What file does the Indian visa application actually accept for the photo?
TL;DR A square JPEG between 10 KB and 300 KB, height equal to width, full face on a plain light or white background, head 25–35 mm in a 51 mm frame. A PNG, a rectangle, or a 2 MB phone photo is refused at upload — before a person ever looks at it.
The portal's own list
indianvisaonline.gov.in states: format JPEG; size minimum 10 KB, maximum 300 KB; height and width equal; full face, front view, eyes open; head centred, from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin; plain light-coloured or white background; no shadows; no borders; head 1 to 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm).
Everything on that list is checked by the upload form. The most common failures are the file type (phones save HEIC or PNG) and the file size (a modern phone photo is 3–8 MB).
What this site does about it
The Indian visa on this site is one of two documents that force a JPEG download — the other is New Zealand's passport — and it is sized so the file lands inside the 300 KB limit. The head band is set to the portal's 25–35 mm, which is 49–69% of the square.
The figures, from the catalogue
| Document | Size | Head in frame (as we compose it) | Background | Max age | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India visa | 51 × 51 mm | 49–69% | plain light-coloured or white | 6 months | indianvisaonline.gov.in |
| India passport | 51 × 51 mm | 50–69% | plain white | 3 months | www.blsinternational.com |
A real case
An applicant's upload failed four times with no message but "invalid file". The photo was fine; it was a 4.2 MB PNG. Re-saved as a 180 KB JPEG, it uploaded first time.
Common questions
- Do I need to remove my glasses?
- The portal's photo instructions do not mention spectacles; its rule is full face, eyes open, no shadows. Glare across the eyes would fail the "eyes open" check in practice.
- Is it the same photo for an e-Visa?
- Yes — the e-Visa uses the same upload rules.
Related documents
- India visa — 51 × 51 mm
Sources
Read on the issuing authority's own pages on the dates shown on each document page:
- India visa: indianvisaonline.gov.in (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.