South Africa Visa Photo — Exact 35×45 mm Standard

A South Africa visa or entry-permit application demands a photo that passes scrutiny by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). The result you need is straightforward: a 35×45 mm colour photo on a plain white background, where your face is sharp, centred, and fills 70–80 % of the frame height — produced to the same specification the DHA uses for South African passports and identity documents.

What makes this standard distinctive is its deliberate alignment across all DHA-issued documents. South Africa's visa and entry-permit rules reuse the exact passport/ID photo specification, so the size, background, and facial-coverage requirements are identical whether you are applying for a travel visa or a temporary residence permit. Applicants are typically required to submit two recent colour photographs, both identical and taken within the last six months. The uniform DHA standard makes any deviation — a slightly grey wall, a shadow, a tinted background — immediately visible and grounds for rejection before your application is even reviewed.

• Size: 35 × 45 mm (digital equivalent: 827 × 1063 px)
• Background: plain white (#FFFFFF) — no patterns, shadows, or off-white tones
• Face coverage: face height must fill 70–80 % of the frame
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open and visible
• Glasses: not permitted under any circumstances
• Headwear: not allowed except for documented religious reasons
• Recency: taken within the last six months
• Colour: full colour print or file — black-and-white is not accepted

• Common reasons South Africa visa photos are rejected:
• Off-white or grey background: household walls, even light-coloured ones, rarely qualify as pure white (#FFFFFF); the DHA standard is strict and identical to the passport spec
• Glasses present: spectacles — including clear frames or thin wire rims — are categorically prohibited; there are no medical exceptions for visas
• Incorrect face-to-frame ratio: because the DHA reuses passport sizing, the 70–80 % face-height rule is enforced; photos cropped to a smaller or larger ratio are returned
• Shadow across face or background: even a faint shadow from overhead lighting fails the plain-background requirement

To get your photo right without a trip to a print shop: upload a clear, front-facing photo taken against any background — the tool automatically crops it to the exact 35×45 mm DHA dimensions, removes the background, and replaces it with compliant white. You receive a free watermarked preview to verify the result before you spend anything. If your submitted photo is ever rejected by an immigration authority, the photo is remade at no charge or you receive a full refund — you pay only for a file you are confident in.