The short answer
For the application you need a current biometric passport photo measuring 35 by 45 millimetres: taken from the front, neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes clearly visible, an evenly lit light background. Photo studios and suitable booths know the standard — say what the picture is for when you go.
A biometric passport photo is not a portrait, it is a measurement. It has to put a machine and a human being in a position to match your face against you — and almost everything that makes a picture nicer makes it worse for that.
What makes a photo fail
- Smiling with teeth showing — the mouth stays closed and the expression neutral
- Hair or a fringe over the eyes, eyes not fully visible
- Reflections in glasses, or a heavy frame covering the eyes
- Shadows on the background or across the face, uneven lighting
- Head tilted or turned instead of square to the camera
- A picture that is simply too old and no longer shows you
For the application we need a print, not a phone photo and not a file. If you are unsure, say at the studio or the counter that the picture is for a driving licence application — it will then be cropped correctly and checked.
Not the bad one, the lovely one. We are regularly handed a genuinely good photo of somebody laughing — and have to explain why that is the one that will not do. The second classic is sixteen-year-olds with a picture taken two years earlier. Nobody's face changes as fast as it does at that age.
Where to have it taken
At a photo studio, at a chemist with a photo service, or at a booth set up for biometric pictures. The difference is not the camera, it is having somebody tell you your head is at an angle. For an image that sits in a document for years, that is worth the small extra.
Glasses, head coverings, minors
- Glasses: allowed, as long as the eyes are fully visible and free of reflections. When in doubt, take them off
- Head coverings: only for religious reasons, and the face must be clear from forehead to chin
- Under-eighteens: same format, same rules — and a current picture
One is enough, two do no harm
The application needs one picture. A second in your wallet has nevertheless saved a few appointments — and for the job applications that come after a driving licence you will have it anyway.
Photo, eyesight certificate, first aid certificate and ID belong together at the first conversation — what else the application needs is set out separately. If you are not sure your picture will do, bring it along and ask at the office.
What to take away
A biometric photo does not have to please, it has to be comparable — neutral, square on, current. The expensive picture is the one that comes back because it was too flattering or too old and pushes the application two weeks down the line.