New Zealand passport photo requirements
As of November 3, 2026, a New Zealand passport photo for an online application is a 3:4 colour JPG, 900–4500 px wide and 1200–6000 px high, from 250 KB to 5 MB, under 6 months old (per passports.govt.nz, checked on Nov 3, 2026).
Applicants for a New Zealand passport can go to a professional passport photo service or take the photo on their own device.
Editing, filters and AI tools that change how the applicant looks are banned from a New Zealand passport photo.
A colour portrait in a 3:4 ratio, saved as .jpg or .jpeg. Width can run from 900 to 4500 pixels and height from 1200 to 6000; the file must be between 250 KB and 5 MB, and the photo under six months old.
A scan of a printed photo does not count. Before starting, the passport office points applicants to its online photo checker for the technical requirements.
Source: passports.govt.nz
Yes, on your own device, as long as someone else takes it: selfies are rejected. The person should stand 1.5 m away with the camera at your eye level, and you should be at least half a metre in front of a plain, light wall.
Close shots can distort the face. Step back, include the shoulders, then crop to the right head size; do not edit, filter or use AI to change how you look.
Source: passports.govt.nz
Prescription glasses are allowed if the lenses are not tinted and the frames are not thick, with a clear gap between eyes and frames and no glare. Sunglasses are not. Hats, hoods and headbands come off; a head covering stays only for religious or medical reasons.
Source: passports.govt.nz
No. New Zealand Passports does not accept scans of printed photos; a photographer should email you the digital file instead. Source: official page "Passport photos | New Zealand Passports", checked on Nov 3, 2026.
Lay the baby on a plain, light-coloured sheet and shoot from above. The whole face must show, with the eyes open. Source: official page "Passport photos | New Zealand Passports", checked on Nov 3, 2026.
No. SelfieToPassport is not affiliated with the New Zealand Passports or any other government agency. The New Zealand Passports publishes the photo rules for free at passports.govt.nz; this page links to each one.
We crop and resize your original photo and never replace or repaint the background. If the wall does not pass the check, the tool asks for a new photo and tells you how to fix the light or the wall.
Ready? Free preview with the measurements drawn on your photo; $6.95 for the digital file and both print sheets.
Make my New Zealand passport photoEvery rule on this page comes from a page published by the New Zealand Passports, read on the date shown. We rewrite each rule in plain words and link to the page it came from. Each rule has a review deadline; one that passes it without a new check comes off the page.
Something here out of date? Tell us and we will check it against the official page.
