Indian passport photo size:
630 × 810 px, white background

What the guidelines ask for

The High Commission of India in Gaborone published these guidelines with a notice that, from 1 December 2025, all passport applicants must upload an ICAO-compliant photograph, a scanned signature and their other documents themselves. Other Indian missions have posted the same guidelines. Check the notice from the mission or Passport Seva page you are applying through, since rules can change.

• Colour photo of 630 × 810 pixels.
• White background, with no distracting shadows on the face or behind it.
• A close-up of the head and top of the shoulders, with the face taking up 80 to 85% of the photo.
• Full face, front view, head centred and not tilted, the whole head visible from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin.
• Eyes open and clearly visible, no hair across the eyes, mouth closed, natural expression.
• Glasses taken off to avoid reflections.
• No head covering except for religious reasons, and then the face must show from chin to forehead and both edges.
• Not altered by computer software, not blurred, with even lighting and no red eye.

Passport photo or visa photo?

People mix these up because both say “India”. An Indian passport photo is for a citizen applying for or renewing a passport, and under these guidelines it is a 630 × 810 pixel portrait, taller than it is wide. An India visa photo is for a foreign national applying to visit India, and the visa portals want a square JPEG instead. If you are applying for a visa, use our India visa photo size page.

Why 630 × 810 pixels

The numbers have the same proportions as the familiar 35 × 45 mm passport photo: 630 divided by 810 is the same ratio as 35 divided by 45. So the frame on this page is the 35 × 45 mm shape, and the download is that frame saved at exactly 630 pixels wide and 810 pixels tall.

The guidelines we read give no file size in KB. If the upload screen shows one, set it under File size limit in the settings; the pixel size stays the same and only the JPEG quality changes.

Making the photo

1. Take off your glasses and tie back any hair that falls across your eyes.
2. Stand in front of a white wall, a step or two away from it so your shadow doesn’t land on it. Face a window or another soft, even light.
3. Ask someone to take the picture from about 1.5 metres away, the distance the guidelines mention, with the camera at the height of your eyes.
4. Add the photo above. Zoom until your face fills most of the frame, with the top of your hair and your chin both inside it.
5. Download the JPG and upload it in your application.

Filling 80 to 85% with the face

This is the step most home photos get wrong. A typical phone portrait shows the head small, with lots of wall around it. Here the head and the top of the shoulders should dominate the picture, with only a narrow band of white above the hair and at the sides.

Zoom in step by step in the editor and stop while the whole head is still inside the frame. If you have to cut off the top of the hair or the chin to make the face big enough, the original was taken from too far away or too wide; retake it a little closer.

Why we leave your photo unedited

The guidelines say photos should be unaltered by computer software, so this page keeps Background on Keep original and does nothing to the face. The tool only crops and resizes. Get the white wall and the light right when you take the picture rather than fixing them afterwards.

Applying in India

Applicants in India apply through passportindia.gov.in and visit a Passport Seva Kendra or a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra. Follow the instructions on that site and in your appointment confirmation about whether you need to upload or bring a photo.