Updated 27 October 2026

Free Passport and Visa Photo Maker: Exact Official Sizes for 8 Countries, Print or Upload

Quick answer: You can make a passport or visa photo at home with a phone, a plain light wall and daylight. Choose your country below, add your photo, move it until your face fits the oval, and download either a digital file for an online application or a 4 × 6 inch sheet of photos to print at any photo kiosk for very little. The tool uses each government's official size and head-height rules, works for the US, UK, Schengen countries, Canada, Australia, China and India's OCI, and runs on your device, so your photo is never uploaded.

Passport photo shops and apps typically charge $15 to $20 for two prints, and many "free" apps send your face to their servers and charge at the download. A passport photo is one of the most sensitive images you own: it is exactly what identity thieves need. Australia's passport office even warns against online photo services for that reason.

Passport and visa photo maker
Make a passport, visa or ID photo at the exact official size, with the head the right height, then download a file for an online application or a 4 × 6 inch sheet to print at any photo kiosk. Your photo is processed on your device and never uploaded.

Your photo never leaves this device. No upload, no sign-up, no watermark.

Official Photo Sizes by Country

DocumentPrinted sizeHead, chin to crownDigital fileBackground
US passport2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm)1–1 3/8 in (25–35 mm)SquareWhite or off-white
US visa, Green Card, DV lottery2 × 2 in50–69% of the height600 × 600 px JPEG, up to 240 KBWhite or off-white
UK passport35 × 45 mm29–34 mmAt least 600 × 750 px, 50 KB–10 MBCream or light grey
Schengen visa, most EU passports35 × 45 mm32–36 mm (70–80%)Varies by countryPlain and light
Canada passport50 × 70 mm31–36 mm1,200 × 1,800 px or more, 200 KB–5 MBWhite or light
Australia passport35–40 × 45–50 mm32–36 mm—White or light
China visa33 × 48 mm28–33 mm354 × 472 to 420 × 560 px, 40–120 KBWhite
India OCI cardSquare—200–900 px square JPEG, up to 200 KBPlain and light

Each country has its own page with the full rules: US passport, US visa and DV lottery, UK passport, Schengen visa, Canada, Australia, China visa and OCI.

How to Take a Passport Photo at Home

  1. Find a plain wall, white or very light grey, and stand about half a metre (two feet) in front of it so your shadow falls away from it.
  2. Face a window in daylight. Even light from the front stops shadows on one side of your face. Turn off the flash.
  3. Ask someone else to take it from about 1.5 metres (five feet) away, phone at your eye level. Selfies distort the face and many countries don't accept them.
  4. Look straight at the camera with a neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open, hair away from your eyes, no hat (except for religious or medical reasons) and, for US photos, no glasses.
  5. Take several shots and pick the sharpest, then add it to the tool above.

Print or Digital: Which Do You Need?

  • Online applications (US visas and the DV lottery, UK online passports, Canadian online renewal, China's online visa form, OCI) need a digital file. Choose "A digital photo to upload" and the tool saves the exact pixels and file size.
  • Paper applications need printed photos. Choose "Printed photos": you get a 4 × 6 inch (10 × 15 cm) sheet with as many copies as fit. Print it at 100% scale at a supermarket or pharmacy photo kiosk, then cut along the lines. A single 4 × 6 print usually costs well under $1.

Two exceptions: Canada asks for printed photos with the photo studio's name and address on the back, and Australia requires professional prints rather than home inkjet prints. Their pages explain what to do.

Why Photos Get Rejected

  • The head is too small or too large for the frame (the oval in the tool prevents this).
  • Shadows on the face or behind the head, or a coloured or patterned background.
  • Glare on glasses, tinted lenses, or (for the US) any glasses at all.
  • Blurry, grainy or over-compressed images.
  • Filters, beauty mode, background removal or other edits: governments reject altered photos.
  • Photos older than six months, or that no longer look like you.
  • Printing "fit to page", which shrinks the photo. Always print at 100%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take my own passport photo with my phone?

Yes for most countries, as long as it meets the rules. The UK and US accept photos taken at home; many countries recommend that someone else takes it rather than a selfie. Canada and Australia have printing rules described on their pages.

How do I print passport photos cheaply?

Download the 4 × 6 inch sheet from the tool and print it at a photo kiosk or online photo lab as a standard 4 × 6 (10 × 15 cm) print at actual size. You get several passport photos from one print.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. The photo is opened, cropped and saved inside your browser on your own phone or computer. Nothing is sent to Blog Digest or anyone else.

Does the tool remove the background?

No, on purpose. Most governments don't accept photos with edited backgrounds. Instead the tool checks whether your background is plain and light enough and tells you if it isn't.

What if my country isn't listed?

Choose "Other: enter the size" and type the width, height and head size from your application's instructions. For exam and job application forms, use the exam photo and signature resizer.

Sources

Cite this page: Blog Digest, “Free Passport and Visa Photo Maker: Exact Official Sizes for 8 Countries, Print or Upload”, updated 27 October 2026, https://randomthoughtsever.blogspot.com/2026/10/free-passport-and-visa-photo-maker.html

Related Guides

Sizes checked against official government pages in October 2026. Rules change; always check the official instructions for your application before you submit.