Australian Passport Photo Size — 35–40 × 45–50 mm Print & Digital

Between 35 and 40 millimetres wide and between 45 and 50 millimetres high. Australia is unusual in publishing a range rather than one dimension, so both the European 35 × 45 mm and the larger 40 × 50 mm are accepted. What is not a range is your face: from the bottom of your chin to the crown of your head it must measure between 32 and 36 mm, whatever outer size you print.

No — this is the single most Australian thing about the whole process. The passport office requires prints produced using dye sublimation, on heavy-weight glossy paper of at least 200 gsm, and it names inkjet printers as not acceptable. A home print can look perfect and still fail, because the objection is to the printing process rather than the picture. Australia Post, Officeworks, Kmart and most pharmacies and camera stores print dye-sub, typically for around AUD 15–25 for two.

Two identical photos from the same session. Your guarantor must endorse the back of one of them in black pen, writing “This is a true photo of [your full name]” and signing it. The guarantor must be an adult Australian citizen who has known you for more than a year, must not be a relative, a partner or a housemate, and — worth knowing if you were planning to ask at the counter — must not be an Australia Post employee or a passport officer. If you complete the application online you need a referee instead, who does not sign anything.

Not unless you cannot remove them for a medical reason. The passport office stopped allowing glasses in photos taken from 1 July 2018, and it is explicit that being short-sighted is not by itself an acceptable reason. A genuine exemption needs a certificate from a doctor stating the medical reason, presented when you lodge. Tinted lenses and sunglasses are out in every case. Hearing aids are fine; AirPods and other wireless earbuds must come out.

Plain white or light grey — Australia accepts both, which is more forgiving than Singapore. The requirement that actually bites is contrast: the background has to contrast with your face, so if you have very fair, grey or white hair, light grey separates you better than white. It must also be genuinely plain, with no pattern and no shadow behind you, so stand at least half a metre from it and light from the front.

No — a passport application has no digital photo channel. You complete the form online if you like, but you print it and lodge it in person at a participating post office with two printed photos and your original documents. Digital upload is the visa route: Australian visa applications go through ImmiAccount and do accept a file.

Same photograph specification — the size range, the 32–36 mm face height and the plain background all apply — submitted as a JPEG or PNG of at least 600 pixels wide by 900 pixels high. Published file-size limits disagree: 500 KB, 1 MB, 2 MB and 5 MB all circulate. Under 500 KB clears every version of the rule, and it is well within what a correctly exported 600 × 900 file weighs.

Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open and looking at the camera — Australia is stricter than the United States, which permits a natural smile. Anyone over three must face the camera straight on; for children under three the mouth may be open, but no one else may be in frame. The photo must be less than six months old and reflect how you look now.

The passport office says it does not recommend online passport photo services or mobile apps, because they may put you in danger of identity fraud — and it recommends a professional provider such as a post office, pharmacy or camera store instead. The concern is about where your face gets processed. If you do use a tool, use one that works entirely in your browser and uploads nothing, which is what this one does: no account, no server, no copy of your photo anywhere else.

Allow at least six weeks from lodging your application; a priority service processes within two business days for an additional fee. Because the check happens at the counter, a rejected photo costs you the trip rather than just the photo — which is the argument for measuring it before you queue. Photos themselves typically run AUD 15–25 at a post office, pharmacy or print chain.

The same size range, face height and plain background apply. Only the child may be in frame — no parent's hands, no toys, no dummies — and for a baby who cannot sit, lay them on a plain white or light sheet and photograph from directly above with soft, even light. Children over three must face the camera with eyes open and a neutral expression; under three, the mouth may be open.

No. India requires exactly 35 × 45 mm with an exact digital size of 630 × 810 pixels, and it moved to that format in 2025 — the older 51 × 51 mm square is retired but still widely quoted by Indian mission PDFs. Australia accepts 35 × 45 mm too, so the print size overlaps, but the pixel requirement is completely different. Both are in the 199-country specification list below; pick the issuing country, not where you are standing.