Hong Kong visa and passport photo size
A Hong Kong visa photo is 40 to 45 mm wide by 50 to 55 mm high, the size ImmD prints on its visa forms.
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A Hong Kong visa photo is 40 to 45 mm wide by 50 to 55 mm high, the size ImmD prints on its visa forms, and an online upload can be up to 5MB. An HKSAR passport photo is 40 by 50 mm on white, or a JPEG of at least 1200 by 1600 pixels.
What the authority specifies
Visa form
- Photo size
- 50 to 55 mm high by 40 to 45 mm wide
- Smallest accepted size, in pixels at 300 DPI
- 472 x 591
- Background
- not stated on the form
- File size
- up to 5 MB
- Read strictly
- At most 5,000,000 bytes, which your computer shows as 4.77 MB
- Source
- www.immd.gov.hk
- Source for the digital file requirements
- www.gov.hk
- Read at the source on
HKSAR passport
- Photo size
- 50 mm by 40 mm
- Minimum resolution published
- 1200 x 1600
- Smallest file that meets both rules
- 1280 x 1600
- Background
- plain white
- File size
- up to 5 MB
- Read strictly
- At most 5,000,000 bytes, which your computer shows as 4.77 MB
- Source
- www.immd.gov.hk
- 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?
Hong Kong's Immigration Department publishes two photo rules. Its visa forms, for a visit and for employment, ask for a photo no smaller than 40 by 50 mm and no larger than 45 by 55 mm. They name no background colour.
The passport rule is stricter: exactly 40 by 50 mm on plain white, with 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown. A white 40 by 50 mm photo meets both, so the visa form opens there, at 472 by 591 pixels.
For an online passport application, ImmD takes a JPEG of 5MB or below. A camera image must be at least 1200 by 1600 pixels, which is 3 by 4, while the print is 4 by 5.
So the HKSAR passport file here is 1280 by 1600, the smallest box that is both the print's shape and over the minimum. A scan of a printed photo at 600 dpi, ImmD's other route, is 945 by 1181.
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
Is a Hong Kong visa photo the same as a passport photo?
Not quite. The visa forms ID 1003A and ID 990A accept any photo from 40 by 50 mm up to 45 by 55 mm, and say nothing about the background.
The HKSAR passport needs exactly 40 by 50 mm on plain white. A white photo of that size meets both rules.
Is 1200 x 1600 pixels the right size for an HKSAR passport photo?
It is ImmD's minimum for a camera image, not a shape to crop to. 1200 by 1600 is 3 by 4, and the 40 by 50 mm print is 4 by 5.
A file of 1280 by 1600 is both over the minimum and the print's shape. Switch to HKSAR passport above to make it.
What file can I upload for an online Hong Kong visa application?
GovHK's page for online visit and transit applications takes one photo file as JPEG, PDF, GIF, PNG or TIF, 5MB or below, in colour. It states no pixel size.
The visa form opens here at 40 by 50 mm and 300 DPI, which prints at the right size too.
How big should my head be in the photo?
ImmD's passport rule asks for 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown on the 50 mm photo, with enough room above your head.
On a 1280 by 1600 file that is 1024 to 1152 pixels. The visa forms state no head size.
Can I wear glasses or a hat?
ImmD asks you not to wear head dress. It rejects a photo with a frame across your eyes, hair across your eyes or eyebrows, or a flash reflection on your face or glasses.
It also rejects a photo that is not centred, has a shadow, or is too light or too dark.
Is this the same photo as a China visa?
No. A Hong Kong visa is issued by Hong Kong's Immigration Department under its own rules. A mainland China visa asks for a different photo, 33 by 48 mm in print, and has its own page on this site.
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