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.