China Passport Photo

China passport photo requirements

China visa photos use a 33×48 mm size on a white background.

What's different about a China photo

China uses 33 × 48 mm — a size shared with almost no other country, and one that no European or American photo can be trimmed to fit. On top of the outer dimensions, the Chinese visa specification constrains the head itself: 15–22 mm wide and 28–33 mm from chin to crown, on a pure white background.

The rules are also enforced more literally than most. Chinese visa centres run an automated check against the specification and refuse photos that miss it, rather than exercising judgement — which makes this one of the few applications where getting the numbers exactly right genuinely matters more than the photo looking good.

China photo rules in detail

Head dimensions

Head width 15–22 mm and height 28–33 mm, measured within the 33 × 48 mm frame. These are checked, not estimated.

Glasses

Not permitted for Chinese visa photos, and enforced since 2016 across every visa category — tourist, business and work alike. A medical exception exists but requires a doctor's letter submitted with the application, so for practical purposes take them off.

Background

Pure white, with no shadow and no gradient. Unlike the Schengen preference for light grey, China wants white and refuses off-white.

Expression

Neutral, mouth closed, ears visible where hair permits, and the face square to the camera with no tilt.

Digital uploads

The online visa application takes a digital file, typically 354 × 472 to 420 × 560 pixels, in JPEG and under 100 KB — a much tighter file-size ceiling than most systems impose.

Photos must have been taken within the last 6 months. The authority for these rules is the Chinese Embassy / Consulate-General (visa); National Immigration Administration (passports) — check there before you apply, since requirements do change.

Babies and children

Children of any age, including newborns, need their own visa and their own photo meeting the same 33 × 48 mm specification — China grants very little latitude here compared with the UK or Australia. No other person may appear in the frame, and the head-size rules still apply, which makes a baby's photo genuinely difficult. Photographing from directly above onto a white sheet, then cropping to the required proportions, is the usual approach.

How the China application works

Most visa applications go through a Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) rather than the embassy directly. You complete the form online, print it, and attend in person with your photo.

The centre checks the photo against the specification before accepting the file, and has a booth on site for photos that fail. Because the tolerance is narrow and the check is mechanical, arriving with a photo cropped to the exact millimetre figures is worth the effort.

Why China photos get rejected

• Wearing glasses — refused outright for visa photos.
• Head outside the 15–22 mm wide, 28–33 mm tall window.
• An off-white or light grey background where pure white is required.
• A digital file over the 100 KB limit for the online application.
• Photos cropped down from the 35 × 45 mm European size, which never fits.

How to make your China photo

1. 1. Upload a portrait

   A clear, front-facing photo with even lighting. The background is removed automatically.

2. 2. Fit the guides

   The 33×48 mm frame is pre-selected — line your head up with the crown and chin guides.

3. 3. Download or print

   Export the exact size at 300 DPI, or a 6×4 inch sheet of copies for any photo kiosk.

Preguntas frecuentes

Passport photo sizes for other countries