South Korea Passport Photo Requirements 2026
Written and fact-checked by the PassportLayout team · Last verified:
Official requirements from the passport portal of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (외교부), checked against the source on the date above.
Quick Summary
35×45 mm colour photo, uniform white background, expressionless face with mouth closed and no teeth showing. Head length 3.2–3.6 cm from crown to chin. No coloured or circle lenses, no retouching or AI edits. Taken within 6 months of applying.
Photo Dimensions
A South Korean passport photo measures 3.5 cm wide by 4.5 cm tall (35 × 45 mm). The specification, which the foreign ministry publishes on its official passport portal (passport.go.kr), follows the standard set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — the photo becomes the biometric reference used at immigration gates worldwide, which is why the rules are enforced strictly. The current standard was last revised in October 2022.
The photo must be a colour photograph of the upper body, taken facing straight ahead and bareheaded, and printed without borders. It must be a genuine photograph: erasing the backdrop in software or compositing the subject onto a white background is specifically ruled out.
Head Size and Position
The head must measure between 3.2 and 3.6 cm in the frame, and the ministry is precise about the endpoints: from the crown — the highest point of the head excluding hair (정수리, 머리카락을 제외한 머리 최상부) — down to the chin. Voluminous hairstyles therefore don't buy you any margin; the measurement is anatomical, not cosmetic. The face sits centred in the frame with the shoulders squared towards the camera.
Hair must not cover the eyebrows or the outline of the face — cheekbones and cheeks included. Notably, the current rules stop short of the old studio custom of demanding fully exposed ears: hair over the ears is tolerated as long as the eyebrows and facial contour stay clearly visible.
Background
The background must be uniform white, free of ink marks, borders, and shadows. Unlike Japan (pale blue tolerated) or Germany and France (grey preferred, white discouraged or banned), Korea insists on white — and on an authentic one. Photos whose background has been erased or replaced digitally, however clean the result, are refused because the edit itself breaks the rules.
Expression and Pose
The required expression is 무표정 — expressionless: mouth closed, no teeth showing, no smile. Both eyes must be open naturally and looking straight into the lens, without red-eye. One nuance worth knowing from the ministry's guidance: a small catchlight (light reflection) in the pupils is acceptable, provided it does not affect the shape or colour of the pupils and identification remains possible — so studio lighting reflections alone won't sink a photo.
For infants aged 36 months or younger the same standards apply in a softened form — a slightly open mouth is tolerated — but no toys, chair backs, or a guardian's hands may appear anywhere in the frame.
Glasses and Contact Lenses
Ordinary prescription glasses are permitted under two conditions: no light may reflect off the lenses, and the frames must not cover any part of the eyes. Sunglasses and glasses with tinted lenses fail automatically. The rule Korean applicants trip over most often, though, concerns lenses you can barely see: cosmetic, coloured, and circle (iris-enlarging) contact lenses are all prohibited, because they change how the eyes photograph.
Attire and Head Coverings
The photo is taken bareheaded. Hats, caps, and hair accessories that obscure the head are not allowed; the exception is religious clothing worn every day, and even then the entire face — forehead to chin — must remain visible. Clothing that covers the neck is acceptable as long as it doesn't hide the outline of the face, so turtlenecks pass where a wound scarf might not. Plain clothing that contrasts with the white backdrop photographs best; avoid white tops that dissolve into the background.
No Retouching — Including AI
Korea's photo studios are famous for flattering retouching, and the ministry has responded with one of the most explicit editing bans anywhere: photos altered with editing software or photo filters are not accepted, and the ministry's photo regulations spell out that the prohibition covers material that has been edited, processed, composited, or created using AI. Skin smoothing, eye enlargement, jaw slimming — any of it can void the photo and, discovered later, cause real trouble at a border.
Photo Recency
The photo must have been taken within 6 months before the application date and must show your current appearance. If you have changed hairstyle dramatically, had surgery, or otherwise look different, take a new photo — the issuing officer compares it against you and against your previous passport photo.
Digital Photo Specifications (Online Applications)
South Korea accepts online passport renewals for eligible adults, and the portal also offers an online photo pre-check service. For uploaded files, the guidance published on passport.go.kr recommends:
- Pixel dimensions: 413 × 531 pixels (the 35:45 ratio)
- Resolution: 300 DPI recommended
- Composition: identical face-size and background rules as the printed photo
Complete Specifications Table
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Photo size | 35 × 45 mm (3.5 × 4.5 cm), borderless |
| Head length | 3.2–3.6 cm, crown (excluding hair) to chin |
| Background | Uniform white, no shadows, no digital replacement |
| Expression | Expressionless, mouth closed, no teeth showing |
| Glasses | No reflections, frames clear of eyes; no tinted lenses or sunglasses |
| Contact lenses | Coloured, cosmetic, and circle lenses prohibited |
| Head coverings | Religious daily wear only; full face visible |
| Editing | No retouching, filters, or AI-edited/generated images |
| Recency | Within 6 months of application |
| Digital upload | 413 × 531 px, 300 DPI recommended |
Common Rejection Reasons
- Retouched, filtered, or AI-edited photos — including subtle skin smoothing
- Background digitally erased or person composited onto white
- Head length outside 3.2–3.6 cm
- Coloured, cosmetic, or circle contact lenses
- Teeth visible, smiling, or non-neutral expression
- Hair covering the eyebrows or facial outline
- Reflections on glasses or frames crossing the eyes
- Shadows on the face or background
- Photo older than 6 months or not matching current appearance
- Toys or a guardian's hands visible in an infant's photo
Tips for a Compliant Korean Passport Photo
Shoot against a genuinely white, evenly lit wall — don't plan to clean the backdrop up in software, because the edit itself disqualifies the photo. Push hair off your eyebrows, remove circle lenses well before the shoot, take glasses off if the lighting causes any glare, and hold a relaxed, closed-mouth non-expression. Wear a colour that separates you from the white wall.
Then use PassportLayout.online to frame the shot: the red, blue, and green guide lines place your crown, chin, and centre so the head lands inside the 3.2–3.6 cm band, and the layout engine prints a full 300 DPI sheet of 35×45 mm photos. Everything runs in your browser — the photo never leaves your device, and nothing is retouched.
Create your Korean passport photo for free
Crop to the exact 35×45 mm specification with the head at 3.2–3.6 cm — free, private, and unedited.
Create your South Korea passport photo — freeFrequently Asked Questions
Do my ears have to be visible in a Korean passport photo?
Not any more. Korean photo studios traditionally tucked hair behind the ears, but the current MOFA rules do not demand exposed ears. What they do require is that hair must not cover the eyebrows or the outline of the face — cheekbones and cheeks included. If your hairstyle leaves the eyebrows and facial contour clearly visible, the photo passes.
Can I wear glasses or coloured lenses in a Korean passport photo?
Ordinary glasses are allowed only if there is no light reflecting off the lenses and the frames do not cover the eyes. Sunglasses and glasses with tinted lenses are not permitted, and cosmetic, coloured, and circle contact lenses are banned outright because they alter the appearance of your eyes.
Can I retouch or AI-edit my Korean passport photo?
No. MOFA explicitly refuses photos altered with editing software or photo filters, and the ban extends to anything edited, processed, composited, or generated with AI. Erasing the background or compositing your face onto a white backdrop is also not allowed — the white background must be real.
What size should a Korean passport photo be for online applications?
The printed photo is 3.5 × 4.5 cm with the head measuring 3.2–3.6 cm from crown to chin. For online submissions MOFA recommends a digital file of 413 × 531 pixels at 300 DPI — the same proportions as the printed format.
Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea — 여권용 사진 규정 (Passport photo regulations, passport.go.kr) — official specifications, standard revised October 2022 (verified 7 July 2026)
- ICAO Doc 9303 — Machine Readable Travel Documents — international biometric portrait standard