A Pakistani passport photo is 35 mm wide by 45 mm high on a plain white background, with your head (chin to top of head) between 29 mm and 34 mm tall. For the online application on the DGIP e-Services portal, the photo file can be JPG, JPEG or PNG and must not be larger than 5 MB. This tool crops and resizes your photo to that frame in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to our server.
How to use this tool
- Take a photo against a plain white wall with even light, facing the camera, mouth closed, no glasses. On a phone, tap “Take a photo with your phone”.
- Upload it. The tool finds your face, straightens a tilted head and sizes it so the head from chin to crown is inside the official 29 to 34 mm. Your photo stays on your device.
- Check the live list next to the photo. It confirms one face, the head size in mm, centring, tilt, a white background and enough sharpness. Drag, zoom or use Straighten if anything needs a nudge.
- If the wall behind you was not white, the tool turns on “White background” for you. You can switch it off, and adjust brightness and contrast.
- Download a JPG at 413 x 531 pixels (35 x 45 mm at 300 DPI) for the online form, or a 4×6 inch sheet with 8 photos or an A4 sheet with 30 photos for printing at actual size.
What are the official Pakistan passport photo rules?
These values come from the DGIP online passport photo page and its photograph capturing guide.
| Rule | Official value |
|---|---|
| Photo size | 45 mm high x 35 mm wide |
| Head height (chin to crown) | At least 29 mm, no more than 34 mm |
| Face share of photo | Head and top of shoulders, face about 70 to 80% of the photo |
| Background | Plain white, no objects or other people |
| Age of photo | Not more than 6 months old |
| Quality | Sharp focus, clear, natural skin tone, no ink marks or creases |
| Online file type | JPEG, JPG or PNG |
| Online file size | Up to 5 MB |
| Glasses | No glasses; eyes clearly visible |
| Head covering | Allowed if the face from chin to top of forehead and both edges of the face are visible |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, looking straight at the camera |
DGIP does not publish a pixel size. The 413 x 531 pixel output in this tool is simply 35 x 45 mm at 300 DPI, which prints sharply and stays far under the 5 MB limit.
How do I get the head size right?
The photo is 45 mm tall, so a 29 to 34 mm head fills about 64% to 76% of the height. At 300 DPI that is roughly 343 to 402 pixels from chin to the top of the head in a 531 pixel tall image.
Head height in pixels = head mm / 25.4 x 300 29 mm = 343 px 34 mm = 402 px Photo = 413 x 531 px (35 x 45 mm)
A worked example: your selfie is 3000 x 4000 pixels and your head measures 1200 pixels from chin to crown. To land at 380 pixels in the final file, the tool scales the image by 380 / 1200 = 0.317, then crops a 413 x 531 window centred on your face.
Do I need to upload a photo for every passport application?
No. If you apply at a Passport Office in Pakistan, staff take your photo there. A digital photo is needed when you apply online through the DGIP e-Services portal, for example for renewals and for overseas Pakistanis. Check the DGIP e-Services portal for which services are open to you.
Common mistakes that get photos rejected
- Coloured background. Blue, grey or patterned backgrounds do not meet the rule. DGIP asks for plain white.
- Cropped from a group or old picture. DGIP says photos cut down from larger pictures are not accepted.
- Heavy editing. DGIP asks that photos are not edited in software such as Photoshop. Cropping and resizing to the frame is fine. The white background option in this tool is there to rescue a photo taken against an off-white wall; for the official application, a photo taken against a real white wall is always the safest choice.
- Glasses or glare. Take them off. Tinted lenses and frames over the eyes are rejection reasons.
- Too close or too far. The DGIP guide shows both as errors. Use the head guides.
- Shadows and red eye. Face a window or use two lights at 45 degrees.
Tips for a photo that passes first time
- Stand about 50 cm in front of a white wall so your shadow does not fall on it.
- Have someone else take the picture at eye level from about 1.5 m away.
- Wear dark or coloured clothes so your shoulders contrast with the white background.
- Keep both ears and both edges of your face visible. Hair should not cross your eyes.
- Save as JPG. A 413 x 531 JPG is normally a small fraction of the 5 MB limit.
What happens after the photo?
Once you have your passport, the data page carries a machine readable zone. Our passport MRZ scanner reads it in the browser, and the guide to the MRZ code on a Pakistani passport explains each character. Travel agencies that process many passports can use Passport Extractor to read scans into Excel in bulk.
Rules can change. Always confirm on the DGIP photo requirements page before you submit.
Last updated: October 19, 2026
