Canada passport/visa photo size — 50×70 mm

Canada passport/visa photo requirements at a glance

Photo size

50 × 70 mm

In inches

2.0 × 2.8 in

Pixels at 300 DPI

591 × 827 px

Pixels at 600 DPI

1181×1654 px

Shape

Portrait, about 1.4:1

Head height

31 – 36 mm (crown to chin)

Background

White

File size limit

None published

Copies per 4×6 in print

4

These figures were checked against an official or widely-cited source. Portals occasionally change their rules, so confirm on the page where you submit.

What Canada passport/visa asks for specifically

Canadian passport photos are set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and the page opens by warning that they differ from other countries’ — which is true, and the reason people arrive with a photo that is the wrong shape. There are two separate specifications: printed photos for applications made in person or by mail, and a digital photo used only for online renewals.

The one people get wrong

Canada rejects edited photos outright, and defines editing more broadly than almost anyone else. Cropping around the head and shoulders counts. Cutting your image out and pasting it onto a white background counts. Adjusting colour, brightness, contrast or sharpness counts, as do filters and AI tools. Use this page and this tool to check a photographer’s photo against the numbers before you submit it — do not use background removal or retouching on a photo destined for a Canadian passport application.

Background

Plain white or light-coloured, with a clear difference between your face and the background and no shadows around the ears or behind you. Avoid wearing white clothing, which blends into the background and gets the photo rejected.

Glasses

Ordinary glasses are accepted provided the eyes are clearly visible and there is no glare on the lenses. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are refused — explicitly including tinted prescription lenses, even where the eyes can be seen through them.

Head coverings

Hats and head coverings are accepted only where worn daily for religious belief or medical reasons, with the full face clearly visible and no shadow cast on it. Medical headwear or a nasal cannula needs a signed letter of explanation, and IRCC may ask for one from your doctor.

Expression

Neutral: eyes open and clearly visible, looking straight at the camera, mouth closed, neither smiling nor frowning. Face and shoulders centred and squared to the camera, not tilted.

Children

The size rules are identical for children, and two identical photos are required as for adults. Newborns are the one relaxation: they may show a range of facial expressions.

How recent

Taken no more than six months before the date you submit the application.

Exceptions

Printed route: two identical photos, 50 × 70 mm, head 31–36 mm chin to crown, taken by a commercial photographer and professionally printed — home printing is refused. The photographer writes or stamps the date and the studio’s name and address on the back of one, and where a guarantor is needed they write “I certify this to be a true likeness of (name)” and sign beneath it. Online renewal is a different photo entirely: JPEG, 3:2 portrait, at least 1800 × 1200 px and at most 4500 × 3000, between 200 KB and 5 MB, with chin-to-crown at 45–50% of the image height — a noticeably smaller head than the printed spec.

Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Passport photo requirements. Checked 2026-08-29. Rules change — confirm on the authority’s own page before you submit.

Getting the head size right

Head height is the measurement most photos fail on, and it is not the same as “how much of the frame your face fills”. It runs from the top of the head — the crown, not the top of your hair if it stands up — down to the bottom of the chin. For Canada passport/visa that is 31 to 36 mm on a 70 mm tall photo, leaving the rest as space above the head and below the chin. The maker draws that band on screen while you position the photo, so you can see whether you are inside it before you export.

Printing a Canada passport/visa photo at home

At 50×70 mm you get 4 copies on a single 4×6 in (10×15 cm) print, which is the cheapest size at almost every print counter and photo kiosk. Export at 300 DPI (591×827 px) for printing; some portals accept or prefer 600 DPI (1181×1654 px) for digital submission. Cut along the guides with a straight edge rather than scissors — a crooked border is a surprisingly common reason for a photo to be handed back.