Sources, conflicts and gaps

The rules we follow

1. Official sources only. The issuing authority's own site — passport agency, interior ministry, immigration service, foreign ministry, exam board. Never a photo-shop site, never a visa agency, never an aggregator, never another tool's spec page.
2. No filling in the blanks. If a source states the print size but not the head height, the head height stays empty. Every spec page lists which fields were not published rather than quietly implying a number.
3. Conflicts are shown, not resolved. Where two official sources disagree, both appear with both links. Picking one silently would hide the fact that the authority's own documentation is inconsistent.
4. Unverified rows do not ship. 19 rows are held back and listed below with the reason.
5. No invented numbers of any kind. That includes traffic estimates, competitor figures and market sizes, none of which appear anywhere on this site.

Every row above is downloadable, not just readable — see the data page for the JSON and CSV endpoints, the field schema and the licence.

Photo specs we could not verify

Figures for all of these circulate freely on commercial photo sites. None of them trace back to a readable official page, so nothing is published:

• Australia — passports.gov.au could not be read — every path returned a gateway block or a robots.txt timeout across repeated attempts from two different fetchers. Rather than copy figures from a third-party photo site, this row is held back. It needs to be filled in by reading passports.gov.au directly. Attempted source
• Bangladesh — epassport.gov.bd is a client-rendered application whose guidance text is not reachable by fetching. Foreign-ministry mission pages link back to it without restating any measurements, and dip.gov.bd returned an SSL error. Figures such as 35 × 45 mm or 45 × 55 mm circulate widely on commercial photo sites but none trace to an official page, so nothing is published here. Attempted source
• Israel — gov.il pages are rendered client-side and returned no usable text on repeated fetches — both the main biometric passport/ID-card service page and the linked 'biometric_photo_guide' page came back as empty shells with only metadata. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' embassy pages (embassies.gov.il), which might carry a citizen-facing photo spec for Israelis applying abroad, are blocked at the robots.txt stage for every mission checked. The 5 × 5 cm / 2 × 2 in figure commonly quoted on commercial photo sites could not be traced to an official Israeli government page, so it is left blank here. This row needs a browser-based visit to the Population and Immigration Authority's gov.il pages rather than an automated fetch. Attempted source
• Nepal — No numeric specification is published on nepalpassport.gov.np. The Nepali embassy in Washington states that photographs are taken at the embassy on the day of the appointment, which suggests the e-passport process captures the photo biometrically rather than accepting a supplied print. That is worth knowing, but it is not a confirmed national rule, so no spec page ships. Attempted source
• Nigeria — The Nigeria Immigration Service confirms two passport-sized photographs are required and that biometric capture also happens in person, but publishes no size, background or file specification. The dedicated image-compliance page at passport.immigration.gov.ng is client-rendered and returned no readable content across repeated attempts, and the NIS FAQ page returns 404. Attempted source
• Peru — migraciones.gob.pe and gob.pe returned repeated bot-blocking errors (HTTP 418) on every URL tried — the main pasaporte electrónico orientation page, the adult passport service page, a specific news item, and a government-radio (radionacional.gob.pe) article on biometric capture — so no official page could be read directly, even though the domains themselves are official. Peruvian news outlets widely report the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones stating, at a press conference, that the process is now fully digital: biometric data and the photograph are captured at the Migraciones office itself, and applicants do not need to bring physical photos, photocopies or forms. That is worth knowing, but because it could not be confirmed by reading an official Migraciones page directly, no numeric spec ships and this row is held back as a gap. Attempted source
• Portugal — Held back: the official source publishes no dimensions, no head height and no photo rules — only that two colour photographs with a plain background are needed. That is too little to build a specification page on, so nothing is published rather than a page implying we know the size. The Portuguese government's own service page (gov.pt, for the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado) states only that two identical passport-style photographs are required, in colour, with a plain background and good definition, taken within the last year. Neither this page nor the IRN's own passport and Citizen Card pages publish an exact millimetre size, a head proportion, or a digital specification. The 35 × 45 mm figure that circulates widely on commercial photo-shop sites could not be traced to any official IRN or gov.pt page, so it is left blank here rather than assumed. Attempted source
• Saudi Arabia — No official Saudi source could be read despite repeated attempts. The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat, gdp.gov.sa) blocked every fetch at the robots.txt stage; a Ministry of Interior procedure PDF on moi.gov.sa and the My.Gov.sa national portal's passport service page both returned proxy or 403 errors; the Absher app's own service-guide page rendered no readable content because it is built client-side in JavaScript; and the official Saudi e-visa portal (visa.visitsaudi.com) says nothing about photo specifications beyond a generic 'fill the application' step. Commercial photo-shop sites widely quote a 4 × 6 cm print, but that figure could not be traced to any Saudi government page, so nothing is published here. This row needs a browser-based visit to gdp.gov.sa or moi.gov.sa rather than an automated fetch. Attempted source
• Tanzania — Held back: the only figure the official portal publishes is the background colour — light blue, which is unusual and worth knowing — but no dimensions, head height or rules. One fact is not a specification. The Immigration Department's own online application portal lists a recent, light-blue-background photograph ('Picha ya Mwombaji ya hivi karibuni yenye kivuli cha rangi ya buluu isiyokoza') among the documents required for an ordinary passport, but publishes no millimetre size, head-height, pixel dimensions, file-size limit, file format, or rules on glasses, head coverings or expression. A separate Tanzania eVisa specification (45 x 35 mm, JPG/JPEG, no more than 500 KB, plain background, glasses allowed if worn regularly) exists on the Immigration Department's eVisa site, but that page governs visa applications only, so it is not shown here as a passport spec. Attempted source

Portal limits we could not verify

• IBPS — IBPS publishes scanning and uploading guidelines per recruitment cycle, but every located copy is a scanned image PDF rather than machine-readable text and could not be read. Figures around 200 × 230 px and 20–50 KB circulate on coaching and resizer sites; none trace to a readable official document, so nothing is published here. Read the guideline PDF linked from your own IBPS application page. Attempted source
• Passport Seva — There is no published KB or pixel limit because there is usually nothing to upload: the instruction booklet states a photograph is not required for applications submitted at a Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office PSK, where the photo is captured at the centre. A printed 4.5 × 3.5 cm photo applies only to the limited non-PSK route, and that is not a digital upload. Attempted source
• PAN Card — Protean's page states JPEG at 200 DPI with a 50 KB maximum, but gives photo dimensions as 5 cm × 2.5 cm, which contradicts the 3.5 × 2.5 cm size referenced elsewhere on the same domain for form-affixed photographs and looks like an error in the source. Because the dimension figure cannot be reconciled against a second official document, this row is held back rather than shipped with a number that may be wrong. Attempted source
• IRCC — IRCC's photograph specification page defines only printed requirements — a 35 × 45 mm frame with a 31–36 mm head — and says of digital photos merely that they must not be altered in any way. No KB, pixel or DPI figure for a digital upload is published, so none is invented here. For the Canadian passport digital spec, which is published, see the Canadian passport photo page. Attempted source
• CAT — The only official document currently on iimcat.ac.in is a 6-page 'CAT 2026 Information Bulletin' dated 26 July 2026, which lists the IIMs' programmes and general eligibility but does not contain a photograph or signature upload specification on its readable pages; the remaining pages of the rendered PDF could not be reliably extracted in this research session, so this is recorded as a gap rather than guessed at. CAT 2026 registration opens 3 August 2026 — only days after this bulletin — and the parallel CLAT 2027 notice, whose registration window opens the same day, states outright that admission-process specifics 'shall be notified in due course', suggesting the detailed photograph and signature specification may only surface once the online application form itself goes live. Candidates should check the upload screen on iimcat.ac.in directly once registration opens. No coaching or resizer-site figures (which circulate widely, e.g. around 5–80 KB) are reproduced here because none could be traced to an official IIM document. Attempted source
• CLAT — Held back: CLAT publishes no file size, pixel dimension or format limit at all — documents are embedded in a PDF rather than uploaded as images. With no target there is nothing for the compress tool to preload. CLAT is the odd one out among the portals covered here: the official UG and PG instructions both say only that a 'front facing passport size recent photograph with plain background' is required, and that 'all documents/certificates should be uploaded in pdf format only' — meaning the photograph is embedded inside a PDF rather than uploaded as a standalone JPEG, and no KB, pixel, DPI or aspect-ratio figure is given at all. The photograph and signature need not be attested. Figures are from the CLAT 2027 UG Instructions page (the current admission cycle; CLAT 2027's exam is 6 December 2026 and its registration opens 3 August 2026). The Consortium's site had already retired its CLAT 2026 UG instructions page (404) by the time of this research, since that admission cycle had concluded — a reminder that these pages disappear once a cycle closes, so always check the live current-cycle page. Attempted source
• CLAT — Held back: CLAT publishes no file size, pixel dimension or format limit at all — documents are embedded in a PDF rather than uploaded as images. With no target there is nothing for the compress tool to preload. As with the photograph, the official instructions ask only for the 'Signature of the candidate' among the documents to be uploaded, with every document — photograph, signature and certificates alike — submitted in PDF format only; no KB, pixel or DPI limit is stated for the signature. Same CLAT 2027 UG Instructions source and same caveat about the page disappearing once a cycle closes. Attempted source
• SBI PO — Held back on age. The only figures that could be read come from the 2015-16 recruitment advertisement; sbi.bank.in was in scheduled maintenance throughout the research window, so the current cycle could be confirmed to exist but not read. A decade-old advertisement is not evidence of today's limits, and this site does not publish a number it cannot stand behind. Read the upload instructions in your own notification. Attempted source
• SBI PO — Held back on age. The only figures that could be read come from the 2015-16 recruitment advertisement; sbi.bank.in was in scheduled maintenance throughout the research window, so the current cycle could be confirmed to exist but not read. A decade-old advertisement is not evidence of today's limits, and this site does not publish a number it cannot stand behind. Read the upload instructions in your own notification. Attempted source
• RBI Grade B — Exactly the same problem documented for the IBPS row on this site: RBI's Grade B online application is processed through IBPS's recruitment portal, and the notification/guideline document reachable there is an image-only, scanned PDF that could not be extracted as text. RBI's own opportunities.rbi.org.in site lists current vacancies but did not surface a separately hosted, text-readable version of the 2026 Grade B notification during this research. Figures like 200 × 230 px and 20–50 KB circulate on coaching and resizer sites (often copying the SBI/IBPS-style spec by assumption) but none trace to a readable official document, so nothing is published here. Candidates should read the scanned guideline PDF linked from their own RBI Grade B application on opportunities.rbi.org.in. Attempted source

Specs from a secondary official source

For these, the issuing authority's own specification page could not be read — bot protection, an unparseable download, or content published only as an image. The figures come from a different official government source: an embassy, or a local-government mirror of the national standard. Each page carries a visible notice.

• Argentine Passport Photo — Consulate General of Argentina in Rome — Passport requirements and appointments
• Chinese Passport Photo — Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Australia
• Colombian Passport Photo — Cancillería de Colombia — Consulado de Colombia en Colón, Panamá, Pasaportes
• Egyptian Passport Photo — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt — Consular Services, Passport Issuance/Renewal
• Ghanaian Passport Photo — Embassy of Ghana, Washington D.C. — Frequently Asked Questions
• Greek Passport Photo — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece — Technical Specifications for New Greek Passports (archived copy via the Embassy of Greece in Norway)
• Italian Passport Photo — Ministero degli Affari Esteri — Ambasciata d'Italia
• South Korean Passport Photo — Guri City Government — official mirror of the MOFA passport photo standard
• Thai Passport Photo — Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand — photo guideline
• Turkish Biometric Passport Photo — Consulate General of the Republic of Türkiye — Biyometrik Fotoğraf Özellikleri (Biometric Photo Specifications)

Where official sources disagree

• Argentine Passport Photo — Number of photos required
• Ghanaian Passport Photo — Photo submission method and size
• Greek Passport Photo — Photo recency, Printed photo size for the exceptional paper-submission route
• Moroccan Passport Photo — Background colour
• Schengen Visa Photo — Print width
• Singapore Passport Photo — File size and format
• Spanish Passport & DNI Photo — Print size
• Sri Lankan Passport Photo — Whether printed photos and the detailed mm figures still apply

Countries that photograph you at the appointment

Worth knowing before you spend time preparing a photo you cannot submit. For some of these it applies to every applicant; for others only to certain routes or age groups. The country page says which.

• Brazil
• Colombia
• Ethiopia
• Germany
• Greece
• India
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Sweden
• Thailand

Every source, listed

82 distinct URLs. All were read on the date shown. Links are marked nofollow — we are citing these, not trying to pass them ranking signals.

Found something wrong?

Corrections with an official link are the most useful thing anyone can send us — see the contact page. A specification that changed is not an embarrassment; a specification we refuse to fix would be.