Canadian Passport Photo: requirements and cropper
A canadian passport photo is 50 × 70 mm — about 2 × 2.75 inches. That is not the 35 × 45 mm size most countries use, so a generic "passport photo" crop will be the wrong shape. The head must measure 31–36 mm from the crown of the head to the bottom of the chin. The background must be plain white or light-coloured. Digital uploads must land between 200 KB and 5 MB. The photo must have been taken within the last 6 months.
Crop a photo to the Canada spec
Drag the two markers. Put the blue one on the very top of the head — including hair — and the red one on the bottom of the chin. Every measurement below is calculated from that, because Canada measures head height as 31–36 mm crown to chin, not the face.
Your photo
Result
The official requirements
| Printed photo size | 50 × 70 mm (2 × 2.75 in) |
|---|---|
| Head height | 31–36 mm, crown to chin · 45–50% of image height |
| Background | Plain white or light-coloured |
| Digital dimensions | 1200–3000 px wide × 1800–4500 px high |
| File size | 200 KB – 5 MB |
| File format | JPEG |
| How recent | Taken within the last 6 months |
| Copies required | 2 |
| Glasses | Regular non-tinted eyeglasses are permitted if the eyes are clearly visible with no glare. Sunglasses are not. |
| Head coverings | Permitted only if worn daily for religious belief or medical reasons. Medical headwear may require a signed explanation letter. |
| Expression & pose | Eyes open and clearly visible, looking straight at the camera. Mouth closed, not smiling or frowning. Face and shoulders centred and squared to the camera. Newborns may show a range of expressions. |
| Children & infants | Newborns may show a range of expressions. Hands supporting a child must not be visible in the photo. |
| Not published | minimum resolution — the official source does not state these, so nothing is shown rather than a number we made up. |
Source: Government of Canada — Canadian passport photo requirements — read 2026-07-26.
Worth knowing
Canada's 50 × 70 mm format is one of the few that is neither 35 × 45 mm nor 2 × 2 in — a photo cropped to either of those will be rejected. Digital submissions must keep a 3:2 portrait aspect ratio with chin-to-crown at 45–50% of image height. Printed photos must be professionally printed on photographic paper; home printing is not accepted.
How to make one
- Take or choose a photo shot straight on, from about arm's length or further, in even light with no shadow falling on the face or the wall behind it. Phone selfies taken close up distort the face and are a common rejection reason.
- Stand far enough from the wall that you cast no shadow on it. The background needs to be plain white or light-coloured — the tool fills only the area outside your photo's edges, it does not replace the wall behind you.
- Drop the photo into the tool above. Nothing is uploaded; the file is read directly by your browser.
- Drag the blue marker to the very top of the head, including hair, and the red marker to the bottom of the chin. This is the measurement every official spec is written against.
- Check the head-height readout. It should sit between 31 mm and 36 mm; the panel turns green when it does.
- Download the photo. If the result would exceed the 5 MB upload limit, it is compressed to fit before saving.
- Canada asks for 2 identical prints. Use the print sheet option and cut along the guide lines — print at 100% scale so the millimetre sizes stay correct.
Why Canada photos get rejected
Drawn from the official guidance rather than guesswork. Most rejections are not about dimensions at all:
- Cropped to 35 × 45 mm or 2 × 2 in instead of 50 × 70 mm
- Sunglasses or tinted eyeglasses
- Red-eye, or red-eye removal applied
- Shadow on the face, ears or background
- Digital alterations, filters or AI edits
- White clothing blending into the background
- Hands visible in a child's photo
The file size trap
A correctly framed photo still gets rejected if the file is too large. Canada caps uploads at 5 MB , with a floor of 200 KB. The cropper above compresses to fit automatically when you download. If you already have a correctly framed photo and only need it resized, the compress tool will hit an exact target without touching the framing.
Canada photo questions
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The cropping, resizing and compressing all happen inside this page, using your browser's own image APIs. There is no server to upload to — the site is static files. Open your browser's network tab, use the tool, and you can watch nothing leave.
It also keeps working with your Wi-Fi switched off once the page has loaded.
What size is a canadian passport photo?
50 × 70 mm (2 × 2.75 in), according to Government of Canada — Canadian passport photo requirements. Within that, the head must measure 31 mm to 36 mm from crown to chin.
What is the maximum file size?
5 MB, with a floor of 200 KB. This is where a lot of otherwise-valid photos fail — the framing is right but the file is too big. The compress tool will hit an exact target if you already have a correctly framed photo.
Can this tool change my background?
No, and that is deliberate. Background replacement means guessing where your hair ends, and the guess is visible — a halo or a chewed-up fringe is exactly the kind of artefact that gets a photo rejected as digitally altered. Canada requires plain white or light-coloured, so photograph yourself against a matching wall.
The fill colour setting only paints the area outside your photo's edges when the required crop is larger than the image you supplied.
How recent does the photo have to be?
Taken within the last 6 months. Reusing the photo from your previous passport is a standard rejection reason.
Can I wear glasses?
Regular non-tinted eyeglasses are permitted if the eyes are clearly visible with no glare. Sunglasses are not.
Are head coverings allowed?
Permitted only if worn daily for religious belief or medical reasons. Medical headwear may require a signed explanation letter.
Do the rules differ for babies and children?
Newborns may show a range of expressions. Hands supporting a child must not be visible in the photo.
Will a photo from this tool definitely be accepted?
Nobody can promise that, and any site that does is selling you certainty it does not have. A photo is judged on framing, background, lighting, expression, sharpness and how recent it is. This tool handles the geometry and the file size precisely; the rest is down to how the photo was taken. The requirements here were read from Government of Canada — Canadian passport photo requirements on 2026-07-26 — check the source before you submit, because rules change.
Other specs
- Brazilian Passport Photo 50 × 70 mm · not published for applicant-supplied photos
- Chinese Passport Photo 33 × 48 mm · head 28–33 mm · white
- French Passport & CNI Photo 35 × 45 mm · head 32–36 mm · plain light-coloured — light blue or light grey. white is explicitly not allowed.
- German Passport & ID Photo 35 × 45 mm · head 32–36 mm · solid
- Indian Passport Photo 35 × 45 mm · plain white
- Indonesian Passport Photo white — captured on site
This is not official advice. img-fix is not affiliated with any government or immigration authority. The figures on this page were read from Government of Canada — Canadian passport photo requirements on 2026-07-26, and requirements change without notice. Check the official source before you submit.