India Passport Photo Requirements: Size, Background and Rules

The short answer

An India passport or OCI photo is a square 51 x 51 mm (2 x 2 inch) color photo on a plain white background, recent, sharp, with a neutral expression and no glasses. The face should be centered and looking straight at the camera.

One important detail: for a standard fresh passport applied through Passport Seva, your photo is usually captured at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), so you mainly need to supply your own photo for OCI applications, certain minor or postal cases, and annexures. Requirements vary by application type, so always confirm the current specification on the official Passport Seva or OCI portal before you submit.

India passport photo size and specs

The core specification most applications use:

• Size: 51 x 51 mm (2 x 2 inches), square.
• Background: Plain white, evenly lit, with no shadows or texture.
• Color: Color photo with natural skin tones, good contrast, and sharp focus.
• Face & expression: Full face centered, facing the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed, both eyes open.

Digital photo specs for online (OCI) uploads

For OCI online applications you upload a digital photo rather than a printed one. The commonly required specification is a square white-background JPEG around 51 x 51 mm, with pixel dimensions from roughly 200 x 230 px up to 1500 x 1500–2000 px and a file size between about 10 KB and 1 MB.

These digital limits change from time to time and differ between portals, so check the exact figures on the official OCI services page before uploading. If your file is over the limit, reduce the dimensions and compress it rather than cropping the face too tightly.

Background, glasses and head coverings

Use a real plain white background with even lighting and no shadow behind the head. Glasses should be removed. Head coverings are accepted only when worn for religious reasons, and the full face — from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead and both edges of the face — must remain clearly visible.

Avoid appearance-changing edits. Passport and OCI photos are identity documents, so digital background replacement, beautification, and retouching are risky. If the background or lighting is wrong, retake the photo against a real white wall.

Do you even need to supply a photo?

Before preparing a photo at home, confirm your application route. For a normal fresh or re-issue passport booked through Passport Seva, the photograph is typically taken at the PSK during your appointment. You generally supply your own photo for OCI, for minors via the relevant annexure, for some postal or tatkal supporting documents, and for certain consular services abroad.

Knowing your route first avoids wasted effort — and tells you whether you need a print, a digital upload, or both.

How to prepare an India passport photo with PhotoTools

Take a sharp, front-facing photo against a real white wall with even light. Open the passport photo tool, choose the 2 x 2 inch / 51 x 51 mm size, and position the crop so the head is centered without cutting off the top of the hair or the shoulders. Export the result, and for OCI keep the file under the portal's size cap by reducing dimensions and compressing if needed.

Everything runs in your browser, so your identity photo is not uploaded to a server. The tool helps with size, crop, and print layout — it does not change how the applicant looks, which keeps the photo compliant.

FAQ

Official sources to check

Confirm the current India passport and OCI photo requirements on the official portals before submitting.