Greek Passport Photo Online

Every country has certain standards and measurements that need to be respected when taking a passport photo. To apply for a Greek passport, the following rules need to be followed:

• The Greek passport photo size has to be 40 mm x 60 mm without a frame. 
• The face should cover about 31 to 35 mm of the length of the picture. 
• The width of the face should cover about 20 to 25 mm of the picture. 
• The picture needs to be recent and should not be older than 6 months at the most.
• The photo should be taken in front of a neutral/white background.

Greek passport photo for your baby

For small children or babies, photo dimensions might be different and smaller, which shouldn’t prevent them from getting accepted. PhotoAiD® tool is the perfect solution for a baby passport photo - you can take a photo at home, in a way that your child won’t even notice. Visiting a photographer can be a stressful experience, but with PhotoAiD® you are the photographer yourself, and the whole process will be fun.

How to pose for a Greek passport photo

The person should be looking straight into the camera for their Greek passport photo without turning their head to the side. Pictures in which too much side profile is shown will not be accepted. It is important that the eyes are open and the mouth is closed. The facial expression should be neutral, meaning no grimaces like squinting, frowning or raised eyebrows and no smiling, not even with a closed mouth.

Greek passport photo technicalities

When taking a picture for a Greek passport at home, it is crucial to pay attention to some technical details which a professional photo studio would normally do automatically. With the right technique and the appropriate app, it is still possible to take excellent passport photos from the comfort of one’s home.

Lighting in a Greek passport photo

The positioning and strength of the light sources are important for a good Greek passport photo. Shadows covering one side of the face or the eyes should be avoided. Exactly like shadows, so-called “hot spots” should be avoided as well. They appear when the skin strongly reflects the light in a certain area, which is shown as a white spot in the photo. Therefore it is best to shoot in a place with multiple light sources from different directions to get the best result possible.

Greek passport photo quality

The picture for a Greek passport should be printed in high quality without pixels or stripes on white photographic paper with natural colors. If there are shadows, spots or other flaws from printing, it might not be accepted. The same goes for exaggerated coloring of the face and the red eye effect. The distinction between head and background must be clear, which is also why a neutral background is so important. Any kind of filter or special effect of the lense (i.e. fish eye effect) is forbidden; overall the picture must look natural, realistic and recognisable.

Greek passport photo rules

Oftentimes people are wondering what exactly they are allowed to wear on a Greek passport photo and what kind of accessories are unproblematic. To sum this up in one simple sentence: The face and especially the eyes must be completely visible. However, there are also exceptions.

Glasses on Greek passport photos

Anything that covers too much of the face and especially the eyes is problematic for Greek passport photos. Colorful sunglasses or any glasses that reflect light in the photo and therefore cover the person’s eyes should be avoided. It is however recommended to wear glasses in the picture if this is usually the case. To avoid light reflection, it usually suffices to choose a slightly different angle from which to take the picture from. 

Hair on Greek passport photos

The same thing goes for the hair; it should never cover the eyes or the face and should be kept away from the face for the Greek passport picture, in case the hairstyle is naturally cut that way. Bigger or more bushy hair is no problem as long as the face is visible.

Head coverings on Greek passport photos

The head should be uncovered in Greek passport photos. This means, accessories like scarfs, hats and similar things are a no-go.

Greek passport photo exceptions

Sometimes however, people need to cover their head and face and can’t make an exception even when taking a photo for their Greek passport. The good news is that some exceptions are allowed.

Religious head coverings

Covering one’s head for religious reasons, for example with a hijab or a kippah is allowed in Greek passport photos. However, the face must be visible from the chin up to the forehead. 

Medical head coverings

If parts of the face must be covered during the photoshoot for a Greek passport for medical reasons, as ist the case with eye bandages, a medical certificate must be handed in additionally stating that the face is covered for health reasons.

Sources:

https://www.passport.gov.gr/en/ 

https://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/services/services-for-greeks/passport-information.html