UK Visa & eVisa Photo — 35×45 mm UKVI Standard

UK Visa Photo Rules: 12 February 2026 UKVI Update

The photo standard for UK visa and immigration applications is set by **UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)**; the latest update was published on **12 February 2026** on GOV.UK's "How to take a photo for a visa application or permission" guidance. Standard Visitor, Skilled Worker (Tier 2), Student (T4), Family Reunion, Health & Care Worker and eVisa/BRP applications all require a **35×45 mm portrait biometric photo** — the same size as Schengen but with a different head-height band: 29-34 mm (Schengen is 32-36 mm).

**A photo taken within the last 6 months** is the official rule for VISAS — the UK passport "1 month" rule is separate and must not be confused with the visa rule. Also, reusing an image from a previous UK application is an AUTOMATIC rejection: Home Office systems match every new upload against past submissions. Since it shares the same size as Schengen (29 countries), differently optimised versions can be produced from the same shot via our 35×45 mm guide.

Digital Upload Spec: 600×750 px, 50 KB – 6 MB, JPG Only

UKVI's **12 February 2026 update** clarified digital-upload rules: JPG/JPEG **ONLY** (PNG, PDF, GIF etc. auto-rejected), at least 600×750 pixels, between 50 KB and 6 MB, **vertical** orientation (landscape rejected), and **not mirrored/flipped** (mirror/flip rejected). The rule "unaltered by computer software" also implies that filters, retouching or "AI-generated" tags carry a detection risk.

A "under 240 KB" claim circulates on third-party sources — this is **INCORRECT**. The official GOV.UK spec is 50 KB – 6 MB. vesikalik.com.tr outputs are optimised for that range; if a portal shows a rejection it automatically falls back to the 600×750 px output. The same size is used by the Russian e-visa but that platform wants 450×600 px, so formats differ — for multiple visa applications, pick the multi-preset from the 35×45 mm guide.

Background and Glasses: the UK's Own Rules

UKVI defines the background as "plain light-coloured" — in practice **light grey or cream**. Pure white is not literally banned, but the UK's document-printing pipeline separates the facial contour with higher accuracy on a light-grey tone, so a white background carries a high rejection risk. A light top that blends into the backdrop also produces a "floating head" effect: **a dark top** is the safest choice.

The glasses rule is **banned without exception** — only if medically required (visually impaired, eye disease etc.) is a transparent glare-free pair allowed. This is **stricter than** Schengen's "glare-free allowed" and the US's "allowed but glare rejects many photos". A headscarf is allowed for religious reasons (Muslim, Sikh, Jewish etc.); forehead, chin and face contour must be fully visible.

What Is eVisa? BRP Card to Digital (2024-2025)

From the end of 2024, **UK Home Office retired the BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) card**. It was replaced by the **eVisa (electronic visa)** — no physical card, only a **digital visa record accessed from a GOV.UK account**. If you still hold a physical BRP, it is valid **until 31 December 2024**; after that, new applications are issued as eVisa and existing BRP holders must migrate to eVisa via a GOV.UK account. The eVisa registration photo is still 35×45 mm biometric — because there is no card, only the digital version is needed.

The eVisa process ties the photo into **airline / border-check** systems: carriers verify the eVisa at boarding and can do face matching against the registered photo. That is why **photo quality is now more critical** — a low-quality or ageing photo may prompt secondary questions at the border. vesikalik.com.tr's 300 DPI + biometric scoring produces outputs that meet this new requirement.

ETA (Do Turks Need It?) and Application Partners

**ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation)** is a new UK system rolled out gradually from 2024-2026 — for tourists from visa-exempt countries (US, Canada, EU members, Japan etc., 60+ nations) it requires an online pre-authorisation. **Turkish citizens require a visa and therefore do NOT need ETA** — a standard UK visa application (Standard Visitor etc.) is used. This distinction matters: while ETA photo and UK visa photo share the same 35×45 mm size, the application channel is different; Turkish citizens apply via GOV.UK Apply for a UK visa.

In Turkey the main UK visa partner is **VFS Global** (centres in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Gaziantep, Bursa, Antalya). For some special cases (family reunion, legal appeal etc.) **TLScontact** or the UK-based **Sopra Steria** may apply. For a VFS appointment 2 identical 35×45 mm printed photos are needed — digital upload happens online before the application, the VFS appointment is for fingerprints and biometrics. vesikalik.com.tr produces both a digital output (min 600×750 px JPEG) and 2 identical prints from the same shot — 8-up on a 10×15 sheet with cut marks, shipped.