Canada passport photo size & requirements
Canadian passport photos are 50 x 70 mm with a plain white background and a face height of 31–36 mm.
Canada uses one of the largest passport photo formats in the world — 50 x 70 mm — which is significantly taller than the 35 x 45 mm used by most other countries. This often catches applicants off guard when they order prints from a photo lab that defaults to the smaller size. The Canadian government specifies this format explicitly, and submitting the wrong size is a leading cause of returned applications.
Canada also has a unique guarantor requirement: someone who has known you for at least two years must sign the back of one of your two printed photos, confirming your identity. This person must be a Canadian citizen, be in a specific professional or occupational category, and must include their name, occupation, and contact details. This does not apply to digital photo submissions, but it catches many first-time applicants off guard for in-person applications.
- Photo size
- 50 x 70 mm
- Resolution
- 300 DPI
- Head height
- Face must measure 31–36 mm from chin to crown
- Background
- Plain white or light-coloured
Canada passport photo requirements
- Photo must be 50 x 70 mm (2 x 2.75 in).
- Face measured from chin to crown must be 31–36 mm.
- Plain white or light-coloured background.
- Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open and clearly visible.
- A photographer must stamp or include details on the back of printed photos.
- Uniform lighting with no shadows or reflections.
Common reasons Canada passport photos get rejected
Even a technically correct photo can be turned away for these issues. They come up repeatedly in official rejection notices.
- Wrong photo size — submitting 35 x 45 mm instead of 50 x 70 mm is the single most common reason Canadian passport photos are returned.
- Face height outside 31–36 mm from chin to crown. With the larger format, this is less forgiving than it looks — there is more blank space around a correctly-sized face.
- Missing guarantor signature on the back of one photo for printed applications.
- Background not uniformly white or plain — any hint of colour, pattern, or shadow will fail.
- Photo more than six months old, or that does not reflect current appearance.
- Mouth open, teeth showing, or an expression other than neutral.
Make your Canada passport photo
Use our free passport size photo maker — select Canada from the country list and it will automatically apply the correct size (50 x 70 mm) and background settings for you.
Crop, remove background, and download a compliant Canada passport photo — free, no signup, no watermark.
Select Canada in the tool to get the exact 50 x 70 mm preset.
Other countries
United States 2 x 2 in (51 x 51 mm) 
Albania 35 x 45 mm 
Australia 35 x 45 mm 
Brazil 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm); US visa applications use 2 x 2 in 
China 33 x 48 mm 
France 35 x 45 mm 
Germany 35 x 45 mm 
Iceland 35 x 45 mm 
India 35 x 45 mm (Indian visa & many applications use 51 x 51 mm / 2 x 2 in) 
Ireland 35 x 45 mm 
Italy 35 x 45 mm 
Japan 35 x 45 mm 
Luxembourg 35 x 45 mm 
Malaysia 35 x 50 mm 
Netherlands 35 x 45 mm 
New Zealand 35 x 45 mm 
Nigeria 35 x 45 mm 
Norway 35 x 45 mm 
Pakistan 35 x 45 mm 
Philippines 35 x 45 mm (Philippine visa applications often use 2 x 2 in) 
Russia 35 x 45 mm 
Saudi Arabia 2 x 2 in (51 x 51 mm) 
Schengen / EU 35 x 45 mm 
Singapore 35 x 45 mm 
South Africa 35 x 45 mm 
South Korea 35 x 45 mm 
Spain 32 x 26 mm (Spanish ID/passport); EU visas use 35 x 45 mm 
Switzerland 35 x 45 mm 
Thailand 35 x 45 mm 
Turkey 50 x 60 mm 
United Arab Emirates 43 x 55 mm 
United Kingdom 35 x 45 mm 
Vietnam 4 x 6 cm (40 x 60 mm)