Photo requirements for an old-style international passport for a child, as well as cases of mandatory replacement of the document

Number of shots

When applying in person for an old-style passport, a minor will need 4 photographs (how to apply for an old-style or new-style international passport for a child is described here). When applying in person to the department of the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to obtain a new type of international passport, you do not need to provide a photograph, since it is taken directly in the department by a trained specialist.

When sending an application electronically for any type of foreign passport, you will need to upload 1 photo of the child in electronic format (or a scanned paper photo).

How to photograph a baby?

First of all, you should call the photo studio closest to your home and find out if they take photos of the child for a foreign passport. It is very important that you do not have to travel too far - if the baby is tired and cranky, it will be much more difficult for you to attract his attention so that he looks directly at the camera.

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It is especially difficult if the child has not yet learned to hold his head up - the requirements for documents do not provide discounts for infants. Some studios have special equipment that allows you to photograph a newborn for a passport without any problems.

The atelier also provides retouching services for amateur photographs - if you have a good quality full-face photograph of a child, you can simply change the background on it and “cut off” everything unnecessary. This greatly simplifies the task - you don’t have to drag the little one anywhere.

Examples of a child's passport photo

But edited photos are only suitable for a regular passport, valid for five years. If you are going to get a biometric (ten-year) passport, the requirements change - for the application form, you can take a photo of the child in the studio, but the photo for the passport itself must be taken at the Federal Migration Service. And here certain difficulties arise.

Format, size

• Photo width – 35 mm, height – 45 mm.
• The baby's head should occupy between 29 mm and 34 mm in the image.
• The distance from the top edge to the head should be 3 - 5 mm. Circumcision of the crown of the head is not permitted.
• An oval shading for a child's photo is needed only if it is pasted into the parent's passport. It is not included in the independent children's foreign document.
• When uploading a photo to the site, the following formats are allowed: JPEG; JPG; PNG; BMP.
• The photo size should not exceed 5 MB, but not less than 10 KB.
• The resolution of the uploaded image must not be less than 300 dpi (dots per inch).

Photos of children

For those who wish to travel and take children with them, there are also requirements: everyone must have proof of identity. There is no point in getting a passport with biometrics for a child: it is valid for 10 years, during which time the child will have time to grow up and his appearance will change.

As a result, you will need to go through the procedure for obtaining a passport much earlier than its expiration date. The procedure for photographing a baby at the Federal Migration Service seems to be a problem. There is a solution - give your child a paper passport

. Another plus is that its cost will be much lower.

You can take a photo of the child yourself. The photo requirements were listed above; they apply to images of children under 14 years of age. Try to make sure that only the child is visible in the photo.

. The image will not be accepted if you get into the frame.

General requirements

There are general rules for taking pictures that should be followed:

1. When choosing clothes for a child to be photographed in, you should give preference to plain everyday clothes that the child (teenager) will feel comfortable in.
2. Since the background is recommended to use light shades (white, light gray, light blue), the clothes should not blend together.
3. Nothing extraneous should be included in the frame (neither parents supporting the child, nor toys).
4. The child must look straight into the camera lens.
5. The head should be level, not thrown back, not tilted.
6. The lips are closed and the eyes are open.
7. The hair is pulled back so as not to hide the features and oval of the face. Taking pictures with your hair down is not prohibited if it meets the requirements above.
8. Hats are removed. A photo with a headdress is permissible only for religious reasons, when a person’s faith does not allow him to be without a covered head.
9. If your child always wears glasses, you can leave them on when taking photographs. Then you need to make sure that the frame does not hide the outlines of the eyes, and the glass of the glasses does not give glare.
10. Hair color, eye color and skin tone must match the real ones.

Important! It is necessary to check the colors of the frames received during printing. Red eye is strictly prohibited.

What is unacceptable in a photograph

A photograph of a child taken by a professional or at home will be rejected if the following details are present:

• any foreign objects in the frame (from parental hands to toys). Even too voluminous ruffles or frills can cause rejection;
• headdresses (only those that are constantly worn by a person for religious reasons are allowed);
• dark glasses or accessories with glare lenses, sparkling frames;
• unnatural facial expression (slanted mouth, grimaces, averted gaze, hooded or closed eyes);
• turning, throwing back or tilting the head;
• shadows or highlights on the face;
• “red eye” effect and any other distortion of natural colors.

Regardless of the child’s age, photos taken from the waist up are not allowed. The photo should only show the subject's head, neck, and upper shoulders.

Newborn children must be photographed on a foreign document in any case: parents take a separate document or enter it in their passport.

How to get good pictures of children?

For an old-style foreign document, it is enough to have a good quality photograph of the child, where he is more or less directly looking at the camera. In a photo studio (or independently), the background will be replaced with white (gray).

The parent can also dress in white clothes and hold the baby in their arms. And then carry out the same manipulation in the editor - replace the background.

For photographing a new type of passport, replacing the background is not relevant , since the process takes place in real time. Therefore, if the child already knows how to sit independently, then the parent can stand behind the photographer and attract the child’s attention with a rattle, then the pictures will come out quite successfully. The baby looks straight into the frame.

If the child does not yet know how to sit (hold his head), then it is better for the parents to go together to the department of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: father or mother holds the baby in his arms (supports him) so that he himself is not visible in the frame, and the second parent blows on the baby or waving a rattle. The main thing is that the child looks into the frame and does not cry.

Sometimes a photo may not be taken at the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Then it’s easier to give your child an old-style international passport.

With preschool children, it is better to discuss the upcoming procedure in advance . You can play “Photo Studio” at home, perhaps give your child a real camera and show your example how to behave, how not to behave, and why.

Attention! Children are most afraid of the unknown. If the baby knows why and where he is going, then his calm behavior is more likely.

It is much easier to come to an agreement with school-age and teenage children - as a rule, the trip abroad itself is an incentive for all manipulations.

Photo requirements for issuing a child's passport

The photo of a child receiving a passport has its own specifics of creation. Since you often have to take photographs at home, the absence of a specialist should be compensated by your own sufficient knowledge of all the nuances in this area.

At what age can a child get a passport?

The legislation of Russia (Government Decree No. 828 of July 8, 1997, FMS Order No. 391 of November 30, 2012) does not establish a lower limit. There is only a distinction between three age categories (from birth to 12 years, 12-14, 14-18), for which uniform requirements for creating photographs are defined.

General photo requirements

Apart from the difference in the required number of photographs, there are no differences in creating a photo of a child for an old-style international passport and a photograph for a biometric passport.

• Height/width – 4.5/3.5 cm;
• The head occupies 2.9-3.4 cm in the vertical plane;
• Between the crown and the top edge of the photo is 0.3-0.5 cm.

Oval shading of the image at the bottom of the photo is not allowed (except for cases when a child’s photo has to be pasted into the international passport of one of the parents). The paper should be matte. Color (24 bit) or black and white (8 bit) gamma. Light homogeneous background. Saving photos on electronic media (if necessary) in JPEG, PNG, BMP (size 10 KB – 5 MB).

For an old-style passport, you should prepare 4 photographs. A biometric passport requires 1 self-made photo. It is pasted into the form filled out when applying for a document at the Main Department of Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For the passport itself, the photo is taken by a site employee.

What is unacceptable in a photograph

• Headgear, toys, foreign objects in the mouth. Ruffles and frills on clothing are allowed in small quantities;
• Dark glasses (possibly transparent, glare-free glasses or contact lenses);
• Closed or squinted eyes, open mouth, grimaces;
• Tilt or turn of the head (the face is depicted only from the front);
• Full or partial (fragments of hands, face, torso) presence of strangers;
• Shadows on the face.

Tips for parents for self-filming

If you need to photograph a small child who is not aware of the seriousness of the undertaking, you should resort to certain tricks.

How to remove a baby

1. The baby should be placed in the crib on his back with a small pillow (10-15 cm thick) under his head. Full swaddling is effective for additional reassurance. Bed linen color – white, light beige, without pattern;
2. After fixing the baby in the desired position, one of the adults picks up the prepared camera (Portrait or Moving Objects modes (for maximum clarity), the flash is turned off), the other takes the child’s favorite toy;
3. Having positioned the camera strictly opposite the face of the person being photographed (the lens looks from top to bottom, the distance is no more than a meter), you should slowly bring the toy close to the camera, thus moving the child’s gaze to the correct (frontal) position, and then press the start button of the camera.

If the filming is carried out at the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs by an employee in a special booth, one of the adults sits or lies on the floor, holding the child above him (one hand under the buttocks, the other behind the neck).

The second adult talks to the child in a soothing tone and, if the booth is stuffy, periodically fans him with a sheet of paper (you can use a pocket fan or simply blow in the direction of the baby’s face). With the consent of the department employee, a toy should be used to attract the attention of the person being photographed.

Shooting in a photo studio allows for both options.

How to photograph children 3-5 years old

Children who are often photographed with a photo or video camera will easily and happily endure a document photography session. During filming, it is useful to invite a stranger into the house - with him the child will behave more seriously. It is better to take pictures in the morning (good sunlight and neutral emotional state of the child).

You should not use unusual or uncomfortable clothes as a child's outfit. It is better to conduct the session unexpectedly before a meal, when the child sits still waiting for a treat (you should arrange the necessary background (a light, flat surface without foreign objects) and light (choose a sunny day) in advance).