What the Spanish passport is
The Spanish passport is the official travel document for citizens of Spain. It proves your identity and nationality, lets you cross borders and return home, and is often needed when you apply for a visa to another country. It is a biometric passport: an embedded chip stores your personal data and biometric data such as fingerprints and facial recognition features. The booklet itself is 125 × 88 mm, typically has 32 pages and follows the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Because the chip stores your facial features, the passport photo has to be good enough for both a human officer and a machine to recognise you.
Spain passport photo size explained
Our template for the Spain passport photo is 40 × 53 mm, about 1.57 × 2.09 inches, in portrait format. Inside the passport photo frame your head is about 27 mm tall from the chin to the top of the head, and there is a gap of about 15 mm between the top edge of the photo and your hair. Your face is centred left to right in the frame. For a print, we prepare the file at 600 DPI so the photo stays sharp when it is cut to size. The photo guidance published by the Spanish Embassy in Berlin shows how a correct passport photo should look; check it, or ask the office where you apply, if you are unsure about the size they accept.
What makes a passport photo valid
Spanish passport rules ask for two recent colour photos that meet the ICAO standard. In practice this means:
- A plain white background with no shadows, patterns or objects behind you.
- Your full face in view, looking straight at the camera, head not tilted.
- A neutral expression with your mouth closed and both eyes open.
- Even light on the face, with no glare, red eyes or dark shadows.
- No sunglasses or tinted lenses; your eyes must be clearly visible.
- No hat, cap or hood that hides part of your head or face.
- A sharp, recent photo in true colour, without filters or retouching that changes your look.
Print both passport photos from the same file so they match. A photo that is too dark, blurry or cropped wrongly can be rejected at the appointment, and you would have to come back with new photos.
How to apply for a Spanish passport
To apply, you must be a Spanish citizen with a valid DNI, or a birth certificate if you have no ID card yet. Prepare these documents:
- Your DNI, the original and a photocopy.
- The passport application form, completed and signed.
- Two recent colour passport photos that meet the ICAO standard.
- Proof that you paid the passport fee, which depends on the passport type and your age.
Book your appointment online through Cita Previa DNI at a police station or passport office. At the appointment you hand in the form, documents and photos, the officer takes your fingerprints and photo for the chip, and you pay the fee if you have not paid it already. Processing usually takes around 10 working days, but it can vary with demand and location. You collect the new passport in person at the same office, with your DNI and the receipt from the appointment. Current fees and details are on the Policía Nacional passport page.
Renewal, lost passports and children
Adult passports are valid for 10 years, and passports issued to minors are valid for 5 years. To renew, follow the same steps and bring your old passport, your DNI and updated photos; a passport photo from your last application is no longer recent. If your passport is lost or stolen, report it to the police straight away and apply for a new one. A child applies with the consent of both parents or legal guardians, and both parents must be present at the appointment. Children follow the same passport photo rules as adults.
Passport photo for a baby or child
A passport photo for a child must meet the same rules as an adult passport photo: plain white background, face in full view, eyes open and no other person or hand in the shot. For a baby, lay the child on a plain white sheet and take the passport photo from above, with the camera parallel to the face so the head is not tilted. Wait for a calm moment when the baby's eyes are open and nothing covers the face. Take several shots in a row and choose the sharpest one; our tool then sets the background and crops the passport photo to the right size.
Printing your passport photo at home
After you download the free digital photo, you can print it at home on glossy photo paper, at a print shop or at a photo kiosk. Print at 600 DPI with no scaling, then cut along the edges so the photo is exactly 40 × 53 mm. Check the print against the size before you cut: a print that is a few millimetres off is a common reason a passport photo is refused. Use matt or glossy photo paper rather than plain office paper, which makes a passport photo look dull and grainy. You need two identical copies, so keep a spare in case one is damaged.
Digital passport photo or printed photo
Our file for this document is made for both a printed photo and online submission, so you get one file that works either way. For the appointment, bring two printed copies of the passport photo in the 40 × 53 mm size. If an office or an online form asks you to upload a passport photo instead, use the same digital file: do not scan a printed photo, because a scan loses sharpness and colour and often shows the edges of the paper. Keep the original file from our tool, in full size, so you can print more passport photos later without a drop in quality.
Passport photo at home or at a studio
A studio or a photo booth will take a passport photo for you, but you pay for each set of prints and you cannot check the result before you leave. At home you can take as many shots as you need, pick the best one and let the online check confirm that the passport photo meets the rules. The key points are the same in both places: plain white background, even light, a neutral face and the correct photo size. Our tool handles the background, the crop and the size, so you only need to get the light and the pose right.
How to check your passport photo before the appointment
Before you print, look at the passport photo at full size on your screen. Your face should be sharp, with clear eyes and no glare on the skin. The white background should be even, with no grey corners and no shadow behind your head. The head should sit in the middle of the photo, with the chin and the top of the hair inside the frame. After printing, measure the photo with a ruler: it should be 40 mm wide and 53 mm tall. If a single point fails, take a new passport photo rather than try to fix the print; it is faster than a second trip to the police station.
Glasses, hair and head coverings in a passport photo
The safest passport photo is one without glasses. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are not accepted, and even clear lenses can reflect light or hide the eyes behind the frame, so take them off for the passport photo. Push your hair away from the face so your eyebrows and eyes are fully visible; long hair can fall over the shoulders. A hat, cap or hood is not allowed in a passport photo. Keep jewellery and make-up simple so that nothing hides or changes the look of your face. A passport photo that follows these points saves you a second trip to the office with new photos.
Why a passport photo gets rejected
Most refused passport photos fail on simple points: the wrong size, a background that is grey or has a shadow, a head that is too small or too large in the frame, or a face that is not sharp. Light from one side leaves half of the face in shadow, and a flash can cause glare on the skin or red eyes. Hair over the eyes, a hand or another person at the edge, and a passport photo printed on paper that is too thin are also common problems. Our AI check looks at each of these points, so you know the passport photo is right before you print it.
Other Spanish documents
Each document has its own photo format. For the national ID card, see the Spain DNI photo page. Foreign residents in Spain need a TIE card photo or an NIE card photo, and visitors from abroad can make a Spain visa photo. A photo made for one document is not always the right size for another, so pick the matching page before you upload.
