Sri Lanka visa photo size — 35×45 mm Immigration dimensions

Exact dimensions and pixel size

Sri Lanka uses the ICAO 9303 portrait standard: 35 mm wide by 45 mm tall. At 300 DPI the digital equivalent is approximately 413×531 pixels; the eta.gov.lk portal accepts up to 600×800 pixels and file size up to 1 MB. The Department of Immigration & Emigration rejects rectangular photos with the wrong aspect ratio at upload.

This is the same physical dimension as UK, Australian, Schengen, and Indian PR portrait specs — a single generated photo works across the cluster, though background colour preferences differ. For Sri Lanka the background must be plain white, not grey.

Head height and framing

Head height chin to crown should be 32-36 mm, with the face centered horizontally and shoulders visible at the bottom of the frame. Eyes must face the camera lens directly on a horizontal line, no head tilt.

The Department of Immigration & Emigration's online portal validates head position at upload but with looser tolerance than European systems. Rejections are more common at consular appointments — particularly at the Sri Lankan High Commission in London and the consulate in Chennai — where officers manually check framing against a printed template.

Background and colour

Plain white background is mandatory. Uniform lighting matters as much as colour — shadows behind the head are the most common rejection cause at residence visa appointments where photos are reviewed by hand. The portal's automated upload check is forgiving of slight off-white, but consular officers are stricter.

Photo must be in colour with natural skin tone. Black-and-white, sepia, and filtered images are auto-rejected. Heavy AI smoothing is increasingly flagged as 'altered photograph' on residence visa files.

Recency, glasses and expression

The photo must be taken within the last 6 months. The Department of Immigration & Emigration matches the photo against your passport biographic page; significant divergence is a manual-review trigger.

Glasses are not permitted under the post-2019 ICAO 9303 alignment. Religious head coverings are accepted only when the face is fully visible. Expression must be neutral with mouth closed; eyes open and looking at the lens directly.

eta.gov.lk portal and embassy upload requirements

The Sri Lanka ETA portal accepts JPEG only, between 100 KB and 1 MB, at minimum 350×450 pixels and maximum 600×800 pixels. Non-JPEG formats (PNG, HEIC) are rejected. complypic delivers JPEG at the centre of the size window for fastest portal upload.

For residence visa and business visa applications submitted at Sri Lankan missions abroad, you typically need two printed 35×45 mm photos plus a digital JPG sent in advance by email. The 4×6 inch print sheet from complypic includes both crops.

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