The following are guidelines for producing compliant passport photographs:

The image should be 3.5cm x 4.5cm

The image must have adequate brightness and contrast

The skin tone should be natural. In case of over-exposure or under-exposure of the photo, the skin is either too dark or too light, photo will not be acceptable

It should show a close up of the head and (partial) shoulders

The image should be straight looking, centered with neutral expression

Face should be in sharp focus and clear with no ink marks/creases/lines

The face (from forehead edge to bottom of chin) should be 70 to 80% of the photo or one inch height

The eyes must be open and no hair obscuring the face

Prescription glasses if worn should be clear and thin framed and should not have flash reflection or obscure the eyes

Head coverings, hair, head-dress or facial ornaments should not obscure the face

The photo must have plain light background

There must be no other people or object in the photo

The lighting must be uniform with no shadows on the face or behind

Red eye photos are not allowed

No lines are allowed

The photo should be ideally printed by professional photo studio with continuous tone; and good resolution. Polaroid photos or photos printed with ordinary printers are not suitable.