Irish Passport Photo: requirements and cropper
Crop a photo to the official Ireland spec and check the head height as you go — free, and entirely in your browser.
Crop a photo to the Ireland 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 official specs measure the head crown to chin, not the face.
Your photo
Result
More options
Full requirements
| Printed photo size | 35 × 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Background | Completely plain light grey, white or cream |
| Digital dimensions | at least 715 × 951 px |
| File size | up to 9 MB |
| File format | JPEG |
| How recent | Taken within the last 6 months |
| Copies required | 4 |
| Glasses | Transparent glasses may be worn if they cause no glare or shadow and the frames do not cover any part of the eye. |
| Head coverings | Permitted for religious or medical reasons provided full facial features are clearly visible. |
| Expression & pose | Neutral expression, no smiling, mouth closed. |
| Children & infants | Infants unable to sit should be photographed lying on a plain white surface, with no supporting hands visible. |
| Not published | head height, minimum resolution — the official source does not state these, so nothing is shown rather than a number we made up. |
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland — Passport Photo Guidelines — read 2026-07-26.
How to take and crop the photo
- 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 completely plain light grey, white or cream — 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.
- Download the photo. If the result would exceed the 9 MB upload limit, it is compressed to fit before saving.
- Ireland asks for 4 identical prints. Use the print sheet option and cut along the guide lines — print at 100% scale so the millimetre sizes stay correct.
Why Ireland photos get rejected
Drawn from the official guidance rather than guesswork. Most rejections are not about dimensions at all:
- Poor image quality — the department names this as the single most common cause of rejection
- Scanned or digitally enhanced photo
- Background not plain grey, white or cream
- Glare or shadow from glasses
- Smiling or open mouth
- Supporting hands visible in an infant's photo
Background and other notes
A irish passport photo is 35 × 45 mm. The background must be completely plain light grey, white or cream. Digital uploads must be no larger than 9 MB. The photo must have been taken within the last 6 months.
Print size runs from 35 × 45 mm at minimum up to 38 × 50 mm at maximum. The digital minimum is 715 × 951 px with a 9 MB ceiling. The photo must not be scanned or digitally enhanced. Four identical prints are required for the paper route.
File size and disclaimer
A correctly framed photo still gets rejected if the file is too large. Ireland caps uploads at 9 MB . 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.
This is not official advice. img-fix is not affiliated with any government or immigration authority. The figures on this page were read from Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland — Passport Photo Guidelines on 2026-07-26, and requirements change without notice. Check the official source before you submit.
Ireland 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 irish passport photo?
35 × 45 mm, according to Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland — Passport Photo Guidelines.
What is the maximum file size?
9 MB. 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. Ireland requires completely plain light grey, white or cream, 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?
Transparent glasses may be worn if they cause no glare or shadow and the frames do not cover any part of the eye.
Are head coverings allowed?
Permitted for religious or medical reasons provided full facial features are clearly visible.
Do the rules differ for babies and children?
Infants unable to sit should be photographed lying on a plain white surface, with no supporting hands visible.
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 Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland — Passport Photo Guidelines on 2026-07-26 — check the source before you submit, because rules change.
Related specifications
Same print size — 35 × 45 mm
- 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
- Italian Passport Photo 35 × 45 mm · head 70–80% · white
- Japanese Passport Photo 35 × 45 mm · head 32–36 mm · white is recommended; a plain light blue is also accepted
- Mexican Passport Photo 35 × 45 mm · white
Comparing print sizes across every country in one place is easier on the passport photo size comparison page.