Philippines Passport Photo — Meet the DFA ePassport Standard
Get a perfectly compliant 35x45mm passport photo for your Philippine DFA appointment — white background, correct face framing, ready in minutes.
This photo must be taken by an accredited service
For this document, Philippines 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 Philippines photos online:
A document photo is a headache of its own
A Philippines Passport 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 Passport photo: what matters
A Philippines passport issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) requires a biometric photo that meets the current DFA ePassport standard: 35×45 mm (827×1063 px at 600 dpi), plain white background, neutral expression, and a face occupying 70–80% of the frame height. Getting these details exactly right means your appointment proceeds smoothly and your image is ready for every other document or visa application that does require a submitted photo.
One important thing to know about the Philippine passport process: the DFA captures your biometric photo digitally on-site at your scheduled appointment — you do not physically submit a printed photo for the passport itself. This is standard DFA ePassport procedure. However, having a perfectly prepared reference image in advance lets you walk into the appointment knowing exactly how you need to look, and gives you a ready-to-use compliant photo for Philippine visa applications, government IDs, and other documents that do accept printed or uploaded photos.
- Photo size: 35×45 mm (approximately 827×1063 pixels)
- Background: plain white (#FFFFFF) — the older light-blue background specification has been discontinued
- Face coverage: head must fill 70–80% of the frame height
- Expression: neutral, mouth closed, eyes open and looking directly at the camera
- Glasses: not permitted under the current DFA ePassport rules
- Headwear: only permitted for documented religious reasons; face must remain fully visible
- Recency: the image should reflect your current appearance — taken within the last six months
Common reasons DFA biometric photos are rejected:
- Background is not pure white — cream, grey, or the outdated light-blue tint all cause rejections
- Glasses worn — even thin frames or photochromic lenses that appear clear are not accepted
- Head position is tilted, turned, or the face does not fill the required 70–80% of frame height
- Expression is non-neutral — a slight smile, open mouth, or raised eyebrows will fail the biometric check
Our tool automatically crops and resizes your photo to the exact DFA ePassport dimensions, sets the background to the required white, and checks face coverage — so you see a pixel-perfect reference image before you pay anything. A free watermarked preview is available instantly. Once you are happy with the result, download the full-resolution file to use for visa applications, NBI clearance, PhilSys ID, or any other Philippine document that accepts a submitted photo, and keep it on hand so you already know how a compliant photo must look when you attend your DFA appointment.
What an accepted Passport photo looks like
Philippines · 35 × 45 mm. Tap any requirement to see what it means on a real photo.
- Size
- 35 × 45 mm · 827 × 1063 px
- Background
- White plain
- Head in frame
- 70–80%
- Glasses
- Not 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 827 × 1063 px.
Official requirements source: philippinesembassyinfo.com
Requirements verified: 08.2026
How to take a good photo
The most common reasons a Philippines Passport 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 Philippines Passport photos
What size is a Philippines passport photo?
What background colour is required for a Philippine passport photo?
Are glasses allowed in a Philippines passport photo?
Does the DFA accept a photo I bring to my appointment?
Can I wear a hijab or other religious headwear in my Philippine passport photo?
How much of the photo should my face fill?
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.