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🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Passport Photo Online

Sri Lanka controls where your passport photograph comes from, not just what it looks like. The Department of Immigration and Emigration keeps a searchable register of authorised photo studios covering all twenty five districts, and the list of documents for an all countries passport includes a photo studio acknowledgement alongside your birth certificate and national identity card. Arrive at Suhurupaya in Battaramulla, or at a regional office in Kandy, Matara, Vavuniya, Kurunegala or Jaffna, with pictures from an unlisted shop and the counter has grounds to send you away.

The picture itself is 35 x 45 mm and you will need four copies. What surprises applicants is the background rule: white is fine, but so are light blue and light grey, provided the shade contrasts with your face and with what you are wearing. That last clause is why a white shirt on a white backdrop fails. Spectacles, on the other hand, get no latitude at all, they are simply not accepted, and the department warns that prints made on a home printer or a Polaroid will not pass because it wants continuous tone photographic paper.

Take your photo now — from $2.49, result in about 2 minutes.

Sri Lanka Passport Photo Online requirements

Official specification: 35 x 45 mm

Dimensions35 x 45 mm
Head height31.5 to 36 mm (chin to crown)
BackgroundPlain light background: white, light blue or light grey, contrasting with face and clothing
Issuing authorityDepartment of Immigration and Emigration
GlassesNot permitted

Photo rules

Common reasons photos get rejected

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 Sri Lankan passport photo?

35 x 45 mm, which the department writes as 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm, and you should bring four copies. The head needs to fill 70 to 80 percent of the frame, with the face measuring roughly 25 mm from the forehead edge down to the chin.

Can I wear my glasses in a Sri Lankan passport photo?

No. The published specification states that spectacles are not accepted, and unlike most countries it offers no exception for prescription lenses or medical reasons. Take them off before the shutter, including thin rimless frames.

Does a Sri Lankan passport photo have to be on a white background?

Not necessarily. The department accepts any plain light background, naming white, light blue and light grey, as long as it contrasts clearly with your face and your clothing. Choose the shade that separates you from the backdrop rather than defaulting to white.

Other documents