How to Create Passport and Visa Photos Online Free (Any Country)
A passport photo from a pharmacy counter or a photo studio costs money every time, plus the trip there. Need a Schengen visa photo for a summer trip? That's another size. A US visa photo for a business visit? Another. A UK visitor visa, an Indian e-Visa, a Canadian visitor visa or a DV Lottery photo? Each has its own spec. All for a small photo of your face against a plain wall, which you can make at home in about a minute, free, with a phone camera and a browser.
iHatePDF Passport Photo is a passport, visa and ID photo maker that works in any browser. Pick the country and document (presets for 19 countries and regions, plus standard sizes such as 2×2 in, 35×45 mm and 3×4 cm for anywhere else), upload a clear photo of yourself, and the tool removes the background, replaces it with the required colour, fits your head size and eye line to the official millimetre spec, and gives you a single photo or a print sheet. This guide covers the 5-step workflow, the countries and visa types supported, common rejection reasons, and when to use a print sheet or a digital file.
- Open Passport Photo and pick your destination country + document type
- Upload any reasonable photo of yourself (phone selfie works fine)
- Background removes and replaces with the required colour automatically
- Face is centred, scaled, and cropped to the exact official spec
- Download a single image or a print-ready 4x6 / A4 sheet
How to create a passport photo online for free
- Choose your destination country and document type. Passport, visa, ID card or another document, depending on the country. The tool applies that country's exact specification automatically: head size in millimetres, eye position, background colour and total photo dimensions.
- Upload any reasonable photo of yourself. From your phone, computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC up to 40 MB all work.
- The background is removed automatically and replaced with the required colour: white, light grey, off-white, sky blue, or whatever your destination needs.
- Your face is centred, scaled, and cropped to the official millimetre specification. Head size, eye position and margins are set to the standard, with a live guide showing where your head should sit. Fine-tune with zoom and drag, or adjust brightness and contrast.
- Download a single photo, or a print sheet with 2, 4 or 6 copies on 4×6 in or A4 paper.
Why use online instead of a shop
- Cost. It's free. A photo counter or studio charges for every set, and again when you need a different size for a visa.
- Time. About a minute at home instead of a trip to a shop and a wait at the counter.
- Quality control. You can take 20 selfies and pick the best one. At a shop, you get one shot, often unflattering, and you pay either way.
- Multi-document, multi-country. Make a US passport photo, a UK visa photo and an Indian OCI photo from the same upload by changing the country and document.
- Print at home or shop. The downloaded sheet works at any photo printer or your home printer with photo paper. Or upload the digital file directly to the embassy portal for online applications.
- Privacy. Your photo is processed to find your face and remove the background, then discarded. It isn't stored.
Supported countries and document types
The tool has presets for 19 countries and regions, each with its own documents and exact spec (size, head proportions, background colour), plus five standard sizes for anywhere else: 2×2 in, 35×45 mm, 3×4 cm, 4×6 cm and 5×7 cm. Common examples:
| Country | Passport size | Background |
|---|---|---|
| USA | 2x2 inches (51x51mm) | Plain white |
| UK | 35x45mm (online: at least 600x750 px) | Plain cream or light grey |
| Schengen (EU) | 35x45mm | Light grey or off-white |
| India | 35x45mm (630x810 px online) | White |
| China | 33x48mm | White |
| Japan | 35x45mm | Plain white |
| Canada | 50x70mm | Plain white |
| Australia | 35x45mm | Plain white |
| South Korea | 35x45mm | Plain white |
Document types covered: passport, visa, national ID, residence permit, driving licence. Special presets include the US Green Card / DV Lottery, US visa (DS-160), Schengen visa, India OCI card, Canada visa / PR, Emirates ID, Japan My Number Card and UK driving licence.
Visa photo specifications
Visa applications often need a different spec from the country's passport photo, so where the tool offers a visa document, select it rather than the passport. Common visa specs:
| Visa type | Size | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Schengen short-stay visa | 35x45mm | Light grey / off-white |
| US B1/B2 tourist visa | 2x2 inches (51x51mm) | Plain white |
| US F-1 student visa | 2x2 inches (51x51mm) | Plain white |
| US H-1B / work visa | 2x2 inches (51x51mm) | Plain white |
| US DV Lottery | 600x600 to 1200x1200 px (digital) | Plain white |
| UK tourist / standard visitor visa | 35x45mm | Plain cream / light grey |
| Canada visitor visa | 35x45mm | Plain white |
| Australia visitor visa | 35x45mm | Plain white |
| India e-Visa | 2x2 inches digital | Plain white |
| China L tourist visa | 33x48mm | Plain white |
| Japan visa | 45x45mm | Plain white |
| South Korea visa | 35x45mm | Plain white |
| UAE visa | 43x55mm | Plain white |
| Russia tourist visa | 35x45mm | Plain white |
For the US DV Lottery, the rules are the strictest: a digital file only, 600×600 to 1200×1200 pixels, JPEG of 240 KB or less, taken within the last 6 months, with exact face proportions. Choose United States and Green Card / DV Lottery and the single photo downloads as a 600×600 px JPG on white, automatically kept at 240 KB or less without compressing it beyond the official 20:1 limit. The file size is shown next to the download button.
Common rejection reasons (and how this tool prevents them)
| Rejection reason | How the tool handles it |
|---|---|
| Wrong photo size or proportions | Auto-sized to the exact country spec |
| Wrong background colour | Background removed and replaced with required colour |
| Head too small or too large in frame | Face auto-detected and scaled to correct head proportion |
| Eyes not at correct height | Auto-positioned per official spec |
| Shadows on face or background | Background replacement removes background shadows. Adjust brightness on the photo if needed. |
| Photo too dark or too bright | Brightness and contrast adjustment controls |
| Smile too wide / mouth open / tilted head | Take a new source photo with neutral expression, mouth closed, head straight |
Tips for the best source photo
The tool handles size, background, and positioning automatically. A few things you still need to get right at capture time:
- Even lighting on your face. Stand facing a window during daylight, or use two soft light sources from both sides. Avoid one harsh overhead light, which creates raccoon-eye shadows.
- Neutral expression. Mouth closed, no smile (most countries explicitly require neutral expression, including USA, UK, Schengen). Slight relaxed expression is fine.
- Head straight, looking at the camera. No tilt, no profile, eyes level.
- Hair away from the face. Tucked behind ears if needed. Eyebrows should be visible. Long fringe covering the forehead is usually accepted but cleaner is safer.
- Remove glasses (most countries). The USA and UK no longer accept glasses in passport photos, and many other countries discourage them. Where glasses are allowed, there must be no glare or tinted lenses.
- Plain top (optional). A solid-colour top that contrasts with the background colour helps the auto-detection slightly. Not required.
- Rear camera, not front camera. If you can, have someone take the photo with the rear camera (higher quality) instead of a selfie. Hold the phone at eye level, about arm's length.
- Religious head coverings. Generally allowed if your face is fully visible from forehead to chin and ear to ear. Check your country's specific guidance.
Print at home, print at a shop, or upload digitally
Three download options cover every passport, visa, and ID workflow:
- Single high-resolution image. For digital uploads to embassy or visa application portals (US DS-160, UK online passport application, India Passport Seva, Schengen visa portals). Pixel dimensions match the official spec exactly.
- 4x6 inch sheet. For printing at a photo shop or pharmacy photo counter. Holds 2, 4 or 6 copies of your photo, with cut lines. Send the JPG to the shop's photo service or upload it in their app and order a standard 4×6 print.
- A4 sheet. For home printing on photo paper. Print, cut along the guide lines, done. Total cost: one sheet of photo paper, roughly $0.50.
Privacy and security
Your photo is sent over HTTPS to our server, which finds your face and removes the background in memory and sends the result straight back. The photo isn't stored, isn't shared with third parties and is never used for AI training. The final photo and print sheet are made in your browser. Important for passport, visa and ID photos, which contain biometric data. The full picture is in the privacy and security guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries do you support?
Presets for 19 countries and regions: the United States, United Kingdom, Schengen/EU, Germany, France, India, China, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Mexico, Russia, South Korea and the Philippines. Each preset applies the exact size, head size, eye position and background colour for that document. For any other country, choose Generic / Other and pick 2×2 in, 35×45 mm (the international ICAO size), 3×4 cm, 4×6 cm or 5×7 cm.
What size should my passport photo be?
It depends on the country. Common sizes: USA, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines 2×2 inches (51×51 mm), as are Indian visas and the OCI card; UK, EU, the Indian passport and most other countries 35×45 mm; China 33×48 mm; Canada passport 50×70 mm (visa and PR 35×45 mm); Japan visa 45×45 mm; UAE visa 43×55 mm. Online uploads add pixel rules, such as 630×810 px for an Indian passport and at least 600×750 px for a UK passport. The tool sets the size automatically once you pick the country and document, so you don't need to measure anything.
Do I need a white background to start?
No. The tool removes the original background and replaces it with the colour your document requires: white for the USA, India, China and many others, light grey for the UK and Schengen/EU. You can also pick off-white, sky blue, blue or red for other ID photos. A plain wall makes the cut-out cleaner, but any background works.
Can I print these photos at home or at a shop?
Both. Download a print sheet with 2, 4 or 6 copies on 4×6 inch paper for a photo shop, or on A4 for printing at home on photo paper; print at 100% scale and cut along the lines. You can also download a single high-resolution photo for online applications.
What if the auto-cropping does not look right?
You can adjust manually. After the automatic crop, controls let you fine-tune the position, scale, brightness, and contrast before downloading. The tool overlays the official specification template (showing where your eyes should sit, the head size proportion, the margins) so you can verify alignment. The preview shows exactly how the final downloaded image will look, no surprises.
Is my photo kept private?
Yes. Your photo is sent over HTTPS to find your face and remove the background, processed in memory and not stored afterwards. It's never shared with third parties or used for AI training. The final photo and print sheet are made in your browser.
Are these photos officially accepted?
The tool follows each country's published rules for size, head size, eye position and background, which covers the most common rejection reasons. But rules change, and some offices only accept photos from certified photographers or taken on site, for example German passports and ID cards since May 2025. Check your authority's current requirements before you apply.
Can I use this for visa photos and other documents?
Yes. Besides passports, there are presets for visas (Schengen, US DS-160, UK, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, UAE and more), the US Green Card / DV Lottery, ID cards such as the EU ID card, Emirates ID and Japan's My Number Card, the India OCI card, Canada PR and the UK driving licence. Each document can have its own size, background and head proportion, and the tool applies the right one.
How do I make a 2×2 inch US passport photo?
Choose United States and Passport. The photo is made 2×2 inches at 600×600 pixels on a white background, with your head fitted to 25 to 35 mm, ready to upload for an online renewal or to print.
Can I make a passport photo with my phone?
Yes. Open Passport Photo in Safari or Chrome, take or choose a photo and download the result. iPhone HEIC photos are accepted. For the most natural result, ask someone to take the photo from about 1.5 metres away at eye level.
Can I make a baby's passport photo?
Yes. Lay the baby on a plain white sheet or hold them against a plain wall, take a clear photo with the eyes open if possible, and let the tool fit the head and clean up the background. Authorities are usually a little more flexible with newborns.
Is this passport photo tool really free?
Yes. No account, no watermark and no trial. Country and document presets, background removal, automatic sizing, brightness and contrast, single photos and print sheets are all free.
19 country presets plus standard sizes. Automatic background removal, head-size fitting and print sheets. Free, no sign-up, no watermark.
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