Independent guide to official photo rules

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Why Chinese Passport and Visa Photos Are Rejected

The faults that COVA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NIA list in their photo rules, grouped by cause, with a fix for each.

Based on official sources · last checked

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Quick answer

Why was my Chinese visa or passport photo rejected?

Common reasons in the official lists are a background that is not white, a head that is too big, too small or tilted, shadows or bright spots on the face, glare or tinted lenses, hair covering the eyebrows, eyes or ears, clothing the same colour as the background, and retouched or blurred photos.

Most rejected Chinese passport and visa photos fail on a few points: a background that is not white, a head that is too big, too small or tilted, shadows or glare, hair over the eyebrows or ears, a white top on a white background, or a photo that is retouched, blurred or older than 6 months. Each is easy to fix with a retake.

The lists below combine the rejection examples published by COVA (the MFA's online visa system), the MFA's e-passport photo spec for the 中国领事 app, NIA's exit-entry photo guide and the Chinese Embassy in Switzerland's notes on the selfies it sends back.

Faults and fixes

FaultListed byFix
Background not white, gradient or clutteredCOVA, MFA, NIA, Swiss embassyStand in front of a plain white wall, about a metre away
Shadow on the face or backgroundCOVA, MFA, NIA, Swiss embassyFace a window or use two soft lights, one each side
Too dark, too bright or bright spotsCOVA, MFA, NIAUse soft, even light and no direct flash
Head too big, too small or off-centreCOVA, NIA, Swiss embassyRe-crop from the original to the right head height
Head tilted, raised, lowered or turnedCOVA, MFA, NIA, Swiss embassySit upright, shoulders level, and look straight at the lens
Eyes closed or teeth showingCOVA, MFA, NIAKeep your eyes open and your mouth closed
Hair over the eyebrows, eyes or earsCOVA, MFA, NIA, Swiss embassyPin your hair back and tuck it behind your ears
Tinted lenses, heavy frames or glareCOVA, MFA, NIA, Swiss embassyTake your glasses off, or tilt them slightly to remove glare
Clothing the same colour as the backgroundCOVA, NIA, Swiss embassyWear a dark top, ideally with a collar
Hat, headband, scarf or high hair bunMFA, NIARemove it, unless it is worn for religious, medical or cultural reasons
Jewellery or ornamentsCOVA, NIATake off earrings, face stickers and hair ornaments
Hand, toy or another personCOVA, MFA, NIAMake sure only you are in the photo
Blur, red-eye, distortion or colour castCOVA, MFA, NIAUse a sharp camera at arm's length or more, without a wide-angle lens
Damage, stains, stamps or a borderCOVA, MFA, NIAPrint a fresh copy on photo paper
Heavy make-up or retouchingMFA, NIAUse an unedited photo with no beauty filter

Make passport photo

What the most common faults look like

Rejected photo example: coloured background
Coloured background COVA visa photos and consular e-passport photos need a white or near-white background. Bright blue or red ID-photo backgrounds fail.
Rejected photo example: white top on white
White top on white COVA and NIA reject clothing the same colour as the background. Wear a dark top, ideally with a collar.
Rejected photo example: shadow on face
Shadow on face Uneven light leaves one side of the face dark and casts a shadow on the background. Both are listed rejection reasons.
Rejected photo example: head too big
Head too big Leave 3–5 mm between the top of your head and the top edge, and at least 7 mm below your chin.
Rejected photo example: head tilted
Head tilted Keep your head level and face the camera. COVA allows no more than 20° left or right and 25° up or down.
Rejected photo example: hair over eyes
Hair over eyes Hair must not cover your eyebrows or eyes. Pin it back off your face.
Rejected photo example: ears covered
Ears covered COVA wants both ears visible, and the MFA lists hair over the ears as a fault. Tuck your hair behind your ears.
Rejected photo example: glare on glasses
Glare on glasses Reflections on the lenses hide your eyes. Move the light, tilt the glasses slightly or take them off.
COVA photo examples, each group starting with an accepted photo: photo quality (low contrast or blurred, under-exposed, over-exposed or hot spots, unnatural skin tone, shadow across the face, shadow in the background, damaged or smeared, distorted or fish-eye, red-eye); head position (too close, too far away with the eyes less than 60 pixels apart, not centred, facial features incomplete); expression (mouth wide open, eyes closed, unnatural expression or crying); pose (head tilted, head not centred or looking away, portrait style, head lowered or raised); eyeglasses (heavy frames, frames covering the eyes or reflections, tinted lenses); ornaments and background (jewellery, a hand, toy or another person, background colour, garment the same colour as the background); and obscuring (stamp or smears, hair over the eyebrows, eyes or ears, face covered), with a religious head covering shown as accepted
COVA's accepted and rejected photo examples Image: China Online Visa Application (COVA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China · View the original
MFA e-passport photo specification in Chinese: general, face and head-covering requirements; a 33 × 48 mm sample photo with the head 15–22 mm wide and 28–33 mm from chin to crown, 3–5 mm above the crown and at least 7 mm below the chin; and 17 examples of photos that fail: too dark, eyes closed, blurred, cluttered background, tinted glasses, hair over the eyebrows, eyes or ears, hat or hair ornament over the face or ears, damaged or stained, face covered, stamp or object over the face, frames over the eyes, head tilted, body turned, red-eye, head turned or not facing the camera, other objects in the photo, and teeth showing
The MFA e-passport photo specification (电子护照人像照片规格要求), with its examples of photos that fail Image: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Department of Consular Affairs · View the original

Upload and file problems

  • COVA: the photo must be a JPEG of 354–420 × 472–560 pixels and 40–120 KB, and the crop tool refuses images smaller than 354 × 472 pixels. Details are on the COVA upload page.
  • 中国领事 app: the Swiss embassy says uploads fail if the file is over 5 MB, not a JPG or PNG, or the network drops. The MFA spec asks for a JPEG of 30–80 KB.
  • In China: NIA's standard asks for a JPEG of 20–80 KB in 24-bit colour, and a scan of a paper photo at 300 dpi or more.

The app check is only a guide

The Swiss embassy says the 中国领事 app's automatic check is for reference. Photos it flags include ones that are too dark, stained, show a light-coloured top or a bare chest, are low resolution, or have the head, eyebrows, eyes or ears cut off or covered. If yours has none of these faults, tap "下一步" and an officer will review it.

After a rejection

  • Visa applications: upload a new photo in COVA, and bring new prints if your visa centre asks. The Sydney visa centre says an application may be declined if the photo fails.
  • 中国领事 app: if the embassy asks for a new photo after its first review, upload it under the supplementary materials the embassy asks for.
  • In China: many exit-entry offices work with approved studios that upload photos and give you a receipt (回执). A studio retake is usually the quickest fix.

Always retake from scratch

Editing a rejected photo rarely works: brightening a dark photo adds noise, and cropping a small photo makes it blurry. Take a new photo in better light and crop it from the original file.

How to fix a rejected Chinese passport or visa photo

  1. Find the fault. Compare your photo with the table above: background, light, head size and tilt, hair, glasses, clothing and image quality.
  2. Retake it in better conditions. Stand in front of a plain white wall facing a window, wear a dark top, tuck your hair behind your ears and remove your glasses.
  3. Crop it from the original. Crop the new photo to 33 × 48 mm with the right head height for your document, without retouching.
  4. Save the right file. Save a JPEG at the size your system asks for: 40–120 KB for COVA, 30–80 KB for the 中国领事 app, or 20–80 KB under NIA's standard. If the file is not a JPG, such as a HEIC photo from an iPhone, convert it with the free 123PhotoTool JPEG converter.

Rejected photo FAQ

Not necessarily. The Swiss embassy says the app's check is for reference only. If you are sure the photo meets the rules, tap "下一步" (next) and wait for manual review. If the embassy then asks for a new photo, upload it as a supplementary document.

The crop tool needs a JPEG large enough to crop more than 354 × 472 pixels around your head, and it will not crop an image that does not fill its guide box. Use the original photo, not a screenshot or a small copy. See the COVA upload guide.

Yes. The Sydney Chinese Visa Application Service Centre says an application may be declined if the photo does not meet the requirements.

No. NIA forbids retouching your features, such as scars, moles or your hairstyle, and the MFA spec forbids editing and composite photos. Beauty filters count as retouching.

Each photo must be taken within the last 6 months, and the rules differ between documents: NIA accepts light grey or light blue backgrounds for documents issued in China, but COVA and the 中国领事 app need white.

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Official sources

Last checked . Requirements and fees can change, so always confirm with the issuing agency before you apply. This site is independent and not affiliated with any government agency.