🇪🇺 Schengen Visa photo requirements
Short answer
A Schengen Visa photo must be 35 × 45 mm (413 × 531 px at 300 DPI) with a plain light grey or white background, front-facing, taken recently. Face should take up 70–80% of the photo; head height about 32–36 mm.
Specification
| Size | 35 × 45 mm |
| Pixels (300 DPI) | 413 × 531 px |
| Background | Plain light grey or white |
| Head size / position | Face should take up 70–80% of the photo; head height about 32–36 mm. |
| Expression | Neutral expression, mouth closed, looking straight at the camera. |
Rules & common mistakes
- •35 x 45 mm.
- •Light grey or white plain background.
- •Taken within the last 6 months, front-facing.
- •No glasses glare; head coverings only for religious reasons.
- •Natural skin tones, even lighting.
Use your real photo — not an AI-generated face. Passport and visa authorities require a genuine, unaltered photograph of you and reject AI-generated portraits. Our free tool below is compliant because it only removes the background and crops your real photo to size — it never synthesizes your face. Still, always verify against the current official spec before submitting.
Make a compliant Schengen Visa photo free
Upload your real photo, remove the background, and export at exactly 413 × 531 px. Select "Schengen Visa" in the tool.
Open the photo tool →