Enter information about the child into the parent’s passport in 2021: detailed instructions

Children's photographs for a foreign passport may be needed in one of two cases. The first is if his own document is issued for the baby. The second is if an adult decides to paste his photo into his passport, which is possible in the case of holders of an old-style foreign passport.

Expert opinion

Victor Leonov

Expert on EU migration legislation

At the same time, certain requirements for photographs must be met, otherwise they will not be accepted by employees of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If you have equipment, it is not so difficult to take a photograph of a child with his personal passport or tab at home. The main thing is to take into account biometric parameters, exclude unacceptable moments, and take care of high quality photos.

At what age can a child get a passport?

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not establish a lower age limit that gives a Russian a right to obtain a foreign passport. A person for whom a birth certificate has already been issued and who has been assigned Russian citizenship can apply for the document. Age categories are allocated for children (up to 12 years, from 12 to 14 years, from 14 to 18 years), each of which has its own specifics. But in all cases, the requirements for photographs are the same.

Moreover, according to the law, a child under 14 years of age has the right not to receive his personal document. It is enough to paste his photo into the passport of one of the parents (or both), and also enter his basic personal data there. This function is provided only for old-style international passports issued for 5 years. No information is included in biometric documents. However, it is worth considering that some countries require that even children entering their territory have personal foreign passports.

The law does not establish validity periods for children's passport photos. Therefore, in theory, you can use the document for the entire prescribed period - 5 or 10 years.

List of documents for making an entry

Before using the services of the migration service, you should understand what is needed in order to include a child in the international passport of one of the parents. When it comes to issuing any identity documents, it is impossible to do without some certificates and certificates. Entering information about children into a foreign passport is no exception.

So, what documents are needed to be included in the child’s international passport if the procedure is carried out simultaneously with the production of the old format parental passport? In this case, the package includes the following papers:

statement;
application form;
photo of the baby being entered (3.5 x 4.5 cm);
identification document of the minor (birth certificate);
confirmation of the child’s Russian citizenship.

Citizenship can be confirmed based on the information contained in the parent’s national passport or a special insert to the birth certificate. It should be noted that children born after July 1, 2002 become subjects of the Russian Federation automatically on the basis of Art. 12 of the Federal Law of May 31, 2002 No. 62 FZ and the Decree of the President of Russia.

The documents listed above should also be provided if the parent intends to enter the child into the international passport through State Services, while preparing a foreign identity card through this portal.

If we are talking about making an entry about several children, it is necessary to provide a separate package of documents for each of them (only the application form is submitted in a single copy).

What documents are needed to include a child in a previously issued passport?

In this case, the parent must bring the following papers to the local office of the Main Directorate for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation:

application for amendments;
your own passport, in which the entry will be made;
proof of the child’s Russian citizenship.

It is advisable to have a receipt for payment of the state duty with you. The federal fee for providing this service is 500 rubles. The purpose of the payment is “making changes to a foreign passport.” This amount remains unchanged, even if you need to include, for example, two children in the document.

If the child is included in the mother's passport, and her last name does not match that indicated on the child's birth certificate, you will also need a copy of the marriage certificate.

As a rule, these documents are quite sufficient. Therefore, if officials require additional certificates, this is illegal.

How to paste photos of children

In the spring of 2009, new rules were introduced for those who apply for old-style international passports. Until this time, the information about children under 6 years old included in the passport was quite enough - photos were required only for older children. Now the law requires that records of children of any age be confirmed by their photographs.

General requirements for a child’s passport photo

In some cases, parents will have to prepare photographs of the child themselves. If you plan to make an old-style personal passport for your baby (4 photos). If you need to include a child in his parent’s passport (2 photos). If a biometric document will be issued for the applicant, but the application is planned to be submitted through “State Services” (1 digital photo, and an employee of the Main Directorate of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will take pictures of the passport itself),

Regardless of the situation, the photographs taken must meet the following requirements:

size - 3.5 * 4.5 cm overall, from 0.3 to 0.5 cm between the top edge and the crown, from 2.9 to 3.4 cm vertically the head should occupy;
the background is light, plain;
casual clothing, preferably plain and contrasting with the background, comfortable for the child, without elements reaching the level of the face;
an even position of the head, in which the subject’s gaze is directed strictly at the camera;
the eyes are open, the mouth is closed, the hair is pulled back from the face and does not hide its outline (but it can be loose);
if you wear glasses all the time, you can leave them on, but the frames should not hide the outlines of the eyes, and the lenses should not hide their natural color;
all shades (hair, skin, eyes) correspond to real ones.

Sample photo of a child

If the photograph is intended to be pasted into a parent’s passport, there should be an oval shading at the bottom of it. In all other cases it is prohibited.

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.

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.

Tips for parents for self-shooting

Today you don’t have to go to a photographer to get high-quality photographs for documents. If you have equipment and at home, you can photograph an infant, preschooler or schoolchild. This will allow you to quickly and at minimal cost get a real and digital photo at once. The main thing is to follow the advice of professionals, which are designed to make the process easier.

How to remove a baby

To take a photo of a baby yourself, you need to lay him on his back with a low pillow under his head. For maximum peace of mind and minimal physical activity of the newborn, it is recommended to swaddle him. If the baby is distracted or naughty, one of the parents should distract him with the help of toys. The parent photographer takes the camera with the flash off and set to “Portrait” or “Moving Objects” mode. It is positioned so that the camera is clearly in front of the child’s face at a distance of no more than a meter. With the help of a toy, the baby’s gaze must be transferred to the lens (many children already look at it), and then a series of photographs must be taken.

For a biometric passport, the baby must be photographed using special equipment by an employee of the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The procedure takes place in a special booth. Usually one of the parents has to sit or lie on the floor, holding the child in a position in which the service worker can take a photo according to all the rules.

How to photograph children 3-5 years old

The approach to the procedure depends on the child’s character and how accustomed he is to being photographed. If the baby regularly poses for the camera, then it is enough to set the desired tone for the photo shoot. If possible, it is worth inviting an outsider simply to support, then the children take the process more seriously. Guys who are not used to the camera often require preparation. The main thing to remember is that children are afraid of the unknown, so a couple of days before the shoot it’s worth “playing” with them at photography. With this approach, even children at 3 years old are no longer afraid of anything and allow themselves to be filmed without any problems.

For the photography itself, it is worth choosing clothes that are comfortable and familiar to the child in advance. It is recommended to carry out the procedure in the morning, when the child has not yet reached the peak of activity and there are no problems with good lighting. In this case, the camera must be installed at eye level of the subject, securing it to a tripod or holder. Depending on the quality of the equipment, there should be a distance of 2-5 meters from the person being photographed.

You can turn to a professional for help: call them at home or go to a photo studio, taking your child with you, or you can take a photo yourself.

Practical recommendations for parents

Let’s look at the main points that allow parents of an infant to take good photos for their child’s foreign document:

Place the baby on a white diaper and attract his attention with a bright toy or rattle.
You can blow into the child’s face so that he “freezes” for a while and opens his eyes.
The parent can put on white clothes and have the child sit on top of them. Then replace the background yourself in the editor or seek help from a professional photographer.
The parent can support the child under the armpits. Or under the head. At the same time, “disguising” the hands with light-colored clothing and a diaper.
If the child is crying, you need to take a break and calm the baby down.
Recording white noise (the sound of a heartbeat, the noise of a hair dryer, etc.) helps calm babies.
Hold the camera at baby's eye level.
Do not use flash (can be scary), but use natural daylight.
Wrap the baby in a swaddle so that he does not jerk his arms and legs.

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Now you know how to photograph a newborn on a foreign passport, below you can see suitable photos of the baby:

The child has grown up and changed, what to do?

A child's photograph in a foreign passport does not have an expiration date established by law. It turns out that for 5 or 10 years (depending on the type of document), a citizen can use it. The problem is that over such a long period the child changes a lot, which can raise questions from customs officers when he crosses the border. In such a situation, the border guard has the right to make a note in the passport with a requirement to replace the document due to significant changes in appearance. Parents are then required to change their child’s passport by going through the standard procedure.

In Moscow and other big cities, parents are increasingly resorting to another way to solve this issue. They apply to the notary office, where they are given a certificate confirming the fact that the object is identical to the person in the photograph in the document. This is relevant in situations where a family needs to cross the border soon, and after that they do not intend to go anywhere for a long time. Or parents simply do not have time to issue a new passport for their child.

Is it possible to take a photo online

Using online services to take photographs of children for documents is an option that is gradually gaining popularity. For example, sometimes it is very convenient to photograph a newborn with a mobile camera, because it is not so massive. It is almost impossible to take a high-quality picture with a stationary camera, since it is very difficult to choose a good position for the object and adjust the lighting. With this approach, it is also important that the webcam resolution is at least five megapixels, and Adobe Flash Player or its equivalent is installed on the computer.