Every Indian visa application has a minimum requirement which must be fulfilled before a regular or an electronic visa is issued. Most documents required to be uploaded have been issued by different agencies or governments around the world, and all that is needed is to scan them. The conditions attached to the digital passport or photo of the applicant is quite different. On this page, we will explain to you everything you need to know for you to fulfil the government guidelines for an ideal photograph. Here are some of the general things you should note with regards to your photo for India visa:

1. Grayscale (white and black) Photographs are not allowed.
2. Photos that are not recent up to six months or that are too old may be rejected.
3. A full image of the upper body is not accepted. Likewise, a picture showing the head alone will also be rejected. A standard passport photograph will show part of your chest.
4. The head should be around 75% of the total passport size.
5. Snapping an already taken photo of yourself from another document or taking a selfie of yourself is not allowed. The acceptable standard is a passport-sized photograph of you taken freshly.
6. Except for infants less than 1-year-old, eyes must be open and it must be facing the camera. Face should not be tilted.
7. The picture must be symmetric i.e. the space both sides of the face must be the same.
8. No laughter, grin, frown or smile. Only natural expressions are allowed.
9. Photo editing and enhancement are not acceptable.
10. Generally, spectacles, tinted and sunglasses are not permitted but if prescribed and the frame is not covering the face they can be left on.
11. Head coverings are also not permitted except for religious reasons. In such cases, the full face from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin and both side edges must be well revealed.
12. The Indian government do not have a dress code for passport photographs. To avoid rejection, however, your dressing should be moderately casual and professional.
13. Be sure your photograph meets all the technical and general requirements before you start your application since you will need to upload it before making payment.

Technical details on the standard of passport photograph required for India visa application

For all visa applications that is been done online, hard (paper) copies of your documents and passport photographs inclusive are not necessary. While preparing to submit your application online intending travelers are to prepare all their documents in soft copies in the acceptable formats. Only pdf, jpeg, png, gif and tiff formats are acceptable for all document uploads. Due to the importance of passport photographs, this article sheds more light on the technical intricacies associated with getting one's photograph ready for online application.

• Size: the digital format of the photo to be uploaded should not be more than 10MB and not less than 1MB in size. You can verify this by clicking on the properties or details of the photo to reveal the size.
• Picture extension: the JPEG format is the only acceptable India visa photo format. Again to be sure which format your picture is in, clicking on the properties or details of the photo to reveal the format.
• Dimension: 2in x 2in or 51mm x 51 mm. Pixels should be between 350 x 350 pixels and 1000 x 1000 pixels.
• Background color: plain white background is preferred, although other solid-color designs are acceptable.
• Portrait: landscape photographs are not allowed, only portraits.
• Red eyes: avoid the camera red-eye effect. If your photo has it, do not attempt fixing it digitally. Take another photograph instead.
• Lighting: the lighting should be appropriate, not too much, not too poor. This will enhance the photo quality maximally.
• Shadows: No Shadow in photo.
• Color: so as not to affect skin tone, natural color is advised.

FAQ's On India Visa Photo Requirements:

1. I am at the upload stage, Can I scan my photograph from my international passport? 2. I have a digital photo of me, but it's a full picture, can I crop and edit it to meet the standard? 3. Can I use my mobile phone or tablet to take the photograph? 4. My infant child will not pose well for her passport, what can I do?