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Yemen ID card photo requirements

The photo rules set by Landinfo, Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre for the Yemen ID card, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 6 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What are the Yemen ID card photo requirements?

No photo size is published for the Yemeni national ID card, and no official checklist asks you to bring a photo. Landinfo reported in 2022 that the civil registry office photographs and fingerprints each applicant. The Kuala Lumpur embassy's list of nine requirements for the new national identity card (January 2026) and the Ministry of Interior application form contain no portrait. Outside Yemen, the embassies in Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur issue the card.

The national ID card is issued by the Civil Status and Civil Registry Authority of the Ministry of Interior. Its current form, the new national identity card, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls a smart card, is applied for on the Ministry's "application form for obtaining an electronic personal card", which asks for names in Arabic and English, the old national number, blood group, the mother's details and two witnesses, but has no box for a photograph.

Landinfo's 2022 report on Yemeni identity documents states that the applicant's picture and fingerprints are taken when the application is made, and that cards are printed only at civil registry offices that have card printers; an application lodged at an office without one is forwarded and the card returned for collection. It also notes that ID cards are issued in Sana'a, and that the government recognises cards from those offices as supporting documents for a passport. Abroad, the Riyadh embassy opened the first issuing centre in December 2023, and the Kuala Lumpur embassy reopened its civil registry branch on 5 January 2026.

Yemen ID card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Landinfo, Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre:[1]

Print sizeNo size published: no checklist asks for a photo, and Landinfo reports that the registry office photographs you
Digital sizeNo upload: the Ministry of Interior application form has no photo box
BackgroundNot published: none of the checklists read asks the applicant for a photo

Key requirements

  • Nothing to print

    Kuala Lumpur's requirements for the new national identity card list the form, documents, witnesses' passports and fees, but no personal photo. The Ministry of Interior form tells applicants to attach copies of every document it mentions and to bring the originals for checking.

  • Picture and fingerprints at the office

    Landinfo reports that the civil registry photographs and fingerprints applicants when they apply, and stores the fingerprints in the cardholder database. The procedure at offices in Houthi-controlled areas is not described in any source read.

  • Two male witnesses

    Kuala Lumpur asks for copies of the passports of two male witnesses and a copy of the ID card of the applicant's father or brother. The application form records each witness's national number, address and workplace.

  • Bring your passport and residence papers

    Applicants in Malaysia bring the original passport with a copy, a copy of the residence permit and entry stamp, the old ID card and birth certificate if they have them, and a copy of any qualification above secondary level.

  • Born outside Yemen

    An applicant born abroad attaches a copy of the birth certificate, the father's ID card and passport, and the entry stamp for the country of residence. Any difference between the form and the passport, such as a surname, must be backed by documents.

  • Issued only where there is a card printer

    Inside Yemen, Landinfo listed card-issuing offices in Aden, Taiz, Marib, Al-Mukalla, Ataq, Seiyun, Zinjibar, Al-Bayda, Dhale, Lahij and Al-Ghaydah in 2022, citing the Riyadh embassy.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Download and complete the Ministry of Interior application form in full
  • Bring your original passport and a copy of it
  • Arrange copies of two male witnesses' passports
  • Bring a copy of your father's or brother's ID card
  • Book through the embassy's portal where it offers appointments

Don't

  • Do not leave fields of the form blank or inconsistent with your passport
  • Do not bring copies without the originals they were made from
  • Do not expect every embassy to issue the card; Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur are the centres found abroad
  • Do not buy prints for the ID card unless your issuing office asks for them

Babies and children

The card is for teenagers and adults. Landinfo reports that the Civil Registry Law of 1991 requires citizens to carry an ID card, or a family card if they are head of a family, from the age of 16, while the Riyadh embassy said in 2022 that the card can be applied for from 15. Younger children are recorded through birth certificates and their parents' documents.

Landinfo also cites the Riyadh embassy as saying in 2022 that women usually need a guardian when applying, unless they hold a senior professional post.

There is nothing to print or upload for the portrait. The paperwork is a two-page Ministry of Interior form, completed and signed with a fingerprint by the applicant, plus photocopies of the supporting documents. The word "صورة" in the Arabic checklists means a copy of a document, not a photograph.

Other Yemeni documents do need prints. If you are renewing a passport at the same time, follow the passport rules of your mission, which ask for colour photos on a white background.

Where to submit the photo

Inside Yemen, apply at a civil registry office; cards are produced only where a card printer is installed. Abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in December 2023 that the Riyadh embassy was the first centre outside Yemen to issue smart ID cards, booked through the embassy's appointment service in the same way as passports.

Kuala Lumpur, working with the Authority, announced in November 2025 that the civil status centre at the embassy would resume work, and has accepted applications from Yemenis in Malaysia and neighbouring countries since 5 January 2026. Landinfo wrote in 2022 that the card could not be applied for at missions abroad, so check with your own embassy before you travel to apply.

How to get your Yemen ID card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Yemen ID card. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: nothing to print; picture and fingerprints at the office; two male witnesses; bring your passport and residence papers.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. There is nothing to print or upload for the portrait. The paperwork is a two-page Ministry of Interior form, completed and signed with a fingerprint by the applicant, plus photocopies of the supporting documents.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Inside Yemen, apply at a civil registry office; cards are produced only where a card printer is installed.

Make this photo online

Yemen ID card photo FAQ

No official checklist asks for one. Kuala Lumpur's requirements and the Ministry of Interior form name documents and witnesses only, and Landinfo reports that the civil registry photographs and fingerprints applicants at the office.

At some. The Riyadh embassy has issued the smart ID card since December 2023, and Kuala Lumpur's civil registry branch has taken applications since 5 January 2026 for Yemenis in Malaysia and neighbouring countries. No other mission offering the card was found.

In Kuala Lumpur: the completed form, your original passport and a copy, a copy of your father's or brother's ID, your old card and birth certificate if any, copies of two male witnesses' passports, any qualification above secondary level, your residence permit and entry stamp, and the fee.

The Civil Registry Law of 1991 requires citizens to hold an ID card from 16, according to Landinfo, and the Riyadh embassy has said applications are possible from 15.

According to Landinfo's 2022 report, the government's passport authority and the Riyadh embassy said they accept ID cards issued at offices in Houthi-controlled areas as supporting documents for a passport application.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes the cards issued at the Riyadh embassy as smart ID cards. Landinfo described the earlier electronic card, introduced in 2000, as not biometric, although fingerprints were stored in the registry's database.

Related photo specifications

Other Yemen documents

Identity cards nearby

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Official sources

  1. Landinfo, Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre. Jemen: Sivilregister, identitetsdokumenter og pass (27 June 2022) landinfo.no. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Kuala Lumpur. Civil status and civil registry section requirements (Arabic) eportal.yemenembassy.my. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Kuala Lumpur. Civil registry branch resumes issuing the new national identity card (1 January 2026, Arabic) eportal.yemenembassy.my. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Kuala Lumpur. Announcement on the coming resumption of the civil status centre (13 November 2025, Arabic) eportal.yemenembassy.my. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Ministry of Interior, Civil Registration Authority (via the Embassy in Kuala Lumpur). Application form for an electronic personal card (Arabic, PDF) eportal.yemenembassy.my. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Republic of Yemen. Yemeni embassy in Riyadh first station abroad to see launching of smart ID cards (3 December 2023) mofa-ye.org. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Landinfo, Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Yemen ID card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/yemen/id-card-photo

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