Photo rules change: a new online form that checks your photo, a selfie step, a photo taken at the office instead of one you bring. This page lists the changes we found on official pages since 2024, newest first, each with its source, and under them the updates we made to the rules on SafeResize. To follow new changes in a feed reader, use the Atom feed.
Official changes
South Africa, ETA: launched, with a passport scan and a selfie
Took effect 12 August 2026. South Africa's Electronic Travel Authorisation for short visits was launched, starting at OR Tambo airport and then Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria. Applicants scan their passport and upload a selfie, and the system compares it with the passport photo; faces are checked again on arrival. There is no photo file to prepare.
Source: Launch of South Africa's Electronic Travel Authorisation (gov.za, 12 August 2026). On SafeResize: South Africa ETA photo.
Canada, passport renewal online: open to all eligible adults
Announced 28 July 2026. Online renewal of a Canadian passport is now open to every eligible adult in Canada. It needs a digital photo file from a commercial photographer: at least 1,200 × 1,800 and at most 3,000 × 4,500 pixels, 200 KB to 5 MB, taken in the last 6 months. A selfie or a scanned print is not accepted.
Source: Canada expands online passport renewal to all eligible adults (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 28 July 2026). On SafeResize: Canada Passport Renewal photo.
Vietnam, passport applied for abroad: chip passports, with the photo taken at the mission
Took effect 1 April 2026. Vietnamese citizens living abroad can now get the passport with an electronic chip. They fill in the request on passport.mofa.gov.vn, then go to the embassy or consulate, where their photo and fingerprints are taken. The Embassy of Vietnam in the US still lists two 4 × 6 cm photos on white, taken in the last 6 months.
Source: Notice on chip passports (Embassy of Vietnam in the United States, 2 April 2026, in Vietnamese). On SafeResize: Vietnam Passport photo.
United States, DV lottery: entries need a passport scan as well as the photo
Announced 11 March 2026. A final rule, in force from 10 April 2026 and first used for DV-2027, asks entrants for valid passport details and a JPEG scan of the passport's biographic and signature page, unless they are exempt. The entrant's digital photo, taken in the last 6 months, is still required (the DV-2026 instructions asked for 600 × 600 pixels, up to 240 KB).
Source: Visas: Enhancing Vetting and Combatting Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (Federal Register, 11 March 2026). On SafeResize: US DV Lottery photo.
United States, border: CBP may photograph every non-citizen at entry and exit
Took effect 26 December 2025. A final rule lets US Customs and Border Protection photograph all non-citizens when they enter or leave the US, at any port, and the age exemptions no longer apply to photos. Nothing changes in the photos you send with a visa or ESTA application.
Source: Collection of Biometric Data From Aliens Upon Entry to and Departure From the United States (Federal Register, 27 October 2025). On SafeResize: US Visa (DS-160) photo.
United States, USCIS forms: the photos you send no longer go on cards
Took effect 12 December 2025. USCIS policy alert PA-2025-29 says USCIS will not use or reuse self-submitted photographs on the cards and documents it issues. For Forms I-485, I-90, N-400 and N-600 it takes a new photo at the biometrics appointment; for other forms it may reuse a biometrics photo up to 3 years old. Form instructions still ask for printed photos where they did before.
Source: Policy Alert PA-2025-29: Photograph Reuse for Identity Documents (USCIS, 12 December 2025). On SafeResize: US Green Card photo, USCIS photo requirements.
United States, ESTA: a selfie on the website, and app-only applications, proposed
Announced 10 December 2025. A notice in the Federal Register said CBP intends to ask for a selfie on the ESTA website as well as the photo of the passport page, and proposed that new applications be made only in the ESTA Mobile app. It gave no start date. On 5 October 2026 the website showed a selfie step and still took new applications.
Source: Arrival and Departure Record (Form I-94) and ESTA, notice 2025-22461 (Federal Register, 10 December 2025). On SafeResize: ESTA photo requirements.
India, passport applied for abroad: missions ask for an uploaded ICAO photo
Took effect 1 December 2025. As Indian embassies and consulates moved to the new Passport Seva portal for chip passports, they began asking for an ICAO-compliant digital photo with the online application: a plain, preferably white background, the face about 85% of the image, 630 × 810 pixels recommended, and no more than 250 KB. The Embassy of India in Bern made it mandatory from 1 December 2025; other missions set their own dates.
Source: Notice regarding ICAO photo requirements (Embassy of India, Bern). On SafeResize: India Passport (Abroad) photo.
Schengen area, border checks: the Entry/Exit System takes a face photo
Took effect 12 October 2025. The EU's Entry/Exit System started on 12 October 2025 and has been in use at every external border crossing since 10 April 2026. Visitors from outside the EU give their passport details, a facial image and fingerprints on their first crossing, instead of getting a passport stamp. The photo you send with a Schengen visa application does not change.
Source: The new Entry/Exit System went live on 12 October 2025 (European Commission, 13 October 2025). On SafeResize: Schengen Visa photo.
China, visa (missions in the US): the online form checks your photo
Took effect 30 September 2025. The Chinese embassy and consulates in the US launched the China Online Visa Application, where you upload your papers and a photo that is checked automatically. If the photo keeps failing, you can go on and bring a standard printed photo when you hand in your passport. China's missions in other countries started on their own dates.
Source: Launch of the China Online Visa Application (Embassy of China in the US, 18 September 2025). On SafeResize: China Visa photo.
Mexico, visa: consulates stop asking for a photo; e-Visa photo rules set
Announced 25 July 2025. New visa guidelines, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación and in force about two weeks later, replace those of 2014. Under them, consulates take your photo, iris scan and fingerprints themselves and no longer ask for a printed photo. Check your consulate's own page, as some may still list one. The electronic visa asks for a face photo on white without glasses, as a .jpg, .jpeg or .png of 2 to 5 MB, and an image of the passport page in the same format and size.
Source: Lineamientos generales para la expedición de visas (Diario Oficial de la Federación, 25 July 2025, on the Consulate of Mexico in Houston website, in Spanish). On SafeResize: Mexico Visa (Consulate) photo, Mexico e-Visa photo.
Germany, passport and ID card: only digital photos, from a registered photographer or the office
Took effect 1 May 2025. Printed photos are no longer accepted for German passports and ID cards applied for in Germany. A registered photographer sends the photo to the office over a secure connection, or it is taken at the office. The aim is to stop morphing, where two faces are merged into one photo. Home-made photos cannot be used.
Source: Only digital photos for ID documents from 1 May (City of Cologne, 29 April 2025, in German). On SafeResize: Germany Passport (in Germany) photo.
Japan, passport: the 2025 passport, and online applications for new passports everywhere
Took effect 24 March 2025. Japan introduced a passport with a laser-printed plastic photo page, made centrally, so it takes about 2 weeks in Japan. Since then you can apply online, uploading a photo file, for a first passport as well as a renewal, in every prefecture. Abroad, you can apply online through ORRnet.
Source: The 2025 passport (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 24 March 2025, in Japanese). On SafeResize: Japan Passport photo.
United Kingdom, ETA: visitors without a visa need one, with a face photo
Took effect 8 January 2025. Visitors from countries that do not need a UK visa now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation: visitors from the Gulf states before 2025, other non-Europeans from 8 January 2025 and Europeans from 2 April 2025, with full enforcement from 25 February 2026. In the UK ETA app you scan your passport and your face; on GOV.UK you upload a photo of your face.
Source: UK to expand digital travel to more visitors (GOV.UK, 10 September 2024). On SafeResize: UK ETA photo.
Kenya, eTA: it replaces visas, with a selfie or passport-type photo
Took effect 1 January 2024. Kenya replaced visas for visitors with an online Electronic Travel Authorisation. Most visitors need one, children included (citizens of East African and many other African countries are exempt), and the eTA website asks for a selfie or passport-type photo; it can also take a live selfie.
Source: eTA entry system in force since 1 January 2024 (Embassy of the Czech Republic in Nairobi). On SafeResize: Kenya eTA photo.
How we check
We list a change only when an official page states it: a government, embassy or official application website, or an official gazette such as the US Federal Register. News reports help us find changes but are never the source, and a change that has only been proposed says so. Every country page on SafeResize shows the day its rules were last checked against the official source, and links to it.
SafeResize updates
- 21 October 2026: The Saudi e-Visa page no longer quotes a visa centre page that was about Singapore visas; it now gives the KSA Visa platform's 35 × 45 mm photo and answers Umrah and Hajj questions. The US visa page answers F-1, J-1 and H-1B questions, and the UAE visa page Dubai ones, all from official pages.
- 20 October 2026: The US Green Card page names all four forms that always get a new photo at the biometrics appointment (I-485, I-90, N-400 and N-600), and the 30-day rule, after a re-check on uscis.gov. New guides: USCIS photo requirements and glasses, smiling and hair.
- 19 October 2026: Notes from the official pages for the South Korea visa, Israel eVisa-B2, Türkiye visa, Indonesia e-Visa and Nigeria e-Visa, and a size diagram on 100 country pages. No sizes changed.
- 6 October 2026: 19 documents re-checked on their official pages, with fixes: among them 1 photo, not 2, for the Turkish passport; 4 photos of 4 × 6 cm for the Egyptian passport; up to 3.14 MB for the New Zealand visa; and no smiling or edited photos for the Vietnamese passport. The print sheet now uses the DPI the rules ask for.
- 5 October 2026: 27 new documents researched on their official pages, making 110 documents in 60 countries and regions. Fixes after a re-check: Canada's visa photo size of 240 KB is the ideal, not a maximum; Sri Lanka's embassies abroad take 3.5 × 4.5 cm prints; the Schengen visa background is plain white or off-white. A note on USCIS policy alert PA-2025-29 on the Green Card page.
- 30 September 2026: Indian passport (applied in India): bring a printed photo only if your appointment letter or the centre asks for one. File limits are shown as the official sources state them.
- 29 September 2026: SafeResize went live. UK and Irish online passport photos are no longer cropped by the tool, because GOV.UK says not to crop them.
- 28 September 2026: 83 passport and visa photo rules for 49 countries, researched and checked against their official sources.
Seen a change we missed?
Tell us on the contact page, with a link to the official page that announces it. We check it on that page before it goes in.