply for a visa to come to the UK: paying fees and proving your identity gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). Using the UK Immigration: ID Check app gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). How to apply for a UK visa in Cuba gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). eVisas – access and use your online immigration status gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  7. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.
  8. UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK). Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain gov.uk. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"United Kingdom visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/united-kingdom/visa-photo

Categories: