How recent does a passport or visa photo have to be?
TL;DR Usually 6 months; Singapore, Myanmar and Mexico want less. ICA says 3 months for its passport and IC. Myanmar's eVisa says 3. Mexico's visa carries a 30-day figure. Almost everything else on this site is 6 months, and the UK visa is the strict outlier at 1. The rule is about your appearance matching, so a photo that still looks like you but is dated past the limit is still refused.
Why the limit exists
The checker compares the photo to the person at the counter or the camera at the border. A limit in months is the authority's proxy for "still looks like you". That is also why Korea and Japan add a second rule — the photo must not be one already used on a previous passport or ID — a fresh-looking reuse defeats the purpose.
How this site handles it
Each document's maximum age is shown on its page and in the table below, and the photo you upload should have been taken inside that window. The tool cannot make an old photo new; it can only format what you give it.
A spread of maximum ages, from strictest to usual
| Document | Size | Head in frame (as we compose it) | Background | Max age | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore passport | 35 × 45 mm | 56–78% | pure featureless white | 3 months | www.ica.gov.sg |
| Myanmar visa | 38 × 46 mm | 60–80% | plain white | 3 months | evisa.moip.gov.mm |
| Mexico visa | 26 × 32 mm | 60–80% | plain white | 1 months | embamex.sre.gob.mx |
| United Kingdom visa | 35 × 45 mm | 70–80% | cream or light grey | 1 months | www.gov.uk |
| Japan visa | 35 × 45 mm | 66–74% | plain white | 6 months | visa.vfsglobal.com |
| China visa | 33 × 48 mm | 58–69% | white or close to white, no edge frame | 6 months | bio.visaforchina.cn |
| Schengen visa | 35 × 45 mm | 70–80% | plain light-coloured — light grey or white | 6 months | home-affairs.ec.europa.eu |
| India visa | 51 × 51 mm | 49–69% | plain light-coloured or white | 6 months | indianvisaonline.gov.in |
A real case
A traveller's Japan visa photo was five months old — inside the limit — but it was the same one on her passport, issued the year before. Refused on the reuse rule, not the age.
Common questions
- Does "taken within 3 months" mean the file date or the day the picture was taken?
- The day it was taken. Authorities cannot check either reliably; they check whether you look like it. Do not submit one that is older than the limit even if nothing has changed.
- I used the same photo for my passport last year. Can I reuse it for a visa?
- Not for Japan or Korea, which refuse a photo used on a previous document. Elsewhere, only if it is inside the age limit — usually it will not be.
Related documents
- Singapore passport — 35 × 45 mm
- Myanmar visa — 38 × 46 mm
- Mexico visa — 26 × 32 mm
- United Kingdom visa — 35 × 45 mm
- Japan visa — 35 × 45 mm
- South Korea visa — 35 × 45 mm
Sources
Read on the issuing authority's own pages on the dates shown on each document page:
- Singapore passport: www.ica.gov.sg (read 2026-09-06)
- Myanmar visa: evisa.moip.gov.mm (read 2026-09-06)
- Mexico visa: embamex.sre.gob.mx (read 2026-09-06)
- United Kingdom visa: www.gov.uk
- Japan visa: visa.vfsglobal.com (read 2026-09-06)
- South Korea visa: overseas.mofa.go.kr (read 2026-09-06)
SGfoto is independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by any government or issuing authority — and does not guarantee acceptance. Requirements change; the authority's page is the one that counts. Rebuilt 2026-09-16.