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Guides and format updates

Practical writing about photo requirements, why applications get returned, and the technical details that quietly break uploads.

CanadaAugust 12, 20267 min read

IRCC photo requirements, explained without the jargon

What IRCC actually checks on an immigration photo, why the 31-36 mm rule catches so many applicants, and how the digital and printed specifications differ.

Read the guide

Guides6 min

The five reasons passport photos actually get rejected

Ranked by how often they happen, with the specific fix for each. Head size is first, and it is not close.

August 5, 2026

Guides5 min

How to take a passport photo at home that actually passes

A window, a plain wall and a phone are enough. The details that separate a pass from a retake are distance, light direction and head position.

July 28, 2026

Comparisons5 min

Canada and US passport photos are not interchangeable

Same continent, completely different specifications. A side-by-side comparison of size, head height, glasses and background rules.

July 19, 2026

Technical4 min

Why your passport photo upload keeps failing on file size

Pixel minimums and kilobyte maximums pull in opposite directions. Here is how the limits work and how to satisfy both.

July 11, 2026

Sizes5 min

The 35x45 mm photo: the closest thing to a world standard

Used across Europe, much of Asia and Africa. What the ICAO template specifies and where individual countries deviate from it.

July 2, 2026

Guides5 min

Passport photos for babies and newborns

Which rules are relaxed for infants, which still apply, and the lying-down technique that makes the whole thing easy.

June 24, 2026

Sizes4 min

White is not the default: background colour by country

Sending a white-background photo to a country that requires light grey is a genuine rejection reason. Here is who wants what.

June 15, 2026

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