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Indian visa photo requirements 2026 (e-Visa, tourist, business)

Every Indian visa — tourist, business, medical, e-Visa — uses the same photo spec: a 2×2 inch square photo on a plain white background, uploaded digitally to the Indian Government e-Visa portal or submitted in print at VFS Global. The Indian portal rejects roughly 1 in 5 uploads on the first try, almost always for background or file-size issues.

Official Indian visa photo specs

The specs come from the Bureau of Immigration India and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). They apply to every visa category, including e-Visa on Arrival, tourist visa (TVOA), business visa and medical visa.

  • Size: 2×2 inches (51×51 mm), square aspect ratio.
  • Background: plain white — no off-white, no gradient.
  • Face: 60–80% of the frame, centered.
  • Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open, looking at camera.
  • No head covering except for religious reasons.
  • Digital JPG only, 10 KB to 1 MB, minimum 350×350 px.

e-Visa portal — the 3 rules that trip most applicants

The Indian e-Visa portal runs an automatic photo check before accepting the upload. Three checks reject the majority of first-time submissions.

  • Background is not pure white (the portal uses RGB 250,250,250 as the minimum threshold).
  • File size is below 10 KB — most phone screenshots fall below this.
  • Face bounding box is off-center or the head is too small in the frame.

Business, medical and journalist visas

The same 2×2 in photo is used for every long-stay Indian visa: business, medical, employment, student, research and journalist. Only the supporting documents change — the photo spec never does.

Frequently asked questions

What size is an Indian visa photo?
2×2 inches (51×51 mm) square, same as a US passport photo. The Indian government migrated from the older 35×45 mm portrait in 2018 for online applications.
Can I use my US passport photo for an Indian visa?
Yes, if the background is pure white and the head size falls within the 60–80% face-to-frame range.
Why does the Indian visa portal keep rejecting my photo?
The three most common reasons are: background not pure white, file size below 10 KB, or face too small in the frame. IDReady.ai fixes all three automatically.
Do I need printed photos for an e-Visa?
No. The Indian e-Visa is 100% digital and only requires the JPG upload. Printed photos are needed for regular tourist or business visas submitted at VFS Global.

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