Spain Schengen Visa Photo Maker, 35x45 mm

The photo, in brief

A Spain visa photo is the standard EU Schengen biometric photo: 35x45 mm, face filling 70 to 80% of the frame, a plain light background, neutral expression, taken within the last 6 months. It is the same photo for a short-stay Schengen (type C) tourist visa and for a national long-stay (type D) visa to study or work in Spain.

One thing specific to Spain: the visa photo is the 35x45 mm Schengen size, not the smaller domestic Spanish passport photo, so do not reuse a Spanish passport print. For the full requirements, including the glasses and background rules and how to shoot it, see the Schengen visa photo guide.

You can make a compliant Spain visa photo from a phone picture in about two minutes. Create yours for $1 →

How Spain handles it

In most countries, Spain files visa applications through BLS International, its outsourced visa partner, rather than the consulate directly. BLS sets the print count (commonly two identical recent prints) and screens the photo before the consulate sees it, so a non-compliant photo is usually caught at the BLS counter.

A recent phone camera is good enough. Visa photos fail on framing and lighting far more often than on camera quality. To get a usable shot:

• Stand a few feet in front of a plain light-coloured wall, with enough gap that you do not cast a shadow onto it.
• Light yourself evenly from the front. Face a window rather than an overhead bulb, which throws shadows under the eyes.
• Have someone else take the photo. Selfies distort facial proportions and tend to frame the head wrong.
• Look straight at the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed, both eyes open, with hair clear of your eyes.
• Keep the head upright and centred, sized so the face fills 70-80% of the frame.

Then crop so the face fills 70-80% of the photo. Getting head size right in the frame is where most home photos go off-spec, so a tool that crops to the EU spec for you removes the guesswork.

Why photos get rejected

BLS staff check photos at the counter, and the same problems bounce again and again. Each one, with the fix:

• Face the wrong size. Too small or too large in the frame. The face should fill 70-80% of the photo; reshoot from the right distance.
• Wrong print count. BLS centres often want more than one identical print. Confirm the count with your centre and bring that many.
• Background not plain. A busy or dark wall reads as off-spec. The background must be plain and light-coloured (white, off-white, or light grey), uniform with no shadow.
• Shadows. On the face or on the wall behind you. Step away from the wall and light yourself from the front.
• Glasses glare or tinted lenses. Glasses are allowed, but a flash reflection on the lenses or any tint gets a photo bounced. The eyes must stay clearly visible.
• Face partly hidden. Hair across the eyes, a low chin, or a turned head. Keep the full face square to the camera.
• Smiling with teeth. Keep the mouth closed; a neutral expression is the safe choice.
• Photo older than 6 months. It must match how you look now.

What to wear (and not wear)

The choice that costs Spanish applicants a reprint is a white or very pale top, which blends into the white background and softens your outline; a darker, solid colour separates you cleanly from the backdrop.

Avoid: hats or caps, headphones or earbuds, uniforms, and a white or very pale top that blends into the white background.

Fine: ordinary everyday clothing, light makeup that keeps your usual look, religious head coverings worn daily so long as the full face stays visible from forehead to chin, and medical devices such as hearing aids.

On glasses: they are allowed as long as your eyes stay clearly visible. Keep the eyes unobscured (frames must not cover them), use no tinted or coloured lenses, and angle yourself so there is no flash reflection on the glass. Heavy frames are best avoided. If you cannot kill the glare, taking the glasses off is the simplest fix, but you do not have to remove them to be compliant.

Where to get your photo

You can get a Spain visa photo in a shop or make one yourself. The trade-offs:

In a shop, the counter takes the photo and hands you the prints already cut to size. Making one yourself means you control the result and reprint for free if something is off, but you are responsible for getting the head size right (face filling 70-80% of the frame). Whichever route you pick, the only thing that matters is that the finished photo meets every rule above.

Submitting your photo

Bring recent identical prints to your BLS International appointment; the centre attaches them to your application and may also offer an on-site photo service if yours does not pass.

Confirm both the print count and any digital-upload option with your specific centre in advance, and check the shot against the photo guide so it clears the spec before you arrive.