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Zambia visa photo requirements

The 2 × 2 in photo rules set by Department of Immigration, Zambia for the Zambia visa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 12 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Zambia visa photo?

Zambia's Department of Immigration asks every visa applicant for a passport-sized photo but publishes no dimensions, background colour or pixel size. On its e-Visa portal, uploaded documents must be JPG, PNG or TIFF files. The embassy in Washington asks for two recent 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) photos on a white background, signed on the back. Many nationalities, including US and UK citizens, need no visa at all.

Visas for Zambia are issued by the Department of Immigration, and whether you need one depends on your passport. Nationals on the Department's exempt list, which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, China and Germany, need no visa. A further waiver for nationals of 53 countries took effect on 1 January 2025 under Statutory Instrument No. 78 of 2024. Other nationalities can get a visa on arrival or from a mission, and a third group, including India, Nigeria and Pakistan, must have the visa approved before they travel.

The Department says anyone, regardless of nationality, can now apply for an e-Visa. Applications are made on its eServices portal, which the Department's own website links to; use that link rather than a look-alike visa site. The approval letter comes as a download link and by email, and an immigration officer fixes the visa sticker in your passport when you arrive.

For the photo, the Department lists a passport-sized photo for every visa purpose, from tourism and business to transit and the KAZA UNIVISA, but does not define the size. The only mission instructions found with a size are from the embassy in Washington, which asks for 2 x 2 inch prints with applications made there.

Zambia visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Department of Immigration, Zambia:[1]

Print sizeDepartment of Immigration: passport-sized, no dimensions given; Washington embassy forms: 2 x 2 in (51 x 51 mm)
Digital sizeNo pixel size published for e-Visa uploads
BackgroundWhite on the Washington embassy form; the Department of Immigration names no colour
Photo ageWashington embassy: recent photographs; no age limit in months is published
File formate-Visa uploads: JPG, PNG or TIFF
Print qualityWashington embassy: photographic paper, signed on the back, one stapled to each of the two forms
Pixels when printed600 × 600 px at 300 dpi · 1200 × 1200 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
2 in2 in
2 × 2 in photo drawn to scale. Background: white on the Washington embassy form.

In the official words

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

. The one visa size found is Washington's 2 x 2 in (already the

Visa Requirements by Purpose of Visit[1]

Key requirements

  • Check whether you need a visa

    The Department sorts nationalities into three groups: no visa needed, visa on arrival or from a mission, and visa approved before travel. Look up your passport first, because the exempt list now covers many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

  • A passport-sized photo for every purpose

    The requirements page lists a passport-sized photo as the first document for business, official, religious, school, tourism, KAZA, ordinary visitor and transit visas, and a passport size photo for each diplomatic category. It gives no size, background or pose.

  • Upload JPG, PNG or TIFF

    The Department states that all documents must be in jpg, png or tiff formats, and the portal's help text and user guide repeat that supporting documents are attached in those formats. No file size limit or pixel dimensions are published.

  • Approval before travel for some nationals

    Nationals on the prior-clearance list must apply through the Director General of Immigration before arriving. Their applications must be made online on the eServices portal, and they must receive a letter of approval before travelling.

  • Washington: 2 x 2 inch prints

    The embassy's 2025 instructions ask for two recent passport-size photographs of 2 x 2 inches on a white background, on photographic paper. Sign the back of each one and staple one to the upper right corner of each of the two application forms.

  • KAZA UNIVISA

    The KAZA UNIVISA covers Zambia and Zimbabwe for up to 30 days in any 12-month period, plus day trips into Botswana through Kazungula. It is available only at named airports and borders, and you can apply for it online only if you arrive at Kenneth Kaunda or Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport, or at the Victoria Falls or Kazungula border on the Zambian side.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Check whether your nationality needs a visa before you apply.
  • Start your e-Visa from the Department of Immigration's website.
  • Upload a clear passport-sized photo as a JPG, PNG or TIFF file.
  • Keep the approval letter on your phone or on paper for arrival.
  • At the Washington embassy, bring two 2 x 2 inch prints on a white background.
  • Sign the back of each print for a Washington application.

Don't

  • Do not apply through a look-alike visa website.
  • Do not upload a PDF or other format the Department does not list.
  • Do not travel without an approval letter if your nationality needs prior clearance.
  • Do not send one form with one photo to Washington; it wants two of each.
  • Do not expect a KAZA UNIVISA e-Visa for an entry point not on its list.

Sample photos

How a Zambia visa photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 2 × 2 in 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.

Babies and children

No Zambian visa source publishes separate photo rules for children. The Washington embassy's form has a section for a spouse or children travelling with you, but adds that every applicant fills out an individual form, and its instructions ask for two forms per applicant with a photo stapled to each.

For a school visa, the Department's requirements page lists a passport-sized photo, a copy of the applicant's passport, a cover letter on school letterhead, an acceptance letter from the school and a copy of the immigration status of the host, parents or guardian, if any.

The e-Visa is digital. You upload a passport-sized photo with your other documents, and the portal says the approval letter can be downloaded at the end and is also emailed to you. Immigration officers can check e-Visas on their system, but the portal advises keeping the letter as a soft copy on a phone or tablet, or as a hard copy, in case their system fails.

Printed photos are needed for paper applications at a mission. Washington asks for two 2 x 2 inch prints on photographic paper, and the embassy in Brussels asks for two recent colour photos stapled to the upper right corner of two application forms. The Department publishes no separate photo rule for visas issued on arrival.

A digital photo can be cropped and resized for upload, or printed at 2 x 2 inches on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter for an embassy application.

Where to submit the photo

Apply online on the Department of Immigration's eServices portal, which handles e-Visas for every nationality and is the only route for nationals who need prior clearance. Multiple-entry visas are issued only by Immigration Headquarters through the e-Visa facility, according to the Washington embassy's instructions.

Nationals on the visa-on-arrival list can instead get a visa at any port of entry, or from selected Zambian missions abroad. The KAZA UNIVISA is sold at Kenneth Kaunda and Harry Mwanga Nkumbula international airports and at the Victoria Falls and Kazungula borders, and on the Zimbabwean side at Harare and Victoria Falls airports and the same two borders.

At the embassy in Washington, visa applications can be handed in or mailed with a tracked, prepaid return envelope. Its instructions are for nationals of countries that need a visa on arrival or from a mission, since US passport holders are exempt.

How to get your Zambia visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Zambia visa: 2 × 2 in print, white on the Washington embassy form background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: check whether you need a visa; a passport-sized photo for every purpose; upload JPG, PNG or TIFF; approval before travel for some nationals.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. The e-Visa is digital. You upload a passport-sized photo with your other documents, and the portal says the approval letter can be downloaded at the end and is also emailed to you.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Apply online on the Department of Immigration's eServices portal, which handles e-Visas for every nationality and is the only route for nationals who need prior clearance.

Make this photo online

Zambia visa photo FAQ

The Department of Immigration asks for a passport-sized photo but gives no dimensions. The embassy in Washington is the only mission found with a size: two recent 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) photos on a white background for applications made there.

JPG, PNG or TIFF. The Department states that all documents must be in jpg, png or tiff formats, and the eServices portal's help text says the same. No file size limit or pixel dimensions are published.

Not for a visa, because US passport holders do not need one: the United States is on the Department's list of visa-exempt countries, and the Washington embassy's instructions say the visa is waived for them. The embassy's 2 x 2 inch photo rule applies to other nationals who apply there.

The Department publishes no separate photo rule for visas issued at the port of entry. Its requirements page lists a passport-sized photo for every visa purpose, and nationals eligible for a visa on arrival can also apply in advance through the e-Visa portal.

Yes. The Department lists the same documents for a KAZA visa as for a tourist visa: a passport-sized photo, a copy of your passport, a signed cover letter to the Director-General, a hotel booking and a copy of your return air ticket.

Go to the Department of Immigration's own website and follow its Apply for e-Visa link to the eServices portal, which sits under the Department's web address. Visa sites that are not part of the Department's or the government's domain are not the official service.

It is the authorisation. The portal describes the e-Visa as an official document permitting entry into Zambia and an alternative to visas issued at missions and ports of entry. On arrival you show your passport and the approval letter, and the officer fixes the visa sticker in your passport.

Related photo specifications

Other Zambia documents

Visas and travel authorisations nearby

Also 2 × 2 in

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Official sources

  1. Department of Immigration, Zambia. Visa Requirements by Purpose of Visit zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Department of Immigration, Zambia. e-Services portal eservices.zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Department of Immigration, Zambia. eServices User Guide zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Department of Immigration, Zambia. Arriving & Departing Zambia zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Department of Immigration, Zambia. Nationals Who Do Not Require Visa zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Department of Immigration, Zambia. Nationals requiring visas on arrival or from Zambian Missions Abroad zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Department of Immigration, Zambia. Nationals Requiring Visa Prior to Travel zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Department of Immigration, Zambia. KAZA UNIVISA zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. Department of Immigration, Zambia. Zambia Waives Visa Requirements for Nationals of 53 Countries to Boost Tourism zambiaimmigration.gov.zm. Checked 2 November 2026.
  10. Embassy of the Republic of Zambia, Washington DC. Visa Application zambiaembassy.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
  11. Embassy of the Republic of Zambia, Washington DC. Visa Application Instructions (Rev. 2025) zambiaembassy.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
  12. Embassy of the Republic of Zambia, Brussels. Consular zebru.org. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Department of Immigration, Zambia before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Zambia visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/zambia/visa-photo

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