Australian Visa Photo

Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, the US, China, and Brazil. Known as a home to many animal species, such as kangaroos, koalas, wombats, dingoes, and even the famed huntsman spider, which is considered to be one of the largest spiders in the entire world, and has a leg span of up to 15cm. If you are dreaming of seeing one of these majestic creatures or one of the beautiful Australian beaches and cities such as Sydney or Melbourne, you might need a visa.

According to the Henley Passport Index, Australian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 184 countries and territories, ranking the Australian passport 8th in terms of travel freedom. Read on to find out which visa you will need and how to take the right Australian visa photograph.

Australian visa photo requirements

The visa photo is one of the most important documents regarding visa applications. To be identified, you need a photo document or ID to be able to travel. However, no matter what the purpose is for your travel, all types of Australian visas (tourist, business or student visa etc.) are the same.

After reading this guide, you will know how to take an Australian visa photo and what are the general requirements regarding both visa pictures and the Australian visa application.

Size dimensions of Australian visa photo

The Australian visa photo size is 35 mm to 40 mm in width and 45 mm to 50 mm in length. The size of the face from chin to crown can be a maximum of 36mm, with a minimum of 32mm. When it comes to a digital Australian visa photo the dimensions and size in pixels is not specified, however the file size must be no bigger than 500kb.

To be sure that your picture has the right size, you can measure and crop it using the PhotoAiD site, or app, which is very easy to use. It verifies if the final photograph meets all of the official Australian visa requirements.

General requirements regarding Australian visa photo:

• Submit 2 (two) identical photographs in colour and printed on good quality paper.
• Photo must have been taken less than six months ago, printed using professional printing techniques, not from an inkjet printer.
• The picture has to be a clear, focused image with no marks or 'red eye'.
• The background has to be a plain white or light grey background that contrasts with your face. If you can’t arrange a good background, use the PhotoAiD background remover which will change the colour to the right one.
• Face centred and looking at the camera straight on.
• The head of the applicant cannot be tilted in any direction and has to be positioned straight.
• Hair should be pushed to the side of your face so that your facial features are fully visible.
• Eyes open, mouth closed.
• Neutral expression (no smiling, laughing or frowning).
• Digital manipulation of any kind (removing moles, wrinkles, scars or tattoos) is forbidden.
• Even lighting (no shadows or reflections) with appropriate brightness and contrast to show your natural skin tone.

Head covering

If you usually cover your head for religious reasons, you can have headwear on in your Australian visa photo. However, religious head coverings have to be plain-coloured, not be patterned and be worn in a way that shows your face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead and it must cast no shadows on your face. The edges of your face on either side also have to be visible.

Glasses

If you have to wear glasses for medical reasons, the frames can’t obscure your eyes and there cannot be any reflection from the lenses. Consider taking photos without a flash lamp in order to avoid the red-eye effect and glare from the glasses. Sometimes, you will have to show a medical certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner including the medical practitioner’s full name, registration number, the address and phone number of the medical practice.

Jewellery

Any accessories such as jewellery can’t obscure any part of your face, especially the area around the eyes, mouth and nose. Any reflections from rings or studs will cause the photo to be rejected.

Australian visa photo for babies and young children

Children, just like their parents, also need to have a visa with the right picture and even newborns need travel documents to be able to change countries or continents. This means that you have to apply for your baby’s visa or passport separately and submit at least 1 (one) photograph that meets the requirements. However, the rules for Australian visa photos for children are a little different than for adults. 

The main rule is that the child must be photographed alone (this refers to adults and infants). This means that no other people can appear in the background or close to the child. If a newborn is being photographed you might consider putting them on a white sheet to avoid your hands appearing in the photo. They cannot be holding any items such as toys, pacifiers, etc.

The difference between adult photos and an infants’ is in regards to their mouth, they have to be closed for parents but they can remain open for children. However, when it comes to the eyes they have to be open and clearly visible, whether the subject of the photo is an adult or a child. 

Other rules are the same for both regarding the head position, red eyes and lighting or retouching, etc. If you want to change something anyway, like the background colour or size of the photo, we recommend using the PhotoAiD tool which gives you a 100% guarantee that the photo will be accepted by any of the Australian institutions you will be sending the photo to.

Intelligent Australian visa photo tool

If you have decided to use our Australian visa photo tool, you need to know exactly how it works. Go to Photo AiD service or download our Visa Photo Mobile App that is available on the AppStore or GooglePlay store. If you decide to use our app you will be pleased to know that it works perfectly on any device so you can download it for an iPhone or a phone with Android.

The next step is to find a person who will take a picture, you can ask your friend or members of your family to help you. If you take a photo yourself, then you need to use a tripod. Upload the picture to our photo editor, which will resize the image to the Australian visa photo dimensions, and edit it by changing the background colour or removing any patterns.

The final step is to verify your picture.PhotoAiD checks the requirements for your country and only approves the right photos. You can order your visa-ready picture in a digital version via email and print it out yourself, or we can print photos for visa and deliver pictures straight to your door.