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China Visa Photo (33 × 48 mm)

China uses 33 × 48 mm — not the 35 × 45 mm the rest of the world uses, and that mismatch is a common rejection.

Updated · Published by Novpix LLC

Drop a photo here

or click to browse — a straight-on head-and-shoulders shot works best

Your photo is processed on your device and never uploaded.

China visa photo rules. 33 × 48 mm. Head from chin to crown must measure 28–33 mm on a 48 mm tall photo — about 58% to 69% of the height. Head width should be 15–22 mm. Background: plain white or light-coloured, free of shadows, patterns and borders. Photo must be taken within the last 6 months.

  • 33 × 48 mm is unique to China and is not the same as the 35 × 45 mm used across Europe — a European-format photo is a common rejection reason.
  • Ears must be visible, so hair should be tucked back.
  • Neutral expression, lips closed, the whole head and face clearly visible.
  • Most applications now upload the photo with the online form, though some visa centres still ask for two prints as well.

This tool crops and sizes your photo correctly. It cannot judge your expression, lighting or shadows, and it does not guarantee acceptance — check the official rules at Chinese Visa Application Service Centre before you submit.

Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded

How it works

  1. 1Drop in a straight-on photo against a plain white or light background, with your ears visible.
  2. 2Drag and zoom until your chin and the top of your head sit inside the guides — China wants 28–33 mm of face on a 48 mm photo.
  3. 3Download the image for the online application, or the 6 × 4 sheet if the visa centre asked for prints.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Chinese visa photo a different size?
China settled on 33 × 48 mm rather than the 35 × 45 mm ICAO format most countries adopted. The difference looks small written down — 2 mm narrower, 3 mm taller — but it is a different aspect ratio, so a photo cropped to the European standard is the wrong shape and gets rejected. It is the most common problem with Chinese visa photos.
Can I use a 2 × 2 inch US passport photo instead?
No. The US photo is square at 51 × 51 mm and China's is a tall rectangle. Neither the dimensions nor the proportion of the frame the face occupies will match, so a US photo needs re-cropping from the original rather than trimming.
How large should the head be?
28–33 mm from chin to crown on the 48 mm height, which is about 58% to 69% of the frame, with the head 15–22 mm wide. That is a noticeably smaller share of the photo than the 70–80% European formats ask for, so a Schengen-framed photo will have the head too large even after the shape is corrected.
Do my ears have to show?
Yes. The requirement is that the whole head and face are clearly visible, ears included, so hair should be tucked back before the photo is taken. Expression should be neutral with the lips closed.
Print or digital?
Most applications now upload the photo with the online form, but some visa application centres still ask for two printed copies as well. The tool produces both — a single image and a 6 × 4 sheet — so you are covered either way. Check what the centre handling your application asks for.

About this tool

The Chinese visa photo is 33 × 48 mm, and that single fact is the reason most of them get rejected. Almost every other country an applicant has dealt with uses 35 × 45 mm, so the natural move is to reuse a photo that has already worked somewhere else. It will not: 33 × 48 is a different aspect ratio, and trimming a 35 × 45 photo down cannot produce it without recropping from the original.

The head-height rule compounds it. China asks for 28–33 mm from chin to crown on the 48 mm height — around 58% to 69% of the frame — where Schengen and Australian formats want 70% or more. A photo that was correctly framed for a European visa has the head too large for a Chinese one even after the dimensions are fixed. This tool draws the correct band on your image so you can see the difference rather than work it out from a table.

Beyond the geometry the rules are conventional: a plain white or light background with no shadows, patterns or borders, taken within the last six months, neutral expression with the lips closed, and the whole head visible including the ears. Hair tucked back before the shot saves a retake.

Most applications upload the photo with the online form now, though some visa centres still want two prints, so the tool produces a single image and a 6 × 4 print sheet. Everything is cropped and rendered in your browser — the photo is never uploaded here, which matters for a document that goes onto a visa application in your name.

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