Indian Passport Photo Requirements 2026: The Complete Guide (Passport Seva, OCI, Visa)

Here is the one thing about Indian passport photos that causes more confusion and rejections than anything else: India does not have one passport photo size. It has three.

Your Indian passport application, your OCI card, and your Indian visa each require a different photo specification. A photo made for one will be rejected by the other. And most guides online either don't mention this or bury it in a footnote.

This guide covers every specification for every Indian document type, updated for the ICAO rules enforced since September 2025 and the Passport Seva Program 2.0 changes from February 2026.

The Three Specs You Need to Know

Before diving into details, here is the summary that will save you from rejection:

Document	Photo Size	Pixel Dimensions	Aspect Ratio	Format
Passport Seva portal (digital upload)	35 × 45 mm	630 × 810 pixels	7:9 (rectangle)	JPEG, under 250 KB
Indian passport (printed, for BLS/VFS abroad)	35 × 45 mm	413 × 531 px at 300 DPI	7:9 (rectangle)	Glossy photo paper
OCI card application	51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 inches)	600 × 600 px minimum	1:1 (square)	JPEG
Indian e-Visa application	51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 inches)	350 × 350 px minimum	1:1 (square)	JPEG, 10–300 KB
PAN card	25 × 35 mm	Varies	5:7 (rectangle)	JPEG

The critical takeaway: the Passport Seva digital upload uses a 630 × 810 pixel rectangular format. The OCI card and e-Visa use a 51 × 51 mm square format. These are completely different dimensions and aspect ratios. A photo prepared for one cannot be used for the other.

Passport Seva Portal: Digital Upload Requirements

If you are applying for an Indian passport within India through the Passport Seva portal, or as an NRI filling the online form before submitting through BLS/VFS, these are the exact digital upload specifications.

Size and Dimensions

The digital photo must be exactly 630 × 810 pixels (width × height). This is equivalent to 35 × 45 mm at approximately 450 DPI. It is a non-square, portrait-orientation rectangle with a 7:9 aspect ratio.

This is the single most important specification to get right. The portal performs a pixel-level validation and will reject any photo that does not match these exact dimensions. There is no tolerance — 629 × 810 will be rejected. 631 × 810 will be rejected.

File Requirements

Format: JPEG (.jpg) only. Not PNG, not HEIC, not WebP.
File size: Between 10 KB and 250 KB. Modern smartphone photos are typically 3–8 MB, so significant compression is required.
Color: Full color. Black and white photos are not accepted.

Face Coverage

Under the ICAO rules enforced since September 1, 2025, your face must occupy 80–85% of the photograph. This is measured as the area from your chin to the top of your head (including hair), relative to the total height of the photo.

This is a significantly tighter framing than the previous 70–80% requirement. Photos taken before September 2025 that met the old standard may now be rejected under the new rules.

What This Means in Practice

With 80–85% face coverage in a 630 × 810 pixel image:

Your face (chin to crown) should occupy roughly 648–689 pixels of the 810-pixel height
Only about 60–80 pixels of space above your head
Only about 40–80 pixels below your chin
Your shoulders should be barely visible at the bottom edge

This is a very tight crop. Most "passport photo" guides show example images with far more space around the head — those examples are based on older standards and will get your photo rejected in 2026.

Printed Photo Requirements (for BLS/VFS Submission Abroad)

If you are an NRI applying through BLS International or VFS Global from outside India, you need both the digital upload (630 × 810 pixels, described above) AND two printed photographs.

Print Specifications

Size: 35 × 45 mm (3.5 × 4.5 cm)
Paper: Glossy photo-quality paper
Resolution: 300 DPI minimum (higher is better)
Quantity: Two identical photos required
How to attach: Glue one photo on page 1 of the printed application, staple the second to page 4

Where to Print

If you have a compliant digital file at 630 × 810 pixels, you can print it at any photo printing service (Walgreens, CVS, Costco in the US), a local photo lab, or your home printer on photo paper (use "actual size" print settings, not "fit to page").

The printed photo dimensions (35 × 45 mm) correspond exactly to the digital dimensions (630 × 810 pixels). They are the same specification, just in different formats.

OCI Card Photo Requirements

The Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card uses a completely different photo specification from the Indian passport.

OCI Photo Specifications

Size: 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 inches) — this is a square format
Pixel dimensions: 600 × 600 pixels minimum (up to 1200 × 1200)
Face coverage: 70–80% of the frame
Background: Plain white
Format: JPEG
File size: Varies by submission portal

Key Differences from Passport

The OCI card uses the same 2 × 2 inch square format as the US passport. This makes it convenient if you are applying for both an OCI card and a US passport — the same photo works for both. However, this photo will NOT work for the Indian Passport Seva portal upload, which requires the rectangular 630 × 810 pixel format.

Indian e-Visa Photo Requirements

If you are applying for an Indian e-Visa (for tourism, business, or medical purposes), the photo requirements are different from both the passport and OCI specifications.

e-Visa Photo Specifications

Size: 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 inches) — square format, same as OCI
Pixel dimensions: Minimum 350 × 350 pixels, maximum 1000 × 1000 pixels
File size: Between 10 KB and 300 KB
Format: JPEG only
Face coverage: 50–60% of the frame (less tight than passport)
Background: Plain white

ICAO Standards: What Changed in September 2025

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards that India began enforcing on September 1, 2025 introduced several significant changes:

No Glasses

This is the most impactful change. Glasses are now effectively banned from Indian passport photos. Any reflection, glare, or shadow from frames — even frameless, anti-glare glasses — can trigger an automatic rejection. The safe approach is to remove glasses entirely for the photo.

Stricter Face Coverage

Face coverage increased from 70–80% to 80–85%. This means tighter framing with less space around the head. Photos taken under the old standard will not pass the new checks.

No Digital Alteration

India's Passport Seva Program 2.0, launched in February 2026, actively checks for digitally altered photos. This includes beauty filters or skin smoothing, AI-generated or AI-replaced backgrounds, color correction that changes skin tone, and any generative AI enhancement. The rule is clear: compliance formatting (resizing, cropping, background standardization to white) is acceptable. Altering your facial features or appearance is not.

Immediate Rejection

Under the old system, non-compliant photos might be flagged for manual review. Under PSP 2.0, non-compliant photos are rejected outright at the upload stage. There is no grace period and no correction window after submission.

Background Requirements

The Standard

The background must be plain white. Not off-white. Not cream. Not light grey.

This sounds simple but is the second most common reason for rejection. Indoor lighting in most Indian homes uses warm white or yellowish bulbs. These bulbs make a white wall appear cream or off-white in photographs. Your eyes see white, but the camera captures a warm-tinted background that the portal's automated checker flags as non-compliant.

How to Get a Truly White Background

Natural daylight: Face a window. The light illuminates your face evenly.
Distance from wall: Stand about 1 meter (3 feet) away to avoid body shadows.
Avoid mixed lighting: Do not combine window light with room lights.
Background removal tools: A compliance tool like PhotoPass can remove and replace with compliant white.

How to Take an Indian Passport Photo at Home

You do not need a professional studio. A smartphone and a white wall are sufficient.

Camera Setup

Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera. Higher resolution and quality.
Have someone else take the photo. Or use a tripod and self-timer.
Camera at face level, not angled up or down.
Stand approximately 1.5 meters (5 feet) from the camera.
Capture head, neck, and top of shoulders.

Lighting

Face a large window for natural daylight.
Avoid direct sunlight — it creates harsh shadows.
No overhead room lights. No flash.

Expression and Posture

Look directly at camera
Neutral expression — mouth closed, no smile
Eyes open and clearly visible
Head straight, not tilted or turned
No glasses
Religious head coverings allowed, but full face must be visible

Common Mistakes That Cause Rejection

Wrong pixel dimensions — using a 51×51mm square photo for Passport Seva which requires 630×810 pixels
File too large — smartphone photos are 3–8 MB, portal maximum is 250 KB
Background not white enough — indoor lighting makes white walls appear cream
Glasses — since September 2025, any glasses risk rejection
Face coverage too low — old 70% photos fail the new 80–85% requirement
Wrong document type photo — OCI square vs passport rectangle
Digital enhancement detected — beauty filters trigger rejection under PSP 2.0
Photo too old — must be taken within last 6 months

Getting Your Photo Right

Option 1: Professional Studio

Visit a studio and request "630 × 810 pixel digital file for Passport Seva AND two printed 35 × 45 mm photos." Cost: ₹200–500 in India, $12–17 at CVS/Walgreens in the US.

Option 2: DIY at Home

Take a photo following the guidelines above, then crop to 630 × 810 pixels, ensure white background, compress to under 250 KB.

Option 3: Use PhotoPass

Upload a selfie to PhotoPass, which automatically handles cropping, background removal, face positioning to 80–85% coverage, and compression to the exact 630 × 810 specification. Works for Indian passports, OCI cards, visas, and documents from the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Quick Reference Checklist

Before uploading to Passport Seva:

File is JPEG (.jpg) format
Dimensions are exactly 630 × 810 pixels
File size is between 10 KB and 250 KB
Face covers 80–85% of the frame
Background is plain white with no shadows
No glasses
Eyes open, neutral expression, mouth closed
Taken within the last 6 months
No beauty filters or AI enhancement
Even lighting, no shadows on face

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use the same photo for my Indian passport and OCI card?

A: No. Indian passports use 35 × 45 mm (630 × 810 pixels, rectangular). OCI cards use 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 inches, square). They are different dimensions and aspect ratios.

Q: Can I use my US passport photo for my Indian passport?

A: No. US passports use 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 inches, square). Indian passports use 35 × 45 mm (630 × 810 pixels, rectangular).

Q: What if I need photos for multiple documents?

A: If you need both an Indian passport photo and an OCI card photo, you need two separate photos in different formats. PhotoPass lets you generate multiple document types from a single selfie.

Q: My photo was rejected but I don't know why. What should I do?

A: The most common causes are wrong pixel dimensions (not 630 × 810), file too large (over 250 KB), non-white background, or glasses. See our troubleshooting guide: Why Your Passport Seva Photo Was Rejected

Last updated: April 2026. Reflects Passport Seva portal requirements, ICAO standards since September 2025, and PSP 2.0 updates from February 2026.