Saudi Arabia Visa Photo (2 x 2 in, white background, MOFA mission rule): size and requirements
The Saudi Arabia Visa Photo size is 51 x 51 mm (2.01 x 2.01 inches), or 600 x 600 pixels for online upload. White background, no exceptions.; head 70 to 80 percent of the photo height. Photo taken within the last 6 months. Last verified 2026-10-08 against Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Embassy in Washington, 'Guideline accepted photographs saudi visas' and 'Business Visa' pages.
For the passport-size photograph attached to a Saudi visa application lodged through a Saudi embassy or consulate or its visa office (business, work, family and personal visit, residence, student and other MOFA visas). Not for a Saudi passport or national ID (Jawazat / Absher, no readable page), and not for the tourist eVisa, whose portal rules we could not read.
Requirements at a glance
- Size
- 51 x 51 mm (2.01 x 2.01 inches), or 600 x 600 pixels for online upload
- Head height
- Head 70 to 80 percent of the photo height (The photograph has to be a passport size photograph (2”x2”) (no head size is published; ICAO Doc 9303 crown-to-chin 70 to 80 per cent applied to the 2 in height))
- Background
- White background, no exceptions.
- Expression
- Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, looking at the camera
- Glasses
- Allowed without glare or tint
- Head covering
- Only for religious or medical reasons; full face visible
- Photo age
- Taken within the last 6 months
- Prints needed
- 1
- We deliver
- 600 x 600 px (300 DPI), plus a 4 x 6 inch print sheet
What trips people up
- CheckThe MOFA mission guideline is square, US-style: 'The photograph has to be a passport size photograph (2”x2”)'. A 35 x 45 mm European print is the wrong shape.
- Check'White background, no exceptions.' and 'Photograph has to be recent, not older than 6 months.' are the two hard rules; the page ends 'IF PHOTOGRAPH DOES NOT FULFILL ANY OF THESE GUIDELINES, VISA APPLICATION WILL BE REJECTED.'
- CheckPose rule: 'Photograph has to be full-face view in which the applicant is facing the camera directly.' and 'Side or angled views are NOT accepted.'
- CheckFixing the print matters: 'Please use tape, paper clip, or ONE staple only to stick the photograph to the application.' and never on the face, forehead or clothing.
- CheckCount: the Business Visa checklist asks for 'One (1) recent passport size color photograph with a white background.' (the only visa checklist we saved from the mission site).
- CheckThe guideline page is dated 'Last updated: 1/1/2017' and is kept on the mission site. The Business Visa page sends you to the Enjaz site (enjazit.com.sa) to pay and fill in the online form; whether Enjaz takes a photo upload, and with what limits, is stated on no page we saved, so our 600 x 600 px JPEG is simply a 300 dpi rendering of 2 x 2 in for anyone who needs a file.
Known portal issues
- Note
No photo upload: the printed photo goes with the application
Print the 2 x 2 in photo on photo paper. Read the fix
Good to know before you pay
If you have a recent US-passport-style 2 x 2 in photo on white, it already meets the MOFA mission rule; buy only if you need the square crop or a fresh six-month photo.
Source and verification
Read from the official page. Last checked 2026-10-08 (archived copy dated 2025-05-12) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Embassy in Washington, 'Guideline accepted photographs saudi visas' and 'Business Visa' pages.
The photograph has to be a passport size photograph (2”x2”)
Photograph has to be full-face view in which the applicant is facing the camera directly.
Side or angled views are NOT accepted.
White background, no exceptions.
Photograph has to be recent, not older than 6 months.
Please use tape, paper clip, or ONE staple only to stick the photograph to the application.
DO NOT place staple on applicant’s face, forehead, or clothing.
IF PHOTOGRAPH DOES NOT FULFILL ANY OF THESE GUIDELINES, VISA APPLICATION WILL BE REJECTED.
Last updated: 1/1/2017 3:17 PM
One (1) recent passport size color photograph with a white background.
The crown-to-chin portion of the facial image shall be 70 to 80 per cent of the longest dimension defined for Zone V, maintaining the aspect ratio between the crown-to-chin and ear-to-ear details of the face of the holder.
Quotes 1-9 are from the guideline page at source.url, read from the Wayback capture of 2025-05-12 (sources/sa/mofa-embassy-usa-guideline-accepted-photographs-saudi-visas.txt; the 2022-05-27 capture carries the same text and the same 'Last updated: 1/1/2017'). The live embassies.mofa.gov.sa host now redirects to saudiembassy.sa, which is not a government-TLD domain, so the archived MOFA URL is cited. Quote 10 is from the Business Visa page (sources/sa/mofa-embassy-usa-business-visa.txt, Wayback 2022-05-27). Quote 11 is ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 (sources/icao/, Wayback 2024-09-12) and supplies the head band, because the mission publishes none; applying 70-80 % to a 2 in square gives a larger head than the US 1-1 3/8 in rule and is flagged in statedAs. physical 51 x 51 mm = 2 x 2 in; dpi 300 and the 600 x 600 px JPEG are our rendering choices (no saved source states that the Enjaz form at enjazit.com.sa takes a photo upload, nor any limits; min = target because no range is known). The Business Visa page is the only visa checklist saved, so the one-photo count is not claimed for other visa types. printsRequired 1 from quote 10. glasses, headCovering, neutralExpression and mouthClosed are ICAO-style defaults (the mission states none). child left undefined. Saudi MOI / Absher / my.gov.sa / ksavisa.sa pages were unreachable and have no Wayback captures, so sa/passport and sa/national-id are not authored.
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.
Frequently asked questions
