What the Australia visa photo is for
An Australia visa lets a foreign national enter, stay or work in Australia for a set period. The Australian visa system covers tourism, business, study, work and family reunion, and each visa type has its own criteria, conditions and length of stay. The common requirements for an Australian visa application include recent photos of the applicant, and the photo size on this page is the same whatever the purpose of the trip: 35×45 mm.
Types of Australia visa
The Department of Home Affairs groups the Australia visa options by the reason for the trip. Each group has its own eligibility criteria, conditions and duration of stay:
- Tourism — for people who come for leisure, holidays or sightseeing.
- Business — for meetings, conferences and exploring business opportunities.
- Study — for international students who want to get an education in the country.
- Work — for skilled and temporary workers and for people who seek permanent residency.
- Family reunion — for people who join family members already living there.
Start with the right Australian visa type, because it decides which form you fill in, which evidence you collect and how much you pay. The photo stays the same across all of them.
Money, health and character
Besides the passport and the photo, an Australian visa application often includes proof that you can support yourself during the stay, such as bank statements. Depending on the visa type, you may need to show health insurance cover, undergo a medical examination or provide police clearance certificates to meet the character requirements. Prepare these papers early, so that a police certificate or a medical appointment is not the last thing standing between you and the application.
Conditions after the visa is granted
Read the grant notice carefully. It lists the conditions of your Australia visa, for example whether you may work, how long you may study and whether there are travel restrictions. How long you can stay also depends on the visa type. Breaking Australian law or the visa conditions during the stay can lead to cancellation of the visa and to restrictions on future travel, so keep a copy of the notice with you and check the conditions before you change your plans.
Plan ahead
Leave enough time between the application and your travel dates. Processing depends on your circumstances, and some steps, such as a medical examination or a police certificate, depend on other people's appointments and timetables, not only on you. Make a simple list of everything your visa needs, tick each item when it is ready and submit only when the whole set is complete. If one document is still missing, it is better to wait for it than to send an incomplete set and fill the gap later. Check that your name, date of birth and passport number are typed exactly as they appear in the passport, and keep copies of everything you send. If several people in your household apply at the same time, keep a separate folder for each person, so that passports, certificates and other papers are not mixed up when you upload them.
Tracking the application
After you submit an online application, you follow it in the same ImmiAccount where you uploaded the documents. Processing times depend on the visa type and on your circumstances. Log in to the online account regularly to check the status of the application, and keep a note of your login details, until you receive the decision on your Australian visa.
Australia visa photo size in detail
The standard Australia visa photo size is 35 mm wide and 45 mm high, which is 3.5×4.5 cm. Inside that frame the head, from the chin to the crown, is about 35 mm tall, and there is a gap of about 3 mm between the top of the hair and the top edge of the photo. A photo that is the right size but with a head that is too small or too large is still the wrong photo, so the photo maker measures both the frame and the head.
For a printed Australian visa photo we prepare the file at 600 DPI, so the print stays sharp at 35×45 mm. For an online application the same photo is saved as a digital file that you upload to your ImmiAccount.
Background colour
The background of an Australia visa photo should be plain and light. Our template uses light grey (#eeeeee): no pattern, no objects behind you and no shadow of your head on the wall. You don't need a studio wall at home, because the AI replaces the background of your photo automatically and keeps the edges of your hair natural.
Online application or paper form
Most Australian visa applications are completed online through the ImmiAccount portal of the Department of Home Affairs. When you apply online, you attach the visa photo as a digital file together with the other documents, so a phone photo prepared online is enough. Some applicants submit the application at the nearest Australian embassy or consulate instead; if you need a printed photo, print the Australia visa photo at 35×45 mm. The official source for this document also includes form 1419 on the immi.gov.au website.
Documents you send with the photo
The photo is only one part of an Australian visa application. Depending on the visa type, you usually also need:
- A passport valid for at least six months beyond the planned stay in Australia.
- The completed visa application form for your visa type.
- Recent passport-sized photos that meet the Australian visa photo requirements.
- Proof of enough money to support yourself during the stay.
- Health insurance, if your visa type requires it.
- Police clearance certificates and medical examination results, if they are requested.
Steps of the Australian visa application
- Choose the visa type. The Department of Home Affairs lists every Australian visa on its website.
- Gather the documents. Prepare the passport, the visa photo and the other evidence for that visa.
- Complete the application form. Most forms are filled in online in ImmiAccount.
- Pay the visa fee. The fee depends on the visa type and is paid online during the application.
- Submit the application online or at the nearest Australian embassy or consulate.
- Wait for processing. Processing times vary; you can check the status in ImmiAccount.
- Receive the decision. If the visa is granted, the grant notice lists its conditions.
- Travel to Australia with a copy of the visa grant notification.
Australia visa photo size in pixels
When you print a 35×45 mm photo at 600 DPI, the file is about 827×1063 pixels. That is enough detail for a sharp print, and the same photo works as the digital visa photo you upload online. If you resize an Australian visa photo yourself, keep the 35:45 proportions: stretching a square photo to the visa size distorts the face, and cropping it too tightly cuts off the top of the head or the chin.
One photo size for every visa purpose
Whether you apply for a tourist visa, a business visa, a student visa, a work visa or a family visa for Australia, you prepare the same 35×45 mm visa photo. The visa type changes the form, the fee and the documents, while our photo maker uses the same photo size for each of them. Students who go to study in Australia, skilled workers, people who visit family and travellers who come for sightseeing can all use one visa photo made online with our tool.
What the AI checks in your visa photo
Before you download the Australia visa photo, the photo maker checks the points that matter most for this document:
- The photo size is 35×45 mm and the head is about 35 mm tall.
- There is about 3 mm of space between the hair and the top edge of the photo.
- The face is centred, the head is straight and both eyes are open.
- The background is plain and light, without shadows or objects.
- The photo is sharp, evenly lit and not edited with filters.
If the photo passes, you download it right away. If something is wrong, the online tool tells you what to fix, for example to step closer to a window or to take off your glasses, and you can take a new photo in a few seconds.
Uploading the visa photo to ImmiAccount
For an online Australian visa application, download the digital visa photo to your phone or computer and attach it in ImmiAccount together with your passport and the other evidence. Use the file exactly as the photo maker saves it: do not crop it again, take a screenshot of it or send it through a messenger app that compresses photos, because each of those steps can change the size and the quality of the photo.
Printing an Australian visa photo
If you submit your application at an Australian embassy or consulate and need a paper copy, print the visa photo at its real size of 35×45 mm. Our printable file is prepared at 600 DPI, so you can print it at home on photo paper or at any photo printing service. Check the size with a ruler after printing: a visa photo that is scaled down by the printer is no longer 35×45 mm.
Visa photos for children
If you are making a visa photo for a child, our tool uses the same 35×45 mm frame and the same photo size rules. Taking a visa photo of a small child is easier at home than in a studio: place the child in front of any wall in daylight, hold the phone at the child's eye level and take several photos. Our online tool picks up the face, replaces the background and checks the photo, so you only need one good shot where the child looks at the camera.
How to take a good visa photo at home
You don't need a photographer for an Australian visa photo. A recent phone takes a sharp enough photo, and the photo maker does the cropping and the background. What matters is the light and your pose:
- Stand or sit facing a window in daylight, so the light falls evenly on both sides of your face.
- Ask someone to take the photo from about one to two metres away, or take a selfie with your arm stretched out.
- Keep the camera at eye level. A photo taken from below or above changes the shape of the face.
- Look straight into the lens, keep your mouth closed and don't smile widely.
- Pull hair back from your eyes and the edges of your face.
- Take several photos and upload the sharpest one.
Glasses, clothes and hair in the photo
For the visa photo we recommend taking off glasses: lenses reflect the window light, and thick frames can cover the eyes, and either of these can make a photo fail the check. Wear everyday clothes in a colour that is different from the light background, so the edge of your shoulders stays visible in the photo. Remove hats, sunglasses and large headphones. If you cover your head for religious reasons, keep the whole face visible from the chin to the forehead.
Light and shadows in a visa photo
Light is the part of the photo that people most often get wrong. A ceiling lamp throws shadows under the eyes and the nose, a lamp on one side darkens half of the face, and a flash makes skin shiny and leaves a dark shadow on the wall. The best light for a visa photo is soft daylight from a window in front of you. On a sunny day, step back from the window or close a thin curtain so the sun does not hit your face directly. If the room is dark, turn on more lights rather than using the flash of the phone.
The shadow on the wall behind you disappears when the AI replaces the background, but shadows on the face stay in the photo. That is why the online check looks at the face: if one side is much darker than the other, it asks you to take a new photo in better light.
Checklist before you submit the photo
- The photo size is 35×45 mm, or the digital file has the same proportions.
- Your head fills most of the photo, about 35 mm from chin to crown.
- The background is plain light grey with no shadows.
- Your face is sharp, evenly lit and looks like you do today.
- Your eyes are open and visible, without glasses or hair over them.
- The file has not been cropped, compressed or filtered after download.
If every point is true, the Australian visa photo is ready for the online application or for printing.
Why a visa photo is sent back
A photo that does not match the Australian visa photo requirements can cause problems with the application, and you may end up taking a new photo anyway. The usual reasons are simple: the wrong photo size, a head that is too small in the frame, a dark or busy background, shadows on the face, a blurry photo or a photo changed with a filter. Each of these can be seen before you apply, and the AI check of the photo maker looks for all of them, so you find out in seconds, before you apply.
Making the photo yourself or in a studio
A photo studio or a pharmacy photo booth can make an Australian visa photo, but you need to go there, wait and pay for a set of prints you may not use if you apply online. With an online photo maker you take the photo at home whenever it suits you, see the result right away and take another photo if you don't like the first one. The AI crops the photo to the visa size, places the head at the right height and replaces the background, which are the steps a photographer would otherwise do by hand.
Cropping a photo by hand
You can crop a photo in any editor, but getting every measurement right is harder than it looks. The frame has to be 35×45 mm, the head about 35 mm, the gap above the hair about 3 mm, and the face in the centre. If you crop by eye, the head is usually too small and the photo shows too much of the shoulders. The photo maker measures your face in the photo and builds the visa photo around it, so the size and the position of the head come out right for each photo you upload.
A photo that looks like you
The visa photo identifies you in the application, so it should show how you look now, not how you looked years ago. Don't use make-up filters, skin smoothing or face slimming apps, and don't edit the eyes, the nose or the shape of the face. The AI only changes the background and the crop of your photo; it does not change your features. If you have recently changed your look a lot, for example grown a beard, take a new photo for the visa.
Using an older photo
A visa application asks for a recent photo, so a photo from several years ago, from another visa or from social media is not a good choice. Old photos are often the wrong size, have a coloured background or a different hairstyle. It takes less time to take a new photo and let the online tool turn it into an Australia visa photo than to edit an old one.
Digital photo or printed photo
Both versions come from one photo. The digital visa photo is the file you upload online in ImmiAccount; the printable photo is the same picture at 35×45 mm and 600 DPI for a paper form. You can download either one, so if you are not sure how you will apply, keep both files. The photo maker checks the photo once, and the size and the background are the same in both versions.
Family applications
When a family applies for Australian visas together, each person needs their own visa photo in the same 35×45 mm size. You can make all the photos online one after another: upload a photo of each family member, check each result, and download the files with clear names so you attach the right photo to the right application.
Keep your visa photo file
Visa conditions and length of stay differ between visa types. If you later want to stay longer, you may need to apply for a new visa before your current visa expires, and that application may ask for a photo again. Save the digital Australia visa photo you download today so you can reuse it while it is still recent, or make a new one online in a minute.
One photo for the whole application
If you also need a new passport photo, compare the requirements first: the Australia passport photo page shows the size and rules for an Australian passport. For other Australian ID documents, see the list of Australia documents further down this page.
