Bosnia and Herzegovina Residence Card Photo: Exact 35x45 mm Standard Made Simple
Learn the precise 35x45 mm ICAO photo standard for the Bosnian residence card and prepare a fully compliant reference image before your biometric appointment.
This photo must be taken by an accredited service
For this document, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not accept a self-prepared photo. By law it must be captured on site by an authorised service and submitted electronically, so we cannot produce a submittable file for it. The official specification is shown below so you know exactly what to expect at your appointment.
This photo is captured on site — but we can make your Bosnia and Herzegovina photos online:
A document photo is a headache of its own
A Bosnia and Herzegovina Residence card photo has strict requirements, and a mistake costs time and money. We’ll show you how to pass on the first try.
It gets rejected
Wrong size, background or cropping — and the system returns the application.
Expensive and slow
A trip to a photo studio means a queue, time and €7–12 for a reshoot.
Confusing requirements
Exact size, head height, light background, facial expression — easy to get wrong.
Redo it all over
Rejected — take another photo, pay and submit again. Round and round.
«Below are the exact requirements from the official source, so you arrive at your appointment prepared.»
Ordinary photo → ready for submission
We remove the background and clutter, set the framing and lighting — keeping your face without «beautifying».
Your face stays yours — we do not change features, only the background, lighting and framing.
Your Residence card photo: what matters
The residence card (boravišna karta) for foreign nationals in Bosnia and Herzegovina requires a strict 35x45 mm ICAO-standard facial image. The card is issued by the Service for Foreigners' Affairs on the national IDDEEA biometric platform, the same authority that manages identity documents across the country. Getting the photo geometry exactly right matters, because the facial image becomes a permanent biometric record tied to your residence status.
Here is the most important country-specific detail, and the one most applicants miss: for the Bosnian residence card the facial image is generally captured on-site as part of biometric enrolment. When you attend your appointment at the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, an official takes your photo digitally, together with your fingerprints and signature. This means a downloaded or self-made photo is usually not accepted for direct submission. Some certified photographers can supply a digitally captured image with secure upload, but a home printout almost never qualifies. Knowing this in advance saves you a wasted trip.
The exact technical specification you should match is:
- Size: 35x45 mm (413x531 px at print resolution)
- Background: plain pure white (#FFFFFF), evenly lit, no shadows
- Face size: the head fills roughly 70-80% of the frame height
- Expression: neutral, eyes open, mouth closed, looking straight at the camera
- Glasses: allowed only if eyes are fully visible with no glare or tinting
- Headwear: not permitted, except worn permanently for religious reasons and only if it does not cover the face
- Recency: taken within the last 6 months and reflecting your current appearance
- Common reasons photos are rejected in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
- Submitting a self-made or home-printed photo instead of completing on-site digital capture at the Service for Foreigners' Affairs
- Off-white, grey or cream backgrounds, or visible shadows behind the head, instead of pure #FFFFFF
- Head too small or too large, breaking the 70-80% face-height ratio required by the ICAO standard
- Glasses with glare, heavy frames or tinted lenses that obscure the eyes
Our online tool prepares your picture automatically to the exact 35x45 mm Bosnian standard, with the white background and head proportions cropped precisely to spec. We will be transparent: because the Service for Foreigners' Affairs captures your residence-card image on-site during biometric enrolment, we cannot promise this file will be accepted for submission. What it gives you is a perfect, true-to-standard reference, so you know exactly how a compliant photo must look, can prepare your appearance for the appointment, or use the image for visa applications, forms and other purposes.
What an accepted Residence card photo looks like
Bosnia and Herzegovina · 35 × 45 mm. Tap any requirement to see what it means on a real photo.
- Size
- 35 × 45 mm · 413 × 531 px
- Background
- White plain
- Head in frame
- 70–80%
- Glasses
- Allowed
- Facial expression
- Neutral, mouth closed
- Headwear
- Only for religious reasons
- File
- JPG · ≤ 2 MB
Print size is 35 × 45 mm and the digital file is 413 × 531 px.
Official requirements source: iddeea.gov.ba
Requirements verified: 08.2026
How to take a good photo
The most common reasons a Bosnia and Herzegovina Residence card photo gets rejected — and how to avoid them. Compare good and bad shots.
1Format and freshness
A color photo taken no more than 6 months ago.
2Lighting and background
Even light with no shadows on the face; a plain light background, without glare.
3Head position
Face head-on, head centered, no tilt or turn.
4Facial expression
Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open and looking at the camera.
5Glasses and accessories
No glasses (especially sunglasses); eyes fully visible, without glare.
6Headwear
Only for religious reasons and not covering the face — the face fully visible.
7Clothing
Ordinary everyday clothes; no uniforms or face-covering clothing.
Common questions about Bosnia and Herzegovina Residence card photos
What size must a Bosnia and Herzegovina residence card photo be?
Can I submit a self-made or downloaded photo for the residence card?
What background colour is required?
Who issues the residence card and where is the photo taken?
Are glasses allowed in the photo?
Is religious headwear permitted?
Your photo is protected
A photo is personal data, so we handle it carefully and in line with GDPR. We process it only to prepare the document and delete it within clear deadlines.
- Only with consentWe process the photo only after your explicit consent before upload.
- Auto-deletionWe delete the source photo within a day, the ready file after 7 days.
- No sharing with third partiesYour photos are not sold or used to train any third-party systems.
- Deletion on requestYou can ask to delete your data at any time — with a single request.