Australian citizenship photo: online and paper rules, and what Home Affairs recommends
A citizenship photo has two sets of rules, and which one applies depends on how you lodge the application.
Online, it is a digital JPEG between 70 Kb and 3.5 Mb, preferably 1200 × 1600 pixels — and it cannot be a scan or a photograph of a printed photo. On paper, it is a printed passport-sized photograph.
Two rules apply either way and catch most people: the photo must be no more than 6 months old, and it must be unedited. The Department of Home Affairs spells the second one out further than any other authority we have read.
Online and paper are different files
This is the practical fork, and it is easy to miss because both sets sit on the same page.
| Published rule | |
|---|---|
| Online applications | Digital JPEG between 70 Kb and 3.5 Mb. Preferred resolution 1200 × 1600 pixels. A scan of a photo, or a photograph of a photo, is not acceptable. |
| Paper applications | A passport-sized printed photograph. |
The line that catches people out is the last one on the online row: a scan of a photo, or a photograph of a photo, is not acceptable. If a shop gives you prints and you photograph them with your phone to upload, that file does not qualify. Ask for the digital copy to be emailed to you.
Our Australian citizenship (online) photo size page and paper photo size page list the millimetre and pixel values side by side, and the size converter will do the arithmetic.
Photo quality
The photo must:
- be no more than 6 months old
- show your full face
- be of good quality, in colour, taken against a neutral or light grey coloured background that contrasts with your face
- be unedited — the department spells this out: “do not remove background, moles, wrinkles, scars or red eyes”
- have a clear, focused image with no marks or red eye
- have uniform lighting, with no shadows or reflections, and appropriate brightness and contrast to show natural skin tone
- have no brighter or darker areas of the face caused by lighting or exposure
That editing list is the most explicit of any authority we have read. It rules out background replacement by name, and it rules out the ordinary beautifying that phone cameras sometimes apply on their own. If your camera has a smoothing or beauty mode, turn it off before you shoot.
Your full-face view
Ensure your:
- face is centred and looking at the camera straight on, not tilted in any direction
- hair is off your face, so the edges of your face are visible
- eyes are open and mouth is closed
- expression is neutral — not smiling, laughing or frowning
Glasses, head coverings and jewellery
Glasses must be removed. The only exception is a medical one: if you cannot remove them for medical reasons they should be untinted, the frames must not obscure your eyes, and there must be no reflection from the lenses. The department adds a sentence that answers the obvious question: “Vision impairment alone is not an acceptable reason to wear glasses in a citizenship photo.”
Head coverings worn for religious reasons are allowed. They have to be worn so your whole face is visible from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, with the edges of your face on either side visible including the outer eye corner, and the covering must be plain material without any patterns.
Jewellery must not obscure any part of your face, especially around the eyes, mouth and nose, and there must be no reflection from nose rings or studs.
Babies and infants
For infants under 3 years of age, a photo with an open mouth is acceptable. Everything else still applies, and no other person or object can be visible in the photo.
What Home Affairs recommends, and the two reasons it gives
The department states a preference about where the photo comes from, and it is worth reading in full rather than second-hand:
“We recommend you have your photo taken by a professional passport photograph provider and have a digital copy of the photo emailed to you. We recommend the Australian Post Office.” … “We don’t recommend using online passport photo services and mobile apps as images produced may not meet our image quality requirements. Also, you may be in danger of identity fraud.”
One factual note about its status: it is a recommendation. The published photo requirements set out above do not name a required provider.
We make one of the apps in the category the department names, so rather than argue with it, here are the two reasons it gives alongside what PhotoSpec actually does. Read them side by side and decide for yourself.
| What the department says | What PhotoSpec does |
|---|---|
| Images produced may not meet its image quality requirements | Shows the Australian citizenship figures published above before you shoot, guides the framing by voice, and checks the photo before you save. It crops rather than editing the picture, and it does not replace the background. |
| You may be in danger of identity fraud | The photo is processed on your phone and stays on your phone. It is not uploaded to us and we do not keep a copy. |
We are not going to tell you what to conclude from that table. The department’s recommendation stands as published, and the second column is a description of how the app works, not a claim about whether your application will be accepted. That decision is the department’s, on the photo you submit.
Before you submit — the short version
- No more than 6 months old.
- Neutral or light grey background that contrasts with your face.
- Unedited — no background removal, no retouching of moles, wrinkles, scars or red eyes.
- Face centred and straight on, hair off the face, eyes open, mouth closed, neutral expression.
- Glasses removed unless there is a medical reason.
- Online: JPEG, 70 Kb–3.5 Mb, preferred 1200 × 1600, and not a scan or a photo of a photo.
Frequently asked questions
Does Home Affairs accept photos taken with a phone app?
The published photo requirements do not name a required provider — they describe the photo. Separately, the department recommends a professional passport photograph provider and says it does not recommend online photo services and mobile apps, giving two reasons: image quality, and identity fraud. Whether a particular photo is accepted is decided by the department when you lodge the application.
What file size and resolution does the online application need?
A digital JPEG between 70 Kb and 3.5 Mb, with a preferred resolution of 1200 × 1600 pixels.
Can I photograph or scan a printed photo to upload it?
No. The department states that a scan of a photo, or a photograph of a photo, is not acceptable for online applications.
Can I wear glasses?
Glasses must be removed. The exception is medical, and vision impairment alone is not an acceptable reason.
What background is required?
A neutral or light grey coloured background that contrasts with your face.
My baby will not close their mouth. Is that a problem?
For infants under 3 years of age, a photo with an open mouth is acceptable, provided the photo complies with all the other requirements and no other person or object is visible.
Sources
Everything here comes from the issuing authority’s own pages. Where the official wording is ambiguous or differs between documents we have said so rather than picked a number. Our sourcing policy is described in sources and verification.
- Department of Home Affairs — Photo requirements for citizenship applications: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au — Photo requirements for citizenship applications
Last checked 10 September 2026. Rules change — check the authority before you submit.