Get a Chinese Visa Photo
Take a photo for a Chinese visa application at home—save time and money.
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Snap the perfect biometric passport photo in under 3 minutes!
Find out just how simple it can be!
Take or upload a photo
Use a photo you already have or take a new one. We'll double-check it and make sure it passes all compliance tests.
Get your photo tuned-up by AI
Our AI system will crop, resize, and adjust the background of your image.
Get expert verification
One of our experts will carefully review your passport photo, providing you with feedback in under a minute!
Sylwia is a skilled writer with a BA in English Studies and an active SPJ member. For nearly three years now, she's been writing captivating articles for international companies, turning her lifelong passion into a career.
Our leading expert with 5+ years of hands-on experience in biometric photography, Mateusz has assisted countless global customers in taking photos for their official documents—this has earned him the rank of expert in photo requirements.
Chinese Visa Photo Requirements
A Chinese visa picture must meet several basic requirements:
- Size: 33 x 48 mm
- Background color: White or close to white
- Recency: No older than six months
- Quality: Free of shadows, pixelation, or poor lighting
- Lighting: No over or underexposure. Your natural skin tones must be reflected
- Filters: No digital alterations or social media filters
Chinese visa photo size
Below are the additional size requirements for your visa picture:
Your head should measure 28–33 mm in height and 15–22 mm in width from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head. The photo must also include part of your shoulders, ensuring the distance from your chin's base to the image's bottom edge is less than 7 mm.
Additionally, there must be a 3–5 mm white space between the top of your head (including hair) and the upper edge of the image.
Digital Photo
A digital photo for a visa to China must comply with the following additional rules:
- Size: 354–472 pixels in height and 420–560 pixels in width
- Face width: 191–251 pixels
- Eyes: Positioned at around 256 pixels from the bottom edge
- Top white space: 10–70 pixels (measured from the top of the head)
Submit your digital image as a JPEG file sized between 40 and 120 KB.
Note: Bring two printed photos to your interview if you're submitting your visa picture digitally.
Other Chinese visa photo specifications
Both digital and printed pictures for a Chinese visa application must meet a list of additional criteria.
| Criteria | Description |
| Facial Expression | Neutral—eyes open and mouth closed. |
| Ears | Must be visible. |
| Glasses | Acceptable if the frames don't obscure the eyes and there's no glare on the lenses. |
| Head coverings | Allowed only when worn for religious reasons. Headgear mustn’t obscure the face. |
| Clothes | Avoid white or light-colored clothes, uniforms, and camouflage patterns. |
How to Take a Chinese Visa Photo with PhotoAiD
Getting a visa photo can be stressful. With PhotoAiD® for iOS or PhotoAiD® for Android, it doesn’t have to be.
Here’s how our Chinese visa photo app works:
1. Choose and upload a picture
Browse your photo gallery to find a suitable self-portrait and upload it to our editor. You can also take a new picture following the in-app instructions.
PS. There’s no need to download our app. You might as well upload your image using this button:
2. Watch the AI magic happen
Within seconds, our advanced algorithms will replace the background with plain white, resize the image, and crop it to the required size.
3. Check the converted photo
Do you like the final result? If so, proceed to the next step and choose one of the delivery options:
- Email: Digital Chinese visa photo + a printable template for $16.95
- Mail: Digital photo + printable template + high-quality printouts for $19.95
Psssst! You can take as many pictures as you like (for free) before buying.
4. Proceed to payment
Finalize the order and give us a few more minutes. Our photography expert will check your image against all photo requirements for a Chinese visa. Here’s what can happen:
- No issues found: Your photo is 100% compliant.
- A free retake is required: The picture doesn’t meet the requirements. Whether it's blurry or the facial expression is wrong, our expert will give you instructions on how to retake it correctly.
5. Collect your Chinese visa photo
A digital copy of the photo will land in your inbox immediately after completing the payment. Did you opt for printed photos? Expect them in your mailbox within 2–3 business days, on average.
Why Take China Visa Photos with PhotoAiD®?
Get comfy at home, grab your phone, and snap a few pictures. End up with a result you’re 100% satisfied with!
Independence
No need to drive or wait in line. Take a photo wherever you are with only your smartphone.
Trusted service
Over a million users worldwide, 18 million photos processed, and thousands of 5-star reviews on TrustPilot.
Professional support
Questions or doubts about your photos? Our photography experts and support agents will be happy to help you out.
Acceptance guarantee
Once you place your order, our AI and human expert will verify your photo to ensure it's 100% compliant.
See What Customers Say
This is what our customers had to say about our service on Trustpilot:
I needed a digital photo for a Chinese visa application.
It was super easy to take the photo and SO QUICK for the digital file to come back.
It didn't meet the visa requirements in terms of picture definition but the PhotoAiD team were SO QUICK AND EFFICIENT in sending me a suitable photo in less than 2 minutes. So helpful, so efficient = highly recommended!
Nick Green (UK)
We needed photoes for visa to China, and PhotoAid team was very helpful, and really fast when we needed some extra adjustments, and some help with getting photoes ready for print. Speed of response was great and was exceeding our expectations! Highly recommend!
Jelena K. (SG)
Five stars plus! I used their photo twice and both times are accepted by China Consular Affairs online App. The same photo I submit without going through their online editing is rejected. So it is magic. The best part is there are behind the scene examining pictures and responding to your email. Great customer service. Highly recommend anyone having a hard time to the right Chinese passport photos. Also, I spent more money printed it at Walmart and was not a good color. Should pay them to get the paper print also.
Little Tiny House (US)
Chinese Visa Requirements for US Citizens
A new Chinese visa photo isn’t the only thing you’ll need to submit. Here’s a list of other documents US citizens must provide with the application:
- Passport valid for at least six months at the time of entry and two blank pages.
- Expired passport if it had a multi-year/multi-entry visa in it.
- Photocopy of your passport’s bio page.
- Filled out COVA form signed by hand.
In special cases, consular officers may request additional documentation.
Note: From January 1, 2024, US citizens no longer need to show a round-trip ticket, hotel reservation, itinerary, or invitation letter to enter China.
You might also be interested in:
- Vietnamese Visa Photo
- Malaysia Visa Photo
- Japanese Visa Photo
- Australian Visa Photo
- Indian Visa Photo
- Russian Visa Photo
- UAE Visa Photo
- Saudi Arabia Visa Photo
- US Visa Photo
- Schengen Visa Photo
Source:
Discover other documents we support
Frequently asked questions
A China visa photo size is 33x48 mm (printed photo), or 354–472 pixels by 420–560 pixels (digital photo).
Many big-box retailers and pharmacies (CVS or Walmart) offer ID photo-taking services. However, you should contact a preferred provider and ask if they take Chinese visa photos, as the requirements differ from US standards.
Yes, and it’s very simple. Try PhotoAiD®, our Chinese visa photo editor, to take a photo that meets all official guidelines. We offer a 100% compliance guarantee—or we’ll refund your money.
You can’t. According to the Chinese visa picture requirements, your photo must be 33x48 mm, whereas a 2x2 photo measures 51x51 mm.
Glue one picture to the form and clip the second. Don’t staple Chinese visa application photos.
The easiest ways to crop your visa photo are the following:
- Use our free photo cropper online.
- Use our China visa photo app (PhotoAiD® for iOS or PhotoAiD® for Android), which will crop the image and give you an acceptance guarantee, thanks to expert verification.
A photo for a Chinese visa has different size requirements from those commonly used in the US. With PhotoAiD®, you can easily take a photo and let our experts resize it to meet all official guidelines.
Yes, you can take photos for a Chinese visa or passport at Walgreens. Expect to pay $16.99.
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