Canada citizenship photo size — 50×70 mm IRCC dimensions

Exact dimensions and pixel size

The Canadian citizenship photo dimension is 50 mm wide by 70 mm tall — 5×7 centimeters, distinctly larger than the 35×45 mm Canada PR photo. At 600 DPI this is approximately 1181×1654 pixels. The format is identical to the Canadian passport photo spec, which is deliberate: IRCC issues citizenship and passport from the same biometric record set.

Crucially, do not confuse this with the PR (permanent residency) photo, which is 35×45 mm. A 35×45 mm photo will be rejected at the CIT 0002 paper form review. Likewise, a US 2×2 inch photo is incompatible. IRCC uses 50×70 mm exclusively for citizenship and passport applications.

Head height and framing

Head height chin to crown — including hair — must be 31-36 mm. In a 70 mm tall frame this places the head at 44-51% of the height, leaving substantial white space above the crown and below the shoulders. This generous framing distinguishes IRCC's citizenship/passport spec from the tighter European 35×45 mm crops.

Face must be centered horizontally with eyes facing the camera lens directly. Shoulders should be visible at the bottom edge of the frame. The eyes typically sit around 50-55% from the bottom of the frame in the IRCC spec, leaving room above the head.

Background and colour

Plain white or off-white background, uniform, no shadows. IRCC accepts both pure white and slightly tinted off-white; the safer default is pure #FFFFFF. The wider 50×70 mm frame makes shadow problems more obvious — uniform lighting is essential.

Photo must be in full colour with natural skin tone. IRCC's citizenship file review flags heavily filtered or AI-smoothed photos as 'altered photograph', which can hold up a CIT 0002 application by months while supervisor approval is sought.

Recency, glasses and expression

Photo must be taken within the last 6 months. For paper CIT 0002 applications, two identical signed photos are required — the reverse of each must be signed and dated by the photographer or photo studio, with the studio's name, address, and date of capture written legibly.

Glasses are not permitted under IRCC's 2016 ICAO 9303 alignment. Religious head coverings (hijab, turban, kippah) are accepted only when the face is fully visible from chin to forehead. Expression must be neutral with mouth closed; eyes open and looking at the lens.

CIT 0002 and oath ceremony requirements

For the paper CIT 0002 citizenship application, IRCC requires two identical printed 50×70 mm photos with the reverse signed and dated by the photographer. For the online citizenship application portal, a single digital JPG is uploaded directly.

Selfies and self-generated photos are explicitly permitted by IRCC's 2023 update — you can act as your own photographer if applying online, signing your own metadata declaration. complypic produces the 50×70 mm JPG plus a 4×6 inch print sheet with two correctly sized crops for the paper form.

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