Get your perfect biometric photo (compliance guaranteed)
You save time and money - take a biometric photo conveniently without leaving home
As the third-largest country in the world, the most populated nation and one of the most ancient civilisations with over 5000 years of history, China definitely has a lot to offer. You may want to visit the Middle Kingdom for its breathtaking landscapes and landmarks, profusely diverse culture, culinary discoveries or swarming cities. Regardless, though, if you are travelling to China from Australia, you will need to procure a Visa for entry, and the application process requires you to submit a Chinese Visa photo that fits specific requirements. Check out how we can help you with this below.
To apply for a Chinese Visa, you must submit an online form and provide two identical colour photos taken within the last 6 (six) months. The Chinese Visa application photo must meet certain criteria for it to be accepted—the first one being that it must not be older than 6 (six) months. Keep reading to learn about the rest of them.
On this page, we provide a comprehensive guide on how to take a valid photo for a Chinese Visa by yourself and with minimal expenditure. Keep reading to learn more about all the photo requirements and what you can do to ensure your Chinese Visa photo is compliant.
The required format and other size criteria differ depending on whether you are submitting a printed photo or a digital one, so pay attention to the following:
These rules may appear hard to follow thoroughly, especially if you are taking and cropping the picture by yourself. However, it does not have to be that much of a hassle. If you just choose to use our photo resizer, your picture will be automatically adjusted to fit the required format. Additionally, you will not have to worry about whether the photo is accepted, as PhotoAiD provides a 100% guarantee that it will be.
In the Chinese Visa photo, the background must be white, free of any object, shadow, reflection, or pattern. Finding a suitable background can be a very challenging endeavour, but our Visa photo background remover can do it for you. Once your picture is uploaded, the incorrect background is removed by our program and replaced with a compliant one, plain white.
The photo submitted in your application must have a minimal resolution of is 600 dpi (digits per inch). Most smartphone photos largely exceed this quality threshold anyway. More generally, your photo should be in colour, not be blurry, nor include any damage or impurities for the printed version.
The use of natural light is highly recommended. It is best to shoot the picture during daytime to capitalise on daylight, and avoid any flash to prevent skin reflections and red-eye effects. Your face should be evenly lit on both sides and have a natural skin tone. The photo should be neither overexposed nor underexposed, with no shadows or reflections on your face or in the background.
Additionally to being centred and occupying about ⅔ of the picture, your face must be turned directly towards the camera with your eyes staring into the lens. It should not be tilted or shifted to one side. Your full face, neck, and shoulders included, have to be visible.
Your facial expression on the Chinese Visa photo should be as neutral as possible, with your mouth closed and your eyes fully opened. Showing teeth, smiling, frowning or grimacing is forbidden.
Any form of accessories, including but not limited to, jewellery, piercings, sunglasses, large hair decoration, or earbuds are prohibited. Even if some of these items may not hide your face, they could potentially cast shadows on it. Only accessories worn for medical purposes, such as hearing aids, are permitted.
Prescription glasses are allowed as long as their lenses are not tinted nor have a glare on their surface. Furthermore, their frame must not obscure your face in any way. If you do not need eyeglasses for medical reasons or to be worn all the time, you had better take them off to prevent any risk of refusal.
Your hair and head cannot be covered by any headgear. The only exception is if you need one for medical or religious reasons. Regardless, you should remember that your face, eyes, eyebrows, and ears must be entirely visible and unshaded.
Any hairstyle is acceptable so long as your face and ears remain bare, clear of any strand of hair or shadow. If you have long hair, the best thing is generally to tie them or push them from your face to the side. Your hair may touch the edges of the frame if it is voluminous. On the other hand, beards, moustaches or any sort of facial hair is not a problem.
There is no specific rule regarding what clothes to wear on a Chinese Visa photo. You can simply stick with your everyday outfit. It is, however, advisable to avoid white or light clothes as these colours may blend with the background. Darker or coloured clothes will prevent this concern.
As a rule, makeup is tolerated on Visa photos, though it should not alter your facial features too significantly. Nonetheless, any average amount of makeup should not be an issue.
Now that you are fully informed of the specifications that Chinese Visa photos are required to meet, you may be wondering how to proceed exactly. We are going to give you a couple of directions and pieces of advice for you to shoot a compliant and satisfactory photo for your Chinese Visa.
You can simply go ahead and observe the following instructions:
If the result does not satisfy you, you can resume the process as many times as needed! This is one of the many compelling advantages of taking Visa and ID photos from home and edit them with an online tool. There is no limit on the number of attempts you get, you only pay for a photo that you are content with.
We are assuming you do not want your Chinese Visa application to be rejected for something as futile as attaching a photo that does not meet one criterion. If this is your case, you may want to take a look at the most commonly made mistakes reported by our Chinese Visa photo experts.
The list of the most common reasons that stop Chinese Visa applicants from having their photo approved is as follows:
It might sound like a hassle to keep all these rules in mind. However, if you choose our service and happen to have forgotten about one or more of them, our software will let you know and you will be able to start over for free!
Once you have a satisfactory photo of yourself on your mobile, the next step is to convert it into a compliant Chinese Visa photo. Regardless of what means you select to do so, it only takes a handful of actions to have it done.
You can obtain the adequate photo format directly online. All you need to do is submit your picture on this page by clicking on the ‘upload a photo’ button. Our software does the rest, including:
If satisfied, you can download the resulting picture in digital format or order a delivery of the paper print to your physical address. You can also choose to download the digital version and print it at a local store.
Either way, your Chinese Visa photo comes with a guarantee of acceptance: if the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre refuses your application on the basis of a non-compliant Visa photo, you will receive a refund worth double the amount you invested in our service.
It is also possible to have your photo taken and edited exclusively on your smartphone. The features of the PhotoAiD app are exactly the same as the PhotoAiD website, excepted that you get to prepare an application-ready picture on one single device. This app is available on iPhone and other Apple devices, entirely for free. Download the PhotoAiD app for iOS.
Android devices are also supported by our Visa photo-making app. To have a photo booth directly on your Android smartphone that does everything from photo taking to editing and checking, download the PhotoAiD app for Android. It is completely free.
If you are still doubtful about the benefits of using an online tool in order to take a compliant photo for your Chinese Visa application, you may want to consider the following:
Last update: 30/6/22
❓ What are the Chinese Visa photo requirements?
The most essential photo requirements for a Chinese Visa application are:
This list expands for quite a bit longer. Please check out the top of this page for a detailed list.
For your convenience, you may simply use a dedicated Visa photo generator (like this one) that takes care of most of these aspects for you.
❓ What is the required size for a Chinese Visa photo?
For a paper submission of your Chinese Visa, the required photo dimensions are 33 x 48 mm. For a digital submission, the format is 472-560 pixels in height and 354-420 pixels in width. Consider using our automatic Visa photo cropping tool to have these directly adjusted online.
❓ Can I get a China Visa from Australia?
Yes, of course, you can apply for a Chinese Visa as an Australian citizen or as a citizen of any country. You need to gather the required documents and go to or send an email request to the China Visa Application Service of your consular district (see the list below).
❓ Do I need a Chinese Visa from Australia?
If you are not a citizen of Brunei, China, Japan, or Singapore and want to cross the Chinese border, then you need a Chinese Visa. If, however, you only have a flight connection on the Chinese territory and do not plan on leaving the airport, you can transit without a Visa thanks to China’s visa-free transit policy. In all other cases, however, you do need to submit a Visa application and receive your Visa before your departure date.
❓ Where to take a Chinese Visa photo in Australia?
The best place to do it is from home! By following the guide on this page, you will be able to take an adequate picture of yourself that our software will review for compliance, resize and edit with background removal.
❓ Where to print a Chinese Visa photo in Australia?
By using the PhotoAiD website, you can download a printable version of your Chinese Visa photo and have it printed at your nearest photo service (you can find one in most supermarkets). You can also ask to be delivered a photo print directly to your home within 2-3 days.
❓ What is the best Chinese Visa service?
Depending on your consular district (ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, or WA), you must submit your Chinese Visa application to the relevant Chinese Visa Application Service (CVAS). Please consult the information below to find out which CVAS you need to reach out to. Furthermore, if you looking for the best place to take a Chinese Visa photo, the answer is also on this page.
The Chinese Visa is a document that enables non-Chinese citizens to enter and exit the People’s Republic of China (PRC) territory, crossing the border by land, sea or air. This permission is issued to foreign citizens by the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre. You may apply through a Chinese embassy or consulate in your country. The subsequently obtained Visa is affixed to your Australian passport.
There are multiple types of Visas, the most popular of which being a tourist Visa which has a validity of 15 days. Bear in mind that exiting China also requires you to possess a valid Visa. Therefore, you must have left the country by its expiry date.
Foreign entry to China is granted for numerous purposes, including sightseeing, education, work, business, permanent residence, etc. The Visa you need to apply for varies depending on your travel motive.
The L-category Visa, valid for a duration of 15 days, is the most commonly used Visa type among entrants. It is intended for those who are travelling to this country for tourism.
There also exists, among others, a business Visa, the M Visa for commercial and trade activities (valid for three months), and a study Visa, the F Visa for exchanges, visits, study tours and other similar activities (valid for 30 days). You may also apply for a double or multiple entry Visa if you are planning on returning to China one or several more times.
Most requirements, such as the Visa photo specifications, are the same from one Visa type to another.
In Australia, you want to submit your Visa application to the relevant Chinese Visa Application Services (CVAS) depending on your consular district. These are located at the Chinese Embassy in Canberra (for those living in ACT or NT), the Consulate General in Sydney (NSW), that of Melbourne (VIC and TAS), Perth (WA), Brisbane (QLD), and Adelaide (SA).
You may register your application in person at your consulate district’s CVAS, or through email by writing to them. To do so, you need to type canberra / syd / mel / perth / bne / adl + [email protected] in the address box.
Either way, you have to specify the Visa type you are applying for, check the detailed requirements and prepare the list of documents that we compiled below.
Since February 2021, you also need to have all ten of your fingerprints collected at your nearest CVAS, unless you are one of the following:
Processing fees highly differ depending on the Visa type you are requesting and your place of residence. To inquire about the specific rates applicable to your case, you may visit the website of your CVAS.
The processing time is usually 10 (ten) working days for email applications, and 4 (four) working days for in-person applications.
However, delivery times may change on a case-by-case basis, so it is highly advisable that you anticipate as much as you are able to, and ideally start applying a month before your intended departure date.
A next working day rush service and a third working day express service are available, but please note that the rush application service is only available for those applying in person, and that extra fees are applicable.
Along with your compliant Chinese Visa photo, you need to prepare the following documents:
All of the above have to be attached to your application email or taken with you when you are applying in-person.
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