# Vietnam Passport Photo Maker, 40x60 mm

Country: Vietnam

Document: Passport

Page language: en

Page: [Vietnam Passport Photo Maker, 40x60 mm](https://onedollarpassportphoto.com/vn/passport/)

Requirements last verified: 2026-07-30

## Photo specifications

These are document-specific values from the page data. Printed and digital requirements may apply to different application routes; consult the guide and sources below.

| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Photo dimensions | 40 × 60 mm |
| Photo paper | Glossy or matte |
| Photo age | Taken within 6 months |

## Appearance and composition

- Background: Plain white background only, no patterns or shadows
- Head size: Face 32-36mm from chin to crown, roughly 53-60% of the 60mm photo height
- Glasses: Not permitted.
- Even lighting; no harsh shadows.
- Filters, beauty modes and retouching are forbidden.
- Color photo.
- Head coverings are permitted for religious reasons; check the source for conditions.
- Uniforms are restricted; check the source for exceptions.
- No earphones or wireless devices.

## Common rejection reasons

### Non-white or patterned background

The background must be plain white with no patterns, shadows, or objects behind you.

What to do: Stand in front of a plain white wall, or use our automatic background replacement.

### Wearing glasses

Glasses can reflect light and obscure the eyes, which causes rejection.

What to do: Remove glasses before taking the photo.

### Wrong head size

The face must run 32-36mm from chin to crown on the 60mm photo. Too small or too large is rejected.

What to do: Frame the head so it fills roughly 53-60% of the photo height.

### Photo too old

The photo must have been taken within the last 6 months and reflect your current appearance.

### White clothing

A white shirt blends into the white background and blurs the edge of the shoulders.

What to do: Wear darker or colored clothing.

### Blurry or low quality

The photo must be sharp and clearly show facial features. Blurry or low-resolution photos are rejected.

## Source for the document requirements

[Source linked by the document page](https://vnembassy-bangkok.mofa.gov.vn/en-us/Consular%20Services/Specific%20procedures%20application%20forms/Pages/Visa.aspx)

The complete guide below includes additional sources and application-specific qualifications when available.

## Create a photo with One Dollar Passport Photo

The service sizes, crops and checks a photo for the selected document. Its output settings are service choices, not additional government requirements.

- Digital photo download: $1 USD.
- Print-ready sheet download: $5 USD. Printing is separate.
- Optional human expert review: +$4.99 USD.

[Open the photo tool](https://onedollarpassportphoto.com/vn/passport/)

Complete Guide

## Vietnam passport photo: the 40x60mm spec and the two ways to submit it

Vietnam runs a 40x60mm photo that's taller than the regional standard, captured at the Immigration counter for the passport itself but uploaded as a JPG for the e-visa. Here's the spec, the two channels, and how to keep a photo from bouncing.

Written by

Jake

Community & Writing, One Dollar Passport Photo

Reviewed by

Lisa

Expert Reviewer, One Dollar Passport Photo

Fact-checked & verified

June 30, 2026

## The official requirements

The number that trips people up is the size: Vietnam wants **40×60 mm (4×6 cm)**, taller than the 35×45 mm photo most of the region shares, so a print cut to a neighbouring country’s spec won’t fit. The rest of the rule set:

-   **Size:** 40×60 mm (4×6 cm), portrait
-   **Background:** plain white, no patterns, shadows, or objects
-   **Head size:** the head fills **43–53% of the photo height** (26–32 mm chin to crown). The 40 mm width is the constraint here, not the height, which is why the head share is lower than the “70–80%” figure floating around for square photos
-   **Expression:** neutral, both eyes open, looking straight at the camera
-   **Glasses:** not allowed, even clear prescription lenses
-   **Recency:** taken within the last 6 months
-   **Color:** color only

One quiet trap lives inside that list: a **white or very pale top** blends into the white background and is the single most common avoidable rejection. Wear a dark or clearly coloured collared top so your shoulders read as a separate shape.

## Counter photo vs. e-visa upload

Vietnam doesn’t have one photo process, it has two, and which rules bite depends on what you’re applying for:

-   **Vietnamese passport (in person).** The photo is taken **at the Immigration Department counter** when you lodge the application. There’s no upload and no retake queue, so the thing you control is what you show up in: hair tidy, glasses off, a dark top. Some routes also ask you to bring two identical printed 40×60 mm photos, so carry a pair just in case.
-   **Vietnam [e-visa](https://onedollarpassportphoto.com/vn/eVisa/) (visitors).** This is digital only. You upload a **JPG portrait file under 1 MB** to the same 40×60 mm standard, plus a separate scan of your passport data page. The portal keeps the two in different slots, and putting the data-page scan in the portrait slot is a common self-inflicted rejection.

If you’re a traveller reading this, you almost certainly want the e-visa path. If you’re a Vietnamese citizen renewing a passport, the counter handles the photo and the sections below about shooting and file specs apply only to the practice shot you take to check your appearance.

## How to shoot the upload version

For the e-visa upload (or a counter practice shot), a phone photo against a wall is enough if you set it up right:

1.  Stand 4–6 feet from a plain white wall, far enough that no shadow falls behind you.
2.  Light yourself evenly from the front. Face a window; overhead light drops shadows under the eyes and nose.
3.  Wear a dark or clearly coloured top, never white.
4.  Have someone else shoot it from chest height, straight on. A selfie at arm’s length bends the nose and forehead out of proportion.
5.  Neutral expression, both eyes open, hair clear of the face, glasses off.

Then crop to 40×60 mm with the head filling 43–53% of the frame before you export.

## Why photos get rejected

The portal and the counter bounce the same handful of problems. Each one and its fix:

-   **Background isn’t plain white:** a wall pattern, a shadow, or an object behind you. Move further off the wall and add front light.
-   **Glasses left on:** even clear lenses glare and hide the eyes. Take them off; Vietnam allows no exception short of a documented medical one.
-   **White or pale top:** blends into the background so the shoulders vanish. Switch to a dark colour.
-   **Head wrong size:** too small reads as low quality, too large crops the crown. Aim for 26–32 mm chin to crown.
-   **File rejected on format or size:** covered in detail below; this is e-visa specific.
-   **Photo older than 6 months:** it has to match how you look now.

## The e-visa file rules (472×709, JPG, 1MB)

The e-visa portal is stricter about the _file_ than most photo guides admit, and these are the rules that get a perfectly composed photo rejected at upload:

-   **Format: JPG/JPEG only.** PNG and PDF are refused outright. A phone that saves HEIC needs converting first.
-   **Pixel size: 472×709 px.** That’s 40×60 mm at roughly 300 dpi. Smaller and it reads as low-resolution.
-   **Max size: 1 MB.** A modern phone photo is often 3–5 MB straight off the camera, so you’ll usually need to compress it down.
-   **One portrait per slot.** Keep the face photo and the passport data-page scan clearly named so you don’t upload one into the other’s field.

When we ran a 40×60 mm photo through our own [photo checker](https://onedollarpassportphoto.com/photo-checker/) against the Vietnam spec in June 2026, the head-height check enforced the **43–53%** range to the point that a crop framed to the wrong “70–80%” figure failed on head size before any of the file rules even applied. The composition has to be right _and_ the file has to be right; the two checks are independent.

## Where to get your photo

For the **passport**, the counter is the only place the official photo is made, so “where to get it” really means where to produce the e-visa upload (or a counter practice shot). The honest comparison:

| Option | Price | Speed | Digital file | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Immigration Department counter | included in application fee | taken on the spot | no | the passport photo itself (no choice here) |
| Local photo studio (Vietnam) | ~50,000–100,000₫ | 10–15 min | sometimes | printed 40×60 mm if a route asks for prints |
| Pharmacy/print shop abroad | $12–17 | 5–10 min | rarely sized to VN | a printed photo in a pinch, often wrong size |
| Our online tool | $1 | ~2 min | yes, JPG sized + compressed | the e-visa upload, file already under 1 MB |

For the e-visa specifically, the file rules above are where most people get stuck, so a tool that exports a correctly sized, sub-1 MB JPG saves the compress-and-retry loop. Whichever route you use, the photo only counts if it clears every rule in the first section.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I reuse my passport photo for the e-visa?** Only if it meets the e-visa _file_ rules: a JPG under 1 MB at 472×709 px. A printed counter photo won’t, and a scan of it usually fails on quality. Shoot or export a fresh digital file for the upload.

**My passport is 35×45 mm from another country. Can I use that size?** No. Vietnam is a 40×60 mm spec. A 35×45 print is too short and too narrow, and the head ratio won’t match. Re-crop to 40×60 mm.

**Do I need printed photos for the passport, or just show up?** The counter takes the official photo, but some application routes still ask for two identical 40×60 mm prints on file. Bring a pair so a clerk asking for them doesn’t send you back out.

**Are glasses ever allowed?** Only with a documented medical reason, and even then the eyes must be fully visible with no glare. For everyone else it’s an automatic rejection, clear lenses included.

**The portal rejected my upload but the photo looks fine. Why?** Almost always the file, not the face: wrong format (PNG/HEIC instead of JPG), over 1 MB, or the data-page scan dropped into the portrait slot. Check those three before reshooting.

### Sources & References

This guide is fact-checked against official government publications and updated regularly to reflect the latest requirements.

1.  \[1\]
    
    [Vietnam National E-Visa Portal — Photo guidance](https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/faq)
    
    evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn