Photographs for Passport, Visa, Citizenship and Immigration in Canada

Canada is one of the most prosperous countries in the world with lots of places worth visiting at least once in a lifetime. Millions of tourists visit Canada every year for different reasons. Canadian visa, immigration, citizenship, and passport requirements are the strictest in the world. So are the photographs requirements for these purposes.

Canadian Passport Photos

The Canadian passport photo requirements strictly mention the procedure for reproduction of the photographs. Two identical colored or black and white photographs produced from the same film or electronic file are required. The maximum size of the photographs is 50 mm x 70 mm on a high quality photographic paper. The photos produced on heavy weight papers are unacceptable. The photograph must be taken by a professional photographer with the stamp revealing his name, business address, and date of the photograph must to be provided at the back of one photograph. Stick-on-labels are not allowed and ample space must be allowed for the name of the applicant, the signature of a guarantor and his declaration below the photographer’s address. Glasses and their frame should not disguise the eyes of the applicant. A neutral expression with no teeth showing with normal skin color has to be maintained. The image of the subject has to be in center of the photo with no shadow on the background and face. The length from the chin to the crown of the head should be 31 mm to 36 mm. The background color required has to be white or light color. No head coverings are allowed unless for the religious cause.  

Passport photos for Canadian Visa

The frame size of the Canada passport photo should be 35 mm x 45, with full front view of the head and face placed in the middle of the photograph. The size of the head from chin to crown (top of the head including hair or head covering) must be between 31 mm x 36 mm. Two identical colored or black and white photographs taken within the last six months are to be provided along with the application. The clear, well defined photographs with white or light-colored background have to be printed on quality photographic paper. Subject should neither be frowning nor smiling, has to show neutral face expressions in the photograph. The glasses can be worn unless they do not hide any part of applicant’s eyes and also the sunglasses are not allowed. If a head covering is worn for religious reason, ensure that the full facial features are visible in the photo.

Passport photos for Canadian Citizenship

Two identical photos with matt finish have to be provided while applying for the Canadian Citizenship. The passport photos have to measure the frame size as 35 mm x 53 mm. The image size should be 35 mm x 43 mm leaving a blank space of 10 mm below the image for a signature. The photograph should include the matt finish with the stamp or write up of the photographer mentioning his name, address, and date of the photo taken on.

Canadian Immigration Photo

The requirements of the Canadian immigration photo include some of the most unusual requests that they have to be done on negative film and the applicant has to provide a set of 8 identical colored or black and white photos. The photo must show full frontal view of the subject’s head and top of the shoulders, which have to be centrally aligned. The background of the photo is required to be plain white and the name, date of birth of the applicant and date of the photo was taken on has to be mentioned at the back of one photo of each set. The frame size of the photo is required to be 35 mm x 45 mm, while the distance from chin to the crown of the head is required to be between 25 mm and 35 mm. Each set of photo has to be enclosed in a separate envelope and the name of family members, date of birth and relationship has to be written on the corresponding envelope, which has to be closed by a paper clip. The photo must not be stapled, bent, scratched, and should not bear any ink mark or stain.