Passport photo size by country

Updated 2026-09-03 · The crop is drawn on a canvas in this tab. No copy of your photo is sent anywhere.

“Passport size” is not one size. India, the UK, Schengen countries, Australia and Japan use 35 × 45 mm; the United States uses a 2 × 2 inch square; Canada wants 50 × 70 mm; China 33 × 48 mm. What every country shares is a rule about how large the head must be within the frame — and that is what most rejected photos get wrong. Below are the dimensions in millimetres and pixels, followed by how to crop one at home.

Passport photo dimensions (mm and pixels at 300 dpi)

Country	Size (mm)	Pixels	Head rule	Note
India (standard)	35 × 45	413 × 531	Face 70–80% of height	Used for most forms, exams and visas
India – Passport Seva upload	51 × 51 (2 × 2 in)	600 × 600	Face 70–80%	The online application asks for a square
United States	51 × 51 (2 × 2 in)	600 × 600 – 1200 × 1200	Head 25–35 mm	JPEG, square, ≤ 240 KB for online
United Kingdom	35 × 45	413 × 531 (min 600 × 750 digital)	Head 29–34 mm	Digital upload wants ≥ 600 × 750 px
Schengen / EU	35 × 45	413 × 531	Head 32–36 mm	ICAO standard
Canada	50 × 70	591 × 827	Head 31–36 mm	Larger than most; do not scale a 35×45
Australia	35 × 45	413 × 531	Head 32–36 mm
China	33 × 48	390 × 567	Head 28–33 mm
Japan	35 × 45	413 × 531	Head 32–36 mm
Singapore	35 × 45	413 × 531
Malaysia	35 × 50	413 × 591
Pakistan	35 × 45	413 × 531

Pixels are millimetres ÷ 25.4 × 300. Requirements change; always check the issuing authority's page before you submit. All of these sizes are built into the passport photo preset.

India: 35 × 45 mm vs 2 × 2 inch

Two sizes circulate in India and both are correct for different purposes. The everyday 35 × 45 mm print is what studios call “passport size” and what most application forms, exam registrations and visa applications ask for. The Passport Seva online application, however, asks for a square upload of 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) with a white background. Choose “India – Passport Seva upload” in the preset for that one and the standard India entry for everything else.

Government exam portals (SSC, UPSC, banking, state PSCs and many universities) add a file-size ceiling — typically a JPG between 20 KB and 50 KB, sometimes with a fixed pixel size such as 3.5 × 4.5 cm at 100–200 dpi. Crop with the preset, then open More options → Export, set the width and height the form specifies and turn on Save as target size with the KB limit. CropPhoto lowers the JPG quality just enough to fit and tells you the final size.

The head-size rule

Almost every authority specifies the distance from chin to crown as a percentage or a millimetre range: 70–80% of the frame height in India, 25–35 mm on a 51 mm US photo, 32–36 mm on a 45 mm Schengen photo. The passport preset draws a dashed oval and an eye line on the crop box scaled to the selected country. Put the top of the hair near the top of the oval and the chin near the bottom, keep the eyes on the line, and the proportions will be right. Leave a little background above the head; the frame should never touch the hair.

How to crop a passport photo at home

1
Open the passport preset
Go to cropphoto.com/?preset=passport-photo. India 35×45 mm is selected; pick another country from the list under Crop for.
2
Add a straight-on photo
Use a photo taken against a plain light background with even lighting, no shadows, neutral expression, eyes open.
3
Fit the head into the guide
Drag the crop so the head sits inside the dashed oval — crown near the top of the oval, chin near the bottom — and the eyes on the marked line.
4
Export at 300 dpi, under the KB limit if needed
Download. The preset outputs the exact pixel size, and writes 300 ppi into the JPG or PNG so a lab or portal reading the file sees a resolution rather than bare pixels. If the portal wants a file under 50 KB or 20 KB, set that in the Export step under Save as target size.

What a cropper cannot fix

Cropping sets the size and framing; it does not change the photo itself. The following must be right in the original shot, because CropPhoto does not retouch, filter or replace backgrounds:

Plain white or off-white background (light grey for some countries), evenly lit, no shadows behind the head.
Face straight to the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open and visible — no glare on glasses, no tinted lenses.
No hats or head coverings except for religious reasons, and then the full face must be visible.
Recent (usually within six months), in colour, not a scan of an old print.

Printing several on one sheet

Photo labs usually print 4 × 6 inch (10 × 15 cm) sheets. Eight 35 × 45 mm photos fit on one 4 × 6 print. Export at the preset's pixel size (413 × 531), keep the file as a high-quality JPG or PNG, and ask the lab to print at 300 dpi without scaling. Sheet layout is not part of this tool yet.