South Africa: passport photo requirements
When applying for a new South Africa passport, visa, smart ID card or driving licence the applicant must follow the rules of the Department of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa. First of all, always make sure that your photos comply with official photo requirements for a South Africa passport. For example, the photo will not be accepted if it was taken longer than 1 month ago.
Passport photo South Africa requirements are listed below in this article.
Table of contents
- South Africa passport photo size and format
- Background
- Color and lighting
- Pose and facial expression
- Passport photo clothing requirements
- Get South Africa passport photo online
- South Africa passport photo guidelines
Note that the South Africa passport photo rules are the same as the ones for South Africa visa and South Africa Smart ID card. The following information is correct for all these phototypes. For a South Africa driving licence, you need to submit a black and white photo. But other requirements for a driving licence photo are the same.
South Africa passport photo size and format
Photo size for passport or visa must be 35mm width x 45mm height. South Africa passport photo guidelines include not only the size of the image but the composition as well. The photo should show the entire face, and the head should be centred.
The height of the head from the chin to the top of the hair for the person in the photo should be 34.5 mm. The distance between the top of the hair and the top of the photo should be 3mm.
Face should occupy from 70-80% of the photo.
The digital photo resolution for electronic submissions should have a resolution of 600 DPI.
Background
South Africa passport photo background should be white, light grey or plain cream-coloured.
Remember that in the photo there are no shadows and any other objects.
Color and lighting
It is recommended to bring color photos, but black and white photos are acceptable. A photo for South Africa driving licence can be black and white only.
The lightning must be even. Avoid strong shadows.
Pose and facial expression
The photo should show your full frontal face. Keep your face centered.
A natural smile is acceptable. Otherwise, use a neutral facial expression.
Eyes should be fully open and visible. They shouldn’t hide behind any object.
Passport photo clothing requirements
There is no strict South Africa passport photo dress-code except for the following:
- Sunglasses are not allowed.
- Reading glasses are permitted only if they do not have reflections. Take extra care to avoid lens glare.
- Headgear is strictly prohibited, unless for religious purposes. But your face should be seen in it.
Get South Africa passport photo online
Visafoto permits you to take compliant photos for all documents around the world. The service automatically edits the image, enhancing the quality, background, format and size. The user receives a digital version of the photo and a printable one.
Let’s have a look at some photo examples.
First, take a photo of our under daylight like this one:
After resizing, you will get photos like these ones:
Then resize it here:
Source
Result
South Africa passport photo guidelines
Using speсialized online tools is the quickest way to get a proper South Africa passport or visa photo. To take a passport photo, you just need to take a full-face photo against any background in normal lighting. Upload your photo to Visafoto.com and get your passport photo immediately. It transforms a photo so that it fits all the photo requirements for a South Africa passport.
Brief instructions:
- Take a photo of yourself against a white door or white wall as a background. Look straight into the camera. Have a neutral facial expression;
- Make sure the photo meets the clothing requirements mentioned above and there are no intense shadows;
- Upload your photo to Visafoto.com and get the immediate result. The service will adjust the background, set the required size and format, and improve image quality. The technical support is ready to answer all of your questions in the 24x7 mode.
You can use the same instructions for the South Africa visa photo guidelines as well.
Visafoto gives users 24/7 professional support. If for some reason you are not satisfied with the result, we will substitute the photo for free or refund 100% of the order.
