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Government photo specs are usually written in millimetres or inches, but every upload portal checks pixels. Here's the conversion for every common format.
Government photo requirements are almost always published in physical units — millimetres (most of the world) or inches (the US). But when you upload a photo to an online portal instead of handing over a print, the portal checks pixels, not millimetres — and it converts using a specific resolution (DPI, dots per inch) that isn't always stated on the same page as the size requirement. Get the DPI wrong and the pixel count is wrong, even though you used the "correct" millimetre size.
The formula is simple once you have the right DPI: pixels = (millimetres ÷ 25.4) × DPI. Almost every country and test-registration portal in this list uses 300 DPI, the print-quality standard — at 300 DPI, a 35×45mm photo becomes 413×531 pixels (35 ÷ 25.4 × 300 ≈ 413.4, rounded down; 45 ÷ 25.4 × 300 ≈ 531.5, rounded down). A handful of US government portals specify the pixel count directly instead of a physical size, which sidesteps the conversion question entirely — but those same portals often also enforce a strict file-size cap that a naive high-quality export blows past.
The most common format worldwide — the UK, all Schengen/EU countries, India (since Sept 2025), Australia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and most of Asia.
US passport, DV Lottery, and most US visa photos. The DV Lottery portal enforces exactly 600×600px; DS-160/DS-260 accept a 600×600 to 1200×1200 range.
Canada — the largest of the major passport formats. Also used for Brazilian passports.
UK's HMPO online renewal service specifies a higher pixel count and a specific file-size band for its digital upload path, distinct from the printed-photo dimensions.
Why does the same 35×45mm size give different pixel counts on different sites?
Because they're using a different DPI in the conversion. 300 DPI is the standard for print-quality photo submissions and what the vast majority of government portals use, but a site using 200 or 250 DPI will publish a smaller pixel number for the same physical size. Always check what DPI a portal states, or use a tool that reads the pixel requirement directly from the source rather than recalculating it.
My photo is the right pixel size but still gets rejected — why?
Pixel dimensions are one of several checks. File size, aspect ratio, background colour, face position, and format (JPEG vs PNG) are all checked separately — matching the pixel count alone doesn't guarantee the file passes every other check.
Does resizing a photo in Photoshop or Preview give the exact pixel count I need?
It can, but naive resizing (drag-and-crop) rarely centres the face correctly relative to the frame the portal expects — most rejections after a manual resize are for face position (too high, too low, or too small), not the pixel count itself.
Verified 2026-09-04 · Per-country figures sourced from each linked spec page