Baby Passport Photo Tool for Compliant Pictures in Minutes!

Are you planning your first international trip with your new baby or young child? If so, it’s time for you to get them their first Irish passport—which requires a new passport photo.

When getting a baby passport photo in Ireland, it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with all the passport photo requirements based on your application type (online vs. standard paper-based applications) since there are different guidelines for each method.

Sounds confusing? No need to worry, as everything is explained in the sections below.

Applying for your baby’s passport online—documentation

If you want to apply for your child’s passport using the Passport Online Service, you must:

• Be able to pay by credit or debit card
• Have access to a printer
• Be able to provide a digital baby passport photo

Even though you are applying online, you will still need to send additional documentation by post to the Passport Office before they begin processing your application.

These documents (requiring posting) include:

• Your child’s birth certificate
• A child passport identity and consent form, which is automatically generated for you as part of the application process

Online applications—baby passport photo requirements

A poor-quality passport photo will get your application rejected, so remember:

• You must provide a digital baby passport photo. To take a photo at home, you can use either a digital camera or a smartphone
• The photo must have been taken within the last 6 months
• The digital dimensions of the photo cannot be less than 715 pixels in width by 951 pixels in height. Additionally, your photo cannot be larger than 9 MB in size
• All digital baby passport photos must be in JPEG format
• The photo must be in colour; black and white photos will not be accepted. This ensures that the natural colours of your baby’s hair and eyes are visible
• The photo must be clear and sharp, with no blurring
• No noticeable distortion can be present due to file compression

Baby passport photos for standard application forms

If you apply for your baby’s passport with the standard paper application form, you’ll need to submit four identical passport photo prints. Additionally, the photos must adhere to the following standards:

Passport photos for newborns

Fortunately, Irish passport photo requirements for children are less stringent than for adults. If possible, your child should comply with all the usual requirements, but if they are a very young baby, it is acceptable for them not to have their eyes fully open or their mouth closed. Additionally, very young babies can smile, make grimaces or yawn—they can show any facial expression.

However, the passport office does insist that no other objects (e.g., toys, pacifiers, or soothers) are present in the photo, as they may cover the baby’s face. Additionally, there should not be any other people in the photo, so if you need to support your child, make sure that your hands and arms are not visible.

How to take your baby’s passport photo?

We recommend snapping your baby’s passport photo yourself, at home, in familiar surroundings. It is a good way to save some money and to ensure the process is not stressful for your child.

Hold the photo session with your baby when they’re fed and well-rested. Don’t worry about multiple takes—you can take as many pictures as you want, so long as your baby remains cooperative.

So how do you take your baby’s passport photo at home?

1. Lay your newborn on its back, on a plain, light-coloured sheet or blanket and take the photo from above. 

   💡 While not essential, try to get your baby to look at the camera by maintaining their attention with their favourite toys, which can be positioned close to the camera’s lens. To ensure a good shot, use a digital camera or your smartphone.

2. Choose a spot where there is plenty of natural light (daylight), which is the best way to avoid unwanted shadows. 

   💡 Lighting should be very soft and not too bright—try diffusing/dimming the light from multiple sources or simply close a curtain if the room is already too bright.

3. You may support your baby’s head with a rolled blanket or with a hand, but neither can be visible in the final photo. The photo must show the whole head, neck and upper shoulders.

Struggling to get your little one’s passport photo to meet all the regulations mentioned above? Let us take care of everything with our passport photo app!