India visa photo rejected: fix size, square and glasses

India e-Visa photos are most often rejected for three reasons: the image is not square, the file is outside the 10 KB to 1 MB JPEG range, or the applicant is wearing glasses. The e-Visa requires a square JPEG between 10 KB and 1 MB, with a plain light colored or white background and your full head visible and centred. Glasses are not allowed at all. Crop the photo square, remove your spectacles, and export a JPEG inside the size range, and the upload goes through.

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What the India e-Visa actually requires

Shape: square, with equal width and height. Format: JPEG. File size: between 10 KB and 1 MB. Background: plain light colored or white, with no shadows and no border around the image. Content: your full head visible from the top of your hair to your chin, centred, with no spectacles. A US-style 2 x 2 photo works as long as you are not wearing glasses in it.

The three fixes, in order

1. Make it square. A rectangular phone photo fails the shape check; crop to equal width and height around your centred head. 2. Take off your glasses. India visa photos must be taken without spectacles, with no exception for regular eyewear, so retake if you wore them. 3. Hit the file size. Export a JPEG between 10 KB and 1 MB. If a resized photo drops below 10 KB, re-export at higher quality rather than compressing further.

The free compressor at /tools/compress-passport-photo crops square and outputs a JPEG inside the size range in your browser. Your photo never leaves your device.

Don't retouch to fix a problem

Resizing, cropping, and compressing are fine, but filtered, retouched, or software-altered photos are rejected even when the dimensions and size are perfect. If the background has shadows or you were wearing glasses, retake the photo against a plain light wall rather than editing the old one.

Frequently asked questions

Why was my India e-Visa photo rejected?

Usually one of three things: the image is not square, the file is outside the 10 KB to 1 MB JPEG range, or you are wearing glasses. India visa photos must be taken without spectacles.

What size should an India visa photo be?

A square JPEG between 10 KB and 1 MB, with a plain light colored or white background and your full head visible and centred.

Can I wear glasses in an India visa photo?

No. The requirements state the photo must be taken without spectacles, with no exception for regular eyewear. Take them off and retake.

Can I use a US 2 x 2 photo for an India visa?

Generally yes. A compliant US-style 2 x 2 photo is square with a light background and the full face visible, which fits the India visa spec, as long as you are not wearing glasses in it and the file is between 10 KB and 1 MB.

My India visa photo file is too small. What now?

The e-Visa has a 10 KB minimum. If aggressive compression dropped the file below it, re-export the JPEG at higher quality instead of compressing further.