India visa photo requirements

Every Indian visa application, including the e-Visa, starts with a square digital photo uploaded to indianvisaonline.gov.in. The upload checks the shape, pixels and file size automatically, so a photo that is slightly off is refused straight away. Here are the rules from the official portal.

Checked against indianvisaonline.gov.in: Visa application instructions on 4 November 2026.

The rules at a glance

Shape
Square: height and width must be equal
Pixels
350 × 350 to 1000 × 1000 pixels
File
JPEG, 10 KB to 300 KB
Printed size
2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm), when a print is needed
Head height
1 to 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) on a 2 × 2 inch photo, chin to top of hair
Background
Plain white or light-coloured, no shadows, no border
Pose
Full face, front view, eyes open, head centred
Colour
Colour photo

What gets photos rejected

  • Square or it won't upload

    The portal checks that width and height are equal. A 35 × 45 mm passport-shaped photo is refused at the upload step.

  • Keep the file between 10 and 300 KB

    Files above 300 KB or below 10 KB are rejected. Our download is a 600 × 600 JPEG kept under 300 KB.

  • Plain, light background

    No patterns, no objects and no shadow behind your head. Photos with a border are not accepted.

  • Full face, eyes open

    Look straight at the camera with your whole face visible, hair away from your eyes.

  • Remove glasses

    Glare and frames covering the eyes are common reasons for rejection, so take them off.

  • Apply only on the official site

    The real portal is indianvisaonline.gov.in. Indian missions warn about look-alike sites that charge extra.

How to take it at home

  1. Pick the right wall

    Stand about half a metre in front of a plain white or light-coloured wall with nothing on it. Step away from the wall so your shadow does not fall on it.

  2. Face the light

    Stand facing a window or soft lamp so both sides of your face are evenly lit. Avoid overhead light, which casts shadows under the eyes.

  3. Get someone to take it

    Ask someone to hold the phone at your eye level, about 1–1.5 m away. A selfie at arm's length makes the nose look bigger.

  4. Check your face

    Remove glasses (glare and frames over the eyes are common reasons for rejection), keep hair away from your eyes and look straight at the camera with a neutral face, both eyes open.

  5. Size and check it

    Use our photo maker to crop it to a square 600 × 600 pixel JPEG and check every rule. We never edit your face or background.

Questions

Is the India e-Visa photo the same as an Indian passport photo?

No. Visa photos for foreign visitors are square. Indian citizens' passport photos follow different rules and are usually taken at the Passport Seva Kendra.

Can I take my India visa photo at home?

Yes. The visa portal accepts a digital photo you take yourself, as long as it meets the size, file and background rules.

My photo is too big in KB. What do I do?

Our India visa download is already under 300 KB. For other photos, use our resize to KB tool.

Official source: indianvisaonline.gov.in: Visa application instructions (Government of India (Indian Visa Online)). Rules can change, so check the official page before you apply.