Passport photo at home in Canada: read this first
IRCC requires Canadian passport photos to be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio and professionally printed: 50 x 70 mm, face 31 to 36 mm, two identical prints, taken within six months. No online photo service, including this one, can satisfy that rule, and services that sell Canada passport photos anyway are selling something the authority has said it will not accept. This guide explains the rule, the measurements a studio must hit, and the narrower cases where a home photo has a legitimate role.
What IRCC requires, and what to do instead
IRCC requires that Canadian passport photos 'be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio', professionally printed; it does not accept photos printed at home or on heavyweight paper, and the studio stamps or writes its name, address and the date on the back. A downloaded file cannot satisfy any of that, so starting the Canada flow in our tool shows this rule before any checkout, and the refund guarantee does not cover these documents. The full list of countries with rules like this is in where online photos are not accepted. For these documents, book a studio (the photo itself is the cheap part of a passport application); the Canada documents we can prepare are listed on the country page.
What the studio photo must measure
Knowing the numbers protects you at the counter. The print is 50 mm wide by 70 mm high — larger than almost every other country — with the face measuring 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown, taken no more than six months before you apply, against a plain white background with uniform lighting and no shadows, glare or flash reflections. You submit two identical, unaltered photos; 'unaltered' is defined aggressively and includes changes to colour, brightness or contrast, removing red eye, and changing the background. Canada also names shadow positions most countries ignore: around the ears, across the shoulders, behind the head. If a studio hands you prints that fail these numbers, you are entitled to ask for a re-shoot before IRCC asks you.
The online renewal changes the file, not the rule
The online renewal upload wants a 2:3 portrait JPEG of at least 1200 x 1800 pixels, between 200 KB and 5 MB — but the first requirement on the same page is still 'be taken in person by a commercial photographer'. The studio takes the photo and gives you the digital file; you upload it untouched. The citizenship photo carries the same studio rule in both its paper and online forms.
Where a home photo still fits
Two honest uses remain. First, the visitor visa photo is a different regime: 35 x 45 mm, black and white or colour, and if you give biometrics no photo is needed at all because IRCC photographs you at the collection point — check that before paying anyone. Second, a measured check before the studio visit: our checker shows head height, lighting balance and background uniformity against IRCC's published numbers, so you can verify the studio's print or your own framing without buying anything. The verdict is shown before payment, and for Canadian in-person documents the tool shows IRCC's rule before any payment.
Frequently asked questions
A website sold me a 'Canada passport photo'. Will it work?
For a passport, PR card or citizenship application, the published rule says no: those photos must be taken in person by a commercial photographer, and reviewers of such services quote exactly that refusal. For a visitor visa print the file itself may be compliant, but check whether biometrics replace the photo entirely.
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We are an independent service, not a government website. Applying for a passport or visa is done with your government; we only prepare the photo.