🇳🇬 Nigeria Passport Photo Online
Every Nigerian passport application runs through the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the facial image is the single most common reason a file stalls at the enrolment desk. The working size for a printed Nigerian passport photograph is 35 x 45 mm on a pure white background, the ECOWAS format used right across the region. You open the application on the NIS portal, pay online, then book a slot at a passport office at home or at a Nigerian mission abroad.
What catches people out is that NIS never publishes a millimetre chart of its own. It simply asks for two passport sized photographs endorsed by your guarantor, then takes its own biometric capture on the day. Your prints therefore have to satisfy a clerk who is comparing them against that live capture, so the safe approach is a 35 x 45 mm print with the head filling roughly three quarters of the height, no glasses, no uniform, and a backdrop that genuinely photographs white rather than grey.
Take your photo now — from $2.49, result in about 2 minutes.
Nigeria Passport Photo Online requirements
Official specification: 35 x 45 mm
| Dimensions | 35 x 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height | 31.5 to 36 mm (chin to crown) |
| Background | Pure plain white |
| Issuing authority | Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) |
| Glasses | Not permitted |
Photo rules
- Print at 35 x 45 mm, or supply 413 x 531 pixels at 300 dpi as a JPEG under 2 MB when the NIS portal asks for a digital image.
- The backdrop has to read as pure white. Cream, off white and pale blue walls are turned away at the capture desk because the ECOWAS booklet print needs a clean separation between hair and background.
- Bring two identical prints for a fresh application. Your guarantor signs and endorses the reverse of one of them, matching the guarantor form.
- No uniforms of any kind. Police, military, NYSC and corporate uniforms are refused, and your clothing should be dark enough to stand apart from the white backdrop.
- All eyewear comes off, including prescription glasses. NIS needs the iris and both eye corners readable for the biometric match.
- If you are renewing from abroad with the NIS Mobile contactless service, the app takes a live selfie with liveness detection and compares it against the photo already stored in the NIS database, so keep your hair, beard and general appearance close to your existing passport.
Common reasons photos get rejected
- A grey wash across the backdrop caused by standing too close to the wall, which fails the pure white rule at enrolment.
- Turning up in uniform, or in a cap or head tie that hides the hairline and the top of the head.
- Smiling with teeth showing. NIS wants a closed mouth and a level, unsmiling face.
- Prints older than six months, or prints that no longer resemble the person sitting at the capture desk.
- Glasses left on, producing flare across the lenses that obscures one or both eyes.
How SnapIDs gets it right
Most rejections come from the wrong head size, a bad background, or glare. SnapIDs solves this before you even take the shot. A live coach checks your distance, centering, head angle, eyes, expression and lighting in real time, and only captures when every check passes. The photo is then framed mathematically to the exact 35 x 45 mm specification, and the background is cleaned to a compliant white, while your face is never altered.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a Nigerian passport photo?
35 x 45 mm on a plain white background. For digital upload on the Nigeria Immigration Service portal that works out to 413 x 531 pixels at 300 dpi, saved as a JPEG under 2 MB.
Do I still need printed photos if the enrolment centre takes my picture?
Yes. NIS captures your biometric image on the day, but passport offices and Nigerian missions still ask for two 35 x 45 mm prints for the file, with your guarantor endorsing the back of one of them.
Can I wear my glasses in a Nigerian passport photo?
No. The Nigeria Immigration Service requires all eyewear to be removed, prescription lenses included, so the eyes are fully readable for the biometric record.
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