India runs several separate document systems, and each publishes its own photo requirement. A photograph prepared for a passport application is a reasonable starting point for an OCI or e-Visa application and is not automatically valid for it.
Where they differ
The passport. A 35 by 45 mm print on a plain white background, with a portal upload that has its own pixel and file-weight window. Covered in Passport Seva photo size.
The e-Visa. A square digital photograph, uploaded with the application, with its own minimum and maximum file size. The square format is the important difference - a 35 by 45 mm crop is the wrong shape entirely.
The OCI card. Its own dimensions and file window, and an application that also requires a signature image with its own specification. The signature is the part people forget until the form asks for it.
Because these are set by the application systems, the numbers move. The page you are uploading through is the only reliable source, and every preset should link to it.
What stays constant
Across all Indian applications the appearance rules are stable and strict:
- Plain white background, evenly lit, no shadow.
- Face square to the camera, filling most of the frame.
- Neutral expression, mouth closed, both eyes open and visible.
- No glasses where they can be removed, and never with glare or tint.
- No headwear other than religious, and the full face visible.
- Colour, no retouching, recent.
The square format catch
If an application asks for a square photograph, cropping a 35 by 45 mm photo into a square does not produce a valid image. The proportions of the original crop put the head and eyes in positions that were correct for a 35 by 45 mm frame and are wrong for a square one.
The right move is to go back to the uncropped photograph and crop it again to the new format. This is exactly why keeping the original is worth the storage: a crop is a decision you may need to make twice.
The signature image
OCI applications ask for a signature scan alongside the photo, with its own dimensions and file limits. Sign in black ink on unlined white paper, photograph or scan it straight-on in even light, and crop tightly to the signature with a small white margin.
IDShot carries Indian presets for the passport, e-Visa and OCI separately - each with its own dimensions and file targets - so re-cropping from the original for a different application takes one tap rather than a new photo session.
Requirements are changed by the authorities that publish them, and the official page is the only source that settles an argument. Each preset in IDShot links to that page, so you can confirm the current wording before you submit.