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Thailand · Visa

Thailand Visa Photo Requirements

Every visa applicant provides a photo — the size on this page comes from Thailand's national paper Visa Application Form [3], while the official e-Visa portal (thaievisa.go.th) states its own separate digital-photo requirements for the online upload [1].

TH Issuing authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand Applies to Every visa applicant provides a photo — the size below comes from Thailand's national paper Visa Application Form [3], while the official e-Visa portal (thaievisa.go.th) states its own separate digital-photo requirements for the online upload [1]
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Specifications

Every measurable requirement, in the same order on every country page. Bracketed numbers point to the official source below.

Printed photo
Photo size 3.5 × 4.5 cm (35 × 45 mm) [3]
Head height (chin to crown) Not specified by the authority
Eye position Not specified by the authority
Background Plain, light-coloured background (no spots, lines or curves) [1]
Print resolution Not specified by the authority
Paper Not specified by the authority
Copies required Not specified by the authority
Digital upload
Pixel size Not specified by the authority
File format JPG or JPEG [1]
File size ≤ 3 MB [1]
Colour Not specified by the authority
Validity
Taken within Within the last 6 months [1]
Also specified
Head height — e-Visa photo (share of frame) 70–80% of the photo's height, centred and looking forward [1]
Face alignment — e-Visa photo Face centred, aligned from crown to chin and from the left ear to the right ear [1]
Brightness and contrast — e-Visa photo Appropriate brightness and good contrast between the face, hair and background [1]
Reflection or glare — e-Visa photo Photo must be free from reflection or glare [1]
Other people or objects — e-Visa photo There must be no other people or object in the photo [1]
Automated quality check — e-Visa upload The uploaded photo is automatically checked against the ICAO photo-quality standard [1]
Background — Common Mistakes in applying for Thai e-Visa guidance, Royal Thai Embassy, Bucharest White background [2]
Photo source — Common Mistakes in applying for Thai e-Visa guidance, Royal Thai Embassy, Bucharest Do not use a photo cropped from your passport; submit a proper passport-type photo [2]
Photo count — Visa Application Form, Royal Thai Embassy, Hanoi One (1) photograph [4]
Photo count and background — Non-Immigrant Visa (B) form, Consulate-General, Penang 2 photographs; white or blue background accepted [5]
Photo requirements — Non-Immigrant Dependant 'O' visa, Consulate-General, Mumbai Two photographs, white background, matt finish; the applicant's signature is required on the back [6]
Photo count — visa document checklist, Royal Thai Embassy, Abuja Four photographs [7]
Photo requirements — Non-Immigrant 'O-A'/'O-X' visas, Royal Thai Embassy, Dili Three (3) photos, 4 × 6 cm; the 'O-A' category specifies a white or blue background [8]
Photo requirements — Official Visa (F) category, Royal Thai Embassy, Pretoria Two photographs, 2 × 2 in [9]
Photo count — Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) checklist Three (3) photographs (for applicants of specific nationalities); no size or background is stated for this category [10]
Photo requirements — visa document checklist, Royal Thai Embassy, Seoul Colour photo, taken in front of a white background, full-face view directly facing the camera; must not be the same as the photo in the applicant's current passport [11]
Format — digital document submission, Royal Thai Embassy, Manama .jpg or .jpeg only [12]
35 mm 45 mm
Black — photo size 3.5 × 4.5 cm (35 × 45 mm).

Rules

What is allowed and what is refused. Same ten rows on every page; “Conditional” means allowed only as described.

Expression Required Neutral expression, with the mouth closed [1]
Eyes Required Eyes must look straight at the camera; the red-eye effect must not be visible [1]
Glasses Conditional Each eye must be visible, free from reflection or glare from glasses; sunglasses, tinted glasses, glasses frames, or hair must not cover the eyes [1]
Head covering Not specified
Hair Not specified
Ears Not specified
Clothing Conditional Appropriate attire is required — a photo showing the applicant shirtless, or wearing a tank top or a strapless top, will be rejected [2]
Retouching / filters Not specified
Shadows and objects Not specified
Infants and children Not specified
Plain background, even light, head upright
Shadow on the background
Glasses over the eyes
Hat or non-religious head covering
Head tilted or turned
Head too small in the frame

Notes and common mistakes

Two separate photo specifications, not one

The e-Visa portal defines its own rules for the digital upload — background, head framing as a share of the frame, and file format and size limits — separately from the physical print size stated on the national paper Visa Application Form [1][3]. This page keeps the two apart rather than blending them into a single figure.

The portal’s own quality check

Before accepting an uploaded photo, the e-Visa portal automatically checks it against the ICAO photo-quality standard, checks that the face is centred and aligned from crown to chin and from ear to ear, and checks for even brightness and contrast between the face, hair and background [1]. A separate check confirms the photo is free from reflection or glare, and that no other person or object appears in the frame [1].

A photo must look like the applicant now

Guidance on common e-Visa mistakes published by the Royal Thai Embassy in Bucharest warns applicants against uploading a photo cropped from their passport photo page, asking instead for a properly taken passport-type photo [2]. Separately, the Royal Thai Embassy in Seoul’s visa checklist states that the submitted photo must not be the same as the one already in the applicant’s current passport [11].

Mission checklists do not all agree

Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates publish their own required-documents checklists for the visa categories they process, and these checklists do not all state the same photo count, size or background for the paper route. Each mission’s own figure is listed separately under its own name in the “Also specified” group, rather than merged into one national number.

Countries with the same photo size

35 × 45 mm Australia Canada Egypt France Germany Ireland Italy Japan Netherlands New Zealand Pakistan Portugal Schengen area Singapore South Korea Taiwan United Kingdom

Questions

Does Thailand's e-Visa portal state a photo size in centimetres or inches?

No — the portal's own upload guidance states only how large the head should be as a share of the photo's height, not a printed size in any unit [1]. A physical size for the printed photo is stated separately, on the national paper Visa Application Form [3].

Why does the background rule look different depending on which official Thai page I read?

The e-Visa portal's own upload screen asks only for a plain, light-coloured background [1]. A separate applicant guidance document published by the Royal Thai Embassy in Bucharest is more specific, and states the background must be white [2].

Can I reuse the photo from my passport for a Thai e-Visa application?

No — guidance on common e-Visa mistakes published by the Royal Thai Embassy in Bucharest tells applicants not to submit a photo cropped from their passport, and to submit a properly taken passport-type photo instead [2].

What clothing gets a Thai e-Visa photo rejected?

The same guidance states that a photo showing the applicant shirtless, or wearing a tank top or a strapless top, will be rejected [2].

Do all Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates ask for the same number of photos?

No. The Royal Thai Embassy in Hanoi's copy of the Visa Application Form states a different photo count than the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Penang's copy of the Non-Immigrant Visa (B) form [4][5], and embassy checklists in Dili and Pretoria each state their own size for the specific visa categories they process, differing from the national paper form [8][9].

Sources

Every value above is taken from the following official documents. If a source disagrees with this page, the source is right — tell us. Report an error.

  1. [1] Photo upload requirements — Thailand Electronic Visa (e-Visa) System, thaievisa.go.th (application interface text)
    https://www.thaievisa.go.th/assets/index-9WHx9MR9.js
  2. [2] Common Mistakes in applying for Thai e-Visa — Royal Thai Embassy, Bucharest
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/TkZZJfspCP/%E0%B9%8DYear_2024/E_Visa_2024/Common_Mistakes_EVisa_Jan2024.pdf
  3. [3] Visa Application Form — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand (national paper template)
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/2QL32ZatFo/Visa_application.pdf
  4. [4] Visa Application Form — Royal Thai Embassy, Hanoi
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/CTULfho83e/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%A5/Doc_Visa/Visa_Application_Form_RTE_HANOI.pdf
  5. [5] Non-Immigrant Visa (B) for Employment — Royal Thai Consulate-General, Penang
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/3fsjzRYZ2e/VISA_FORM/NON-IMMIGRANT_VISA_(B)_FOR_EMPLOYMENT_-_To_be_employed_in_Thailand-new.pdf
  6. [6] Requisite Documents for Non-Immigrant Dependant 'O' — Royal Thai Consulate-General, Mumbai
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/aEnE4s0wEj/migrate_directory/services-20190129-142314-004072.pdf
  7. [7] Document Checklist — Royal Thai Embassy, Abuja
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/xPBEVeSDJi/Document_checklist_form.pdf
  8. [8] Non-Immigrant Visa — Royal Thai Embassy, Dili
    https://dili.thaiembassy.org/en/page/non-immigrant-visa
  9. [9] Official Visa (F) — Royal Thai Embassy, Pretoria
    https://pretoria.thaiembassy.org/en/page/f-official-visa?menu=62abc39d61c2ee26b42b3a23
  10. [10] Checklist of Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/n3gTFT2TOE/Visa_Requirements/Checklist_DTV.pdf
  11. [11] Required Documents for Visa Application — Royal Thai Embassy, Seoul
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/bE5KohkHoq/_7-14_DAYS__All_required_documents_for_visa_application_5SEP2024_1.pdf
  12. [12] Non-Immigrant Visa (B) Requirement — Royal Thai Embassy, Manama
    https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/qcuTAU8W4b/Visa_requirement/NON_IMM_B_2024-03-17.pdf