Schengen Visa Photo — Maker & Checker
One photograph serves every Schengen destination: 35×45 mm, with the face taking up 70–80% of the height, against a plain light background. Visa application centres check photos systematically, and a wrong size or a too-small face is a standard reason for being sent away to retake it.
Upload your photo above: the maker crops to exactly 35×45 mm at print resolution, can set a white or light-grey background, and the guide oval helps you land the face inside the 70–80% band.
Upload your photo
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Click or drop a photo here
Everything runs in your browser — your photo is never uploaded to a server. Face the camera, use even lighting, and (for passports and visas) shoot against a plain, light wall.
Choose document, size & background
Schengen visa photo: 35×45 mm, single-colour background with clear contrast to face and hair (in practice white or light grey), face covering 70–80% of the height, no shadows.
Official specification
| Dimensions | 35 mm × 45 mm |
| Background | Single colour (monochromatic), no shadows, clear contrast with face and hair — in practice white or light grey |
| Face size | Face covers 70–80% of the photo height |
| Editing | Retouched or filtered photos are shown as NOT acceptable in the official sample board |
| Source | German Federal Foreign Office — official biometric photo sample board (BMI Fotomustertafel), checked 2026-10-18 |
We publish only values we verified on the official source named above. Final acceptance is always decided by the issuing authority — check your application instructions before submitting.
What the visa centre actually checks
Size and face proportion first: 35×45 mm with the face covering 70–80% of the height — a larger share than U.S. photos, so a U.S.-style crop usually fails. The background must be a single colour with clear contrast against your face and hair and no shadows; white and light grey are the safe choices. The official sample board also lists retouched or filtered photos as unacceptable, so skip beauty filters entirely.
One photo, 29 countries
The biometric specification is shared across the Schengen area, so the same 35×45 mm file works for France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and every other member state. Individual centres occasionally add their own handling preferences — if your appointment instructions differ from the table above, follow the instructions.
Sizes & backgrounds on this site
| Output | Millimetres | Pixels |
|---|---|---|
| 630 × 810 px (India ICAO digital) | 35×45 mm | 630×810px |
| 600 × 600 px (digital) | 51×51 mm | 600×600px |
| 2×2 in · 51×51 mm (print, 300 DPI) | 51×51 mm | 1500×1500px |
| 35×45 mm (300 DPI) | 35×45 mm | 1050×1350px |
| 33×48 mm (300 DPI) | 33×48 mm | 990×1440px |
| ≈37.5×47.5 mm (AU range midpoint) | 37.5×47.5 mm | 443×561px |
| 50×70 mm (300 DPI) | 50×70 mm | 591×827px |
Backgrounds: White #FFFFFF • Off-white / cream #F6F1E7 • Light grey #E8E8E8 • Blue #0090FF • Red #DB1514. Background replacement is offered only for documents whose rules allow it — for U.S., UK passport, Australian and Canadian documents the tools on this site are format-only, by design.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a Schengen visa photo?
35×45 mm, with the face covering 70–80% of the photo height, against a single-colour background (white or light grey in practice) with no shadows.
Can I use my U.S. visa photo for Schengen?
No. The U.S. photo is square (51×51 mm) with the head at 50–69% of the height; Schengen requires 35×45 mm with the face at 70–80%. They are different crops of possibly the same original — re-crop the original here.
Is a white background OK for Schengen?
Yes. The official requirement is a single-colour background with clear contrast to the face and hair; white and light grey both satisfy it for most applicants.
Is my photo uploaded to a server?
No. Cropping, resizing, compression and (where offered) background replacement all run locally in your browser. Your photo never leaves your device.
All documents & tools
DV Lottery (Green Card)
600×600 px · ≤240 KB
Free checker for Diversity Visa entry photos — the #1 silent disqualifier.
U.S. Visa (DS-160)
600×600 px · ≤240 KB
Fix CEAC photo errors: size, squareness, head height, file weight.
U.S. Passport
2×2 in · 51×51 mm
Format-only checker — no AI edits, exactly as the State Department requires.
China Visa (COVA)
33×48 mm
Checker for the strict China visa spec: head width/height, white background, ears visible.
India Passport
35×45 mm ICAO · 630×810 px
GPSP 2.0 / mission route is ICAO since Sep 2025; the 51×51 print route still exists. Both, separated.
India Visa (online)
350–1000 px · 10–300 KB
Square JPEG for the online Indian visa application form.
OCI Card
51×51 mm
OCI photograph: 2×2 in, face about 80% of the frame.
UK Passport
35×45 mm · ≥600×750 px
GOV.UK rules: plain light background, taken within the last month.
UK Visa
35×45 mm
The white vs light-grey question, answered from the GOV.UK standard.
Australia Passport
35–40 × 45–50 mm
A size RANGE, not a preset — framing checker and official checklist.
Canada Passport
50×70 mm
Size & framing guide — final photos must come from a commercial photographer.
2×2 / 51×51 Maker
600×600 px
The universal square format, metric-first, with a 4×6 print sheet.
Exact-KB Compressor
240 / 200 / 120 KB presets
Compress a passport photo to the exact KB a portal demands.