OFFICIAL CONSULAR SPECIFICATION● PHOTO REQUIREMENTS GUIDESchengen Visa Photo Specifications (35×45mm Rules)
Choose the destination handling your Schengen visa application. Review its photo checklist, including Austria and Belgium, before preparing a 35×45 mm print or a digital upload.
Create your Schengen visa photo
Choose the country handling your application.
Choose another destination
Check your consulate’s instructions. Try the assessment first. Paid downloads include a clean JPEG and print-ready sheet; review the package price before checkout.
Begin a Schengen photo check with the destination and application location, not with a saved template name. A general overview cannot tell you what a particular appointment checklist requests. Keep the checklist visible while deciding which image to print or upload.
Who this guide is for
These steps help applicants compare an existing portrait with the instructions they have been given and prepare a photographer brief. They do not establish a single rule for every application covered by the guide title.
Key Biometric Specifications
Preparing the photo
Practical preparation tips; use the linked application instructions for requirements.
- Create a one-page brief for the photographer with the application name and a link to its photo instructions. Highlight the diagram if one is provided. Ask the photographer to work from that page rather than a remembered preset for another document.
- Examine head height separately from the outer rectangle. A correctly sized rectangle can hold a face that is too small or too large. Identify the top of the head and bottom of the chin before measuring; do not use the hair volume as a substitute for the specified landmarks.
- Place the subject away from the wall and use broad, even light. Watch the background on both sides of the head. A narrow flash shadow can disappear on a bright phone screen yet become conspicuous on the paper copy.
- Before collecting prints, measure the whole photograph and inspect the crop. Keep the ruler on the paper without covering the face. If the order was scaled to fit a page, request a correctly sized output rather than trimming into the portrait to compensate.
Mandatory Consular Rules
- Austria’s visa guidance lists a colour 35×45 mm photograph meeting ICAO criteria.
- Use the checklist for the country and location handling the application; Schengen membership is not the same as EU membership.
- Check head framing independently from the outside dimensions.
- Do not assume a universal 600 DPI minimum or identical upload limits for every destination.
Troubleshooting the photo
A crop passes the outer-size check but not the head-size check
The border and the head are separate measurements; changing print size scales both together.
Compare the face framing with the source diagram before printing. If there is too little surrounding image for a new crop, start with a wider capture.
Top Rejection Pitfalls to Avoid
- Using a destination-neutral template without checking the receiving mission’s instructions.
- Changing photo size with fit-to-page printing.
- Treating a digital upload and an appointment print as the same deliverable.
Austria and Belgium: choose the receiving mission
Austria visa photo requirements
Austria’s Foreign Ministry lists a colour 35×45 mm photograph meeting ICAO criteria. Use your mission’s current checklist for the application and appointment.
Belgium visa photo instructions
Use the Belgian mission’s visa forms and instructions for your application location. Short-stay and long-stay documents are not interchangeable. Confirm the photograph requested by that checklist before selecting a preset.
What ICAO photo standards mean · Make a sheet from an already prepared photo
Schengen / EU photo requirements and document options
Digital and printed copies
Use the current application checklist to decide which deliverable is needed. A digital copy is useful for keeping an original, while a printed copy must also be checked for scaling, trimming and surface damage.
Questions about this guide
Is measuring only the outside of my visa print enough?
No. Check the internal framing shown by your source too. The face may occupy the wrong part of an otherwise correctly sized photograph.
What should I give a photographer if I am visiting several destinations?
Identify the application for which the photograph will be submitted. Bring that application’s instructions; a travel itinerary alone does not identify the photo specification.
About this guide
ApprovaVisa editorial team
Reviewed: 2026-10-14
Requirements come from the linked authority source. Where our summary and the authority differ, follow the authority.
Prepare Your Schengen / EU Photo
Check the receiving authority’s instructions before preparing a photo. Use professional photography where required, and retain the original image when digital alterations are prohibited.
Create your Schengen visa photo
Choose the country handling your application.
Choose another destinationCheck your consulate’s instructions. Try the assessment first. Paid downloads include a clean JPEG and print-ready sheet; review the package price before checkout.