How Many ID Photos Does Each Document Need? A Turkey Checklist

How Many ID Photos Does Each Document Need? The 2026 Table

The number of photos is set by the office that issues the document, not by the document itself, so there is no single “standard number”. The table was compiled on 7 October 2026 from the offices' own publications. For foreign residents the most common pair differs: the migration office's first-application lists ask for two biometric photos and the renewal list for four, while a Turkish citizenship application needs two. For Turkish documents the most asked trio follows one rule: the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs asks for 1 biometric photo taken in the last six months for an ID card, a passport and a driving licence, and in its own words the photo “is scanned into the system and then returned to the applicant” (NVİ driving licence FAQ, in Turkish).

Knowing the number also tells you how many to print. A 10×15 sheet holds 4 photos of 50×60 mm biometric or 45×60 mm standard size, and 8 photos of 35×45 mm. Because NVİ applications need only one photo, one sheet covers an ID card, a passport and a licence application plus a spare; as long as the photo stays within six months, the spare frames serve later applications too. Size details are on the 50×60 mm biometric photo page.

How Do You Get the Number You Need From One Photo?

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At vesikalik.com.tr the count is worked out in sheets. When you pick the document in the wizard, the size and head ratio are set for that document, and how many photos fit on a sheet follows from the size. The table above shows how many sheets each number from 1 to 12 takes and the current amount: use the 50×60 mm biometric column for a Turkish ID card, passport, licence or residence permit, the 45×60 mm standard column for a municipality that does not accept biometric photos or for university registration, and the 35×45 mm column for visas. You can choose between 1 and 20 sheets per person.

For a two-person application such as a marriage, add your partner's photo to the same order: each person's photo is analysed separately and printed on its own sheet, with one payment and one package. The analysis before payment is free; if the photo does not meet the rules of the document you picked, you see point by point what to fix and print only a photo that passes.

You do not need a new shoot to add copies later. With a print order the sheets arrive printed on professional photo paper, cut and shipped; with a digital file the single photo and the sheet stay on the order page in your account, and for a new application within six months you can re-download and print the same sheet whenever you like. If you already have a sheet, keep the spare frames flat in an envelope.

How Many Photos for a Turkish ID Card, Passport or Licence?

For all three the answer is one. NVİ's passport page lists “1 biometric photo taken in the last six months” for the burgundy ordinary passport, the green special passport and the grey service passport alike, and its passport FAQ says a biometric photo is needed for every age group (NVİ passport FAQ, in Turkish). Every application list in the driving licence FAQ, including the conversion of a foreign licence, counts 1 biometric photo. For the ID card, 1 photo is mandatory from age 15; under 15 it is optional unless the card will be used as a travel document. Details are on the Turkish ID card photo, passport photo and driving licence photo pages.

The second half of the “how many photos for a licence” question is driving school. Under the Ministry of National Education rule published in the Official Gazette in July 2024, the school takes the trainee's photo at registration and uploads it to the system; ask the school whether it also wants printed photos. After the exams, the driving licence application at the population office again needs 1 biometric photo. Foreign residents converting a licence follow the same NVİ list.

In these applications the type of copy matters as much as the number. NVİ states that “photocopies or photos duplicated on a computer and non-biometric photos are not accepted”; instead of scanning or photocopying a printed photo, get a new print from the file on photo paper, as explained in the guide to copying ID photos. The most common rejection reasons in the photo itself are in the frames below: glare on glasses, a smile, a shot from below, a tilted head, a coloured background and hard shadows.

How Many ID Photos for a Marriage in Turkey?

For a marriage, the municipality, not the regulation, sets the number. Article 20 of Turkey's marriage regulation says an “ID photo” goes into the marriage file but gives no number; its fifth paragraph, amended in 2014, requires the photo to be in colour, frontal, with the head uncovered and in civilian clothes, taken within the last six months, and accepts headscarf photos of women as long as the forehead, chin and face are visible. Under Article 55, the spouses' photos are also glued side by side on the first page of the family booklet. Because the regulation sets no number, marriage offices write different numbers in their own lists, and foreign nationals marrying in Turkey follow the same office's list.

In the examples in the table the number is 3 to 4 per person, but the real difference is the type of photo: Adana Metropolitan writes that it does not accept biometric photos, while Osmangazi in Bursa asks for biometric features. Read the list of the municipality you apply to; if it says “vesikalık”, prepare a 4.5×6 cm standard ID photo, and if it says “biyometrik”, a 5×6 cm biometric one, the difference is explained on the biometric vs standard ID photo page. The maths is simple: each person's photo is a separate sheet and in both sizes a 10×15 sheet gives 4 photos, so where the municipality asks for four per person, two sheets cover the couple.

How Many Photos for University, School and Exam Registration?

The number for university registration is written in ÖSYM's guide. The “documents required for registration” list of the 2026 YKS Higher Education Programmes and Quotas Guide includes this item: “12 photographs of 4.5 cm x 6 cm if requested by the higher education institution.” So the 12 depends on the university; the guide also says electronic registration through e-Devlet is optional and that students who use it follow the documents announced by their university. Read your university's announcement; if it asks for 12, that is three 10×15 sheets at 4.5×6 cm.

ÖSYM exam applications need no printed photo. ÖSYM announced that the photo in its system is updated automatically with the Turkish ID card photo when a candidate who holds the card applies individually, and candidates can also do this with the “use my ID card photo” button in the ÖSYM candidate system. The Open High School asks for one biometric photo at registration, and a student with no photo in the system has it uploaded at a public education centre. School and student card sizes are on the student ID photo page, digital uploads to portals in the photo upload guide.

Professional Cards and Visas: How Many Photos?

Work permits go through the e-İzin system as a digital upload of a 50×60 mm photo on a white background; no printed photo is asked. For the residence permit, one of the photos is also uploaded digitally to the e-İkamet form, and the full rules are on the Turkish residence permit photo page. Professional cards vary by unit: the General Directorate of Security asks for two photos for the private security ID card, for a firearms licence the gendarmerie asks for six while police lists vary by province, and each bar association has its own list for the lawyer licence.

For visas, the EU Visa Code asks for one photo with the application, but application centre lists may say one or two depending on the country; a Russian consulate application asks for two, and a Green Card interview for two 51×51 mm printed photos. The size for European applications is on the Schengen visa photo page.