Austrian passport photo size
An Austrian passport photo is 35 mm wide by 45 mm high, no older than six months, with the head at most 36 mm from chin to crown. The background must be one light colour, ideally grey. Bring it printed on smooth glossy paper, or have a photographer send it as an eBild.
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What the authority specifies
- Photo size
- 45 mm by 35 mm
- Pixels at 300 DPI
- 413 x 531
- Background
- one light colour, ideally grey, with no pattern and no shadow
- File size
- No limit published
- Source
- www.bmi.gv.at
- Read at the source on
Each size on this page was read at the issuing authority's own website, not copied from another converter or from a search result.
The page it came from and the date it was read are printed above, so you can check the same source in one click.
Why this size?
Austria's rule is section 4 of its Passport Implementation Regulation, which ties the photo to the EU's 2004 regulation on biometric passports. The Interior Ministry's criteria page repeats it, and adds the 36 mm ceiling and the preference for grey.
The paper rule has a reason. A print you bring is cut out at the office and scanned onto the passport, so smooth glossy paper matters more than it seems.
Since February 2024 a photographer can skip the print. They send the photo to the eBild system and give you a code, and the office fetches the photo with it. The print is still accepted.
In Tyrol, every district authority now also has a photo booth of its own, at no extra cost, whose pictures go straight into the application.
Where the pixel figure comes from
Passport offices publish millimetres, not pixels, because the photograph is printed. Turning millimetres into pixels needs a resolution, and most authorities do not name one.
This one does not, so the pixel figure above is 300 DPI, the resolution print shops work to. The millimetre measurement is the requirement; the pixel figure is our arithmetic on top of it.
The file you download records that resolution in its header, so a print dialog set to actual size uses it instead of guessing at 72 or 96 DPI and printing the photo several times too large.
That matters if you are uploading rather than printing.
An online form usually states its own pixel size or file size limit, and where an authority publishes one this page uses that instead of converting anything.
Check before you submit
Requirements change, and the only version that counts is the one on the authority's own page on the day you apply.
Every size here links to the page it came from and shows the date it was read. If that date looks old, spend a minute at the source before you print anything.
What happens to your photo?
Your selected photo is processed in your browser, without an image upload to a server. The page may download code and codecs needed for editing.
Save your result before closing the tab; unsaved edits are kept in memory rather than in an online account.
Common questions
What size is an Austrian passport photo?
35 mm wide by 45 mm high, in colour and portrait format. The regulation writes it the other way round, 45 by 35 millimetres upright, which is the same photo.
The head, chin to crown, should fill about two thirds of it and must not be taller than 36 mm. High hair may run off the top.
The centres of the eyes must be at least 8 mm apart, and 10 mm is ideal.
Should the background be white or grey?
The regulation asks for one light colour with no pattern. The Interior Ministry's criteria say ideally grey: medium grey if your hair is light, light grey if it is dark.
Neither text names white, for or against. There must be no shadow on the background, and nobody and nothing else in the photo.
Can I upload my own photo for an Austrian passport?
No. There is no form where you upload your own photo.
The digital route is the eBild. A professional photographer or photo retailer sends the photo to the eBild system and gives you an image code, on paper or by SMS.
The office fetches the photo with that code. The system is offered to photographers and retailers, not to the public.
Can I print an Austrian passport photo at home?
Nothing we read says who must take a printed photo. What the regulation describes is the print: in colour, no older than six months, on smooth, glossy paper without a surface texture.
The ministry names a honeycomb pattern as the texture to avoid, and asks for a high print resolution. A matte print does not meet that wording.
What size is an Austrian passport photo in pixels?
Austria does not publish one. The ministry asks only for a high print resolution.
This tool makes 413 by 531 pixels, which is 35 by 45 mm at 300 DPI, and saves 300 DPI in the file so a print shop prints it at size.
Can I wear glasses or a head covering?
Glasses are allowed if your eyes are clearly visible: no reflections on the lenses, no tinted lenses or sunglasses, and no frame across the eyes.
A head covering is allowed only for religious or medical reasons. Your face must then show from the bottom of the chin to the forehead, with no shadow on it.
Is an Austrian passport photo the same as a German one?
The size is the same, 35 by 45 mm, but the route is not. A passport office in Germany no longer accepts a print. It takes the photo itself, or a registered provider sends it digitally.
Austria still takes the print you bring, and offers the eBild as a choice rather than a rule. Austrian consulates abroad, such as Munich's, ask for the same print.
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