Schengen Short-Stay Visa photo requirements
The exact size, ratio, file-size window and head tolerance set by EU Visa Code / consulate of the destination state — and a free tool below that frames your photo to match, entirely in your browser.
- Ratio
- 35:45
- Print size
- 35 × 45 mm
- Pixels
- 413×531 – 826×1062
- File size
- max 2.00 MB
- Head height
- 71–80%
- All 29 member states share the 35×45 mm print rule, but upload limits differ per consulate and per visa centre.
- Several VFS and TLScontact portals cap uploads far lower — around 240 KB. Our output normally lands under that, but check your own portal.
- Many Schengen consulates still require a physical printed photo at the appointment.
Read this before you rely on an edited photo
Many immigration and passport authorities require a photograph that has not been digitally altered. Replacing a background, smoothing skin, enhancing with AI, or applying a camera filter can all be treated as manipulation and can get an application refused or disqualified — regardless of whether the file passes an automated size check. Reframing, rotating and resizing are not alteration; changing the content of the picture is.
Background replacement is switched onhere so the result is usable straight away, and you can turn it off in Auto-fix if your authority requires an unaltered photograph — for a US passport, DS-160, DS-260 or DV entry, we would. Exposure correction stays off. Whatever you choose, look at your own photo for filters or “portrait” beautification your phone may have applied on its own — the safest fix for a bad background or bad lighting is always to retake it.
Your photo is reframed to the document’s tolerances, then audited.
Add your photoDrop your photo here
Take one now, or pick an existing photo. Any framing works — a full-length shot is fine, the face is found and cropped for you. Nothing is uploaded.JPG or PNG, any size or framing — a full-length shot is fine, the face is found and cropped for you. Nothing is uploaded.
Upload or capture a photo and every published tolerance for this document gets checked and reported here.
Schengen Short-Stay Visa photo questions
What size photo is needed for a Schengen Short-Stay Visa?+
A Schengen Short-Stay Visa photo is 35:45, printed at 35 × 45 mm. Digitally it must be between 413×531 and 826×1062 pixels, in JPEG format, no larger than 2.00 MB.
How large should the head be in a Schengen Short-Stay Visa photo?+
The head must measure 71% to 80% of the total image height, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head including hair. The background must be plain light grey or cream.
Where do these Schengen Short-Stay Visa figures come from?+
Derived, not official. The EU Visa Code and ICAO standards fix the PRINT size at 35×45 mm; there is no single Schengen-wide digital-upload spec. 413×531 is the 300 DPI conversion of that print size, and the 2 MB ceiling is our conservative choice.