Under Mexico's visa guidelines of 25 Jul 2025 (in force since 9 Aug 2025), consulates take your face photo, iris scan and fingerprints at the appointment. Some, such as San Diego in its 2026 checklists, still list a printed passport-size photo, so check your consulate's list. Source: consulmex.sre.gob.mx, checked 28 Sep 2026.
For the Mexico Visa photo, consulates take it at the appointment, so the guidelines ask for none, but some still list a printed one.
| Who makes the photo | Consulates take your photo at the appointment, so the guidelines ask for none, but some still list a printed one. |
|---|---|
| Size (official rule) | None: the photo is taken at the consulate |
| File size | No file for you to upload |
| Background | White (photo taken at the consulate) |
| Source | consulmex.sre.gob.mx |
| Checked | 28 Sep 2026 |
Mexico's visa guidelines, published in the Diario Oficial on 25 July 2025 and in force 15 days later, replaced those of 2014. At a consulate you go to a consular interview, and staff complete the application with your details and your digital signature. You must also let them record biometric data electronically: a picture of your face, your iris and your fingerprints. The guidelines give this as the reason the photo and copies stopped being requirements. A decision comes within 10 working days of the interview.
Not every consulate has rewritten its checklist. The Consulate General in San Diego's 2026 tourist visa list still asks for one recent passport-size photo, forehead uncovered, front view, no glasses, on white and printed on photo paper, and it also captures biometrics at the appointment. For a minor, both parents or guardians sign the form before consular staff, or an absent parent gives notarised consent. The electronic visa is separate and online: its face photo is uploaded on white without glasses, as a JPG, JPEG or PNG of 2 to 5 MB.
Sources, checked 22 Oct 2026: 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), Visitor visa without work permit, tourist visa checklist (Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego, 2026) and Visas (Consulate General of Mexico in Guangzhou, in Spanish).
No. Under Mexico's visa guidelines of 25 Jul 2025 (in force since 9 Aug 2025), consulates take your face photo, iris scan and fingerprints at the appointment. Some, such as San Diego in its 2026 checklists, still list a printed passport-size photo, so check your consulate's list.
For the Mexico Visa photo, consulates take it at the appointment, so the guidelines ask for none, but some still list a printed one.
Background: white (photo taken at the consulate). Your face photo is taken on site together with your iris scan and fingerprints. Where a consulate still lists a printed photo (San Diego in 2026): passport size, front view, forehead uncovered, no glasses, on white, printed on photo paper.
The official rules say: Where a consulate still lists a printed photo (San Diego in 2026): passport size, front view, forehead uncovered, no glasses, on white, printed on photo paper.
Under the July 2025 guidelines, no: the consulate takes your face photo, iris scan and fingerprints itself. The Consulate General in San Diego's 2026 checklists still list one printed passport-size photo on white, without glasses, so follow the list of the consulate you apply to.
The Consulate of Mexico in Guangzhou's visa page says foreigners need no Mexican visa for unpaid stays of up to 180 days if they hold a valid multiple-entry visa from the US, Japan, the UK or a Schengen country, or permanent residence in Canada, the US, Japan, the UK or a Schengen country. These conditions do not depend on nationality, and that page was last updated in January 2025.
The guidelines ask for a digital photo of your face on white, without glasses, like a passport photo, as a .jpg, .jpeg or .png file of 2 to 5 MB, plus an image of your passport page in the same format and size. The electronic visa is only for the nationalities Mexico names, arriving by air.
On consulmex.sre.gob.mx. We checked them on 28 Sep 2026.
Please note: Some consulates may still ask for a printed photo, so check your consulate's website before your appointment.
Source: consulmex.sre.gob.mx, checked 28 Sep 2026. Rules can change, so confirm on the official page before you apply.