An Indian passport application is made through Passport Seva, and the photograph appears twice - in the printed form where one is required, and as a file the portal accepts or refuses. They are the same picture with different constraints.
The photograph itself
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Print size | 35 × 45 mm (4.5 × 3.5 cm) |
| Face coverage | Roughly 70-80% of the frame |
| Background | Plain white |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open |
| Colour | Colour, matte or semi-matte finish |
| Age of photo | Recent |
| Glasses | Without glare, no tint; removing them is safer |
Note the finish. Several Indian document processes ask specifically for a matte or semi-matte print rather than gloss, because glossy prints reflect under a scanner and the scan is what ends up in the file.
The portal upload
Where the printed rules are relaxed, the upload is not. Passport Seva and the related portals specify an exact pixel size and a file-weight window with both a minimum and a maximum - a file that is too light is refused as well as one that is too heavy.
Because these numbers belong to a web form rather than to a regulation, they change more often than the print specification and differ between services - passport, visa, OCI and police clearance are not necessarily the same. The specification shown on the portal at the time you upload is the one that counts.
What does not change is the approach: export at the exact pixel size asked for, then tune JPEG quality until the file lands inside the window. Never resize the image to hit a file weight - see file size limits.
Common reasons Indian applications come back
- A glossy print that reflects when scanned.
- A background that is off-white or shadowed rather than plain white.
- Face too small in the frame - the 70 to 80 percent guidance is often missed by a wide margin when people submit a normal portrait.
- A file outside the weight window, in either direction.
- A scanned print instead of a digital original, which introduces paper texture and a colour cast.
Prepare digitally, print second
The reliable order is to produce the digital file first, to the portal specification, and then print the same file for any paper requirement. Doing it the other way - printing, then scanning the print for the upload - is how the texture and colour-cast problems arise.
IDShot carries Indian document presets with their pixel sizes and file-weight targets, exports the upload file directly, and prints a true-size sheet of the same photograph for the paper copies.
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.