What to wear for a passport photo
Clothing, makeup, glasses, jewelry, and head coverings. What's fine, what usually causes trouble, and why.
Clothing
There's no official dress code beyond a few practical rules. Wear your everyday clothes, pick a color that contrasts with your background (don't wear white against a white backdrop, it's a surprisingly common mistake), keep your shoulders visible, and steer clear of anything that could pass for a uniform. Religious dress is the one exception there, and it's fine. A plain, solid top just photographs more predictably than a busy pattern or a logo.
Makeup
Light, natural makeup is accepted everywhere covered on this site. The thing to watch for is anything that meaningfully changes how your face reads: heavy contouring, a dramatic color change, prosthetic-style effects. The photo is meant to represent how you actually look, and that's also what the facial-recognition matching relies on.
Glasses
This is the rule that's shifted the most over the last decade or so. The US and Australia now ban glasses outright unless you have a documented medical reason you can't remove them (a signed statement is required for that). Other countries, the UK, India, and Canada among them, still allow glasses, but only with zero glare, no tinted or dark lenses, and frames that don't cover any part of your eyes. Honestly, if you can take the photo without them, it removes one whole category of rejection risk.
Earrings and jewelry
Small, everyday jewelry is fine. Problems tend to come from pieces large enough to change the outline of your face or ears, or anything reflective enough to throw glare under bright lighting. When in doubt, go simpler.
Hats, hoods, and religious head coverings
Head coverings worn for style or warmth aren't allowed. Hats, hoods, and caps all need to come off. The one universal exception is religious head coverings, a hijab or turban, for example, which every country here permits, as long as your full face stays visible from chin to forehead with both edges showing and no shadow across it.
Hair
Hair can fall naturally, but it shouldn't cover your eyes, eyebrows, or the outline of your face. If you've got bangs, double-check they're not sitting over your eyebrows in the frame. It's a small thing, and it's one of the easiest fixes if you catch it before submitting.
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Frequently asked questions
What should I wear for a passport photo?
Whatever you'd normally wear, in a color that contrasts with your background. If your backdrop is white, don't wear white. Skip camouflage or anything that blends in, keep your shoulders visible, and leave scarves and high collars out of the shot.
Can you wear makeup in a passport photo?
Yes, in most countries. Light, natural makeup is fine. Where it gets risky is anything that noticeably changes how your face looks, heavy contouring, dramatic color, that kind of thing, since it can throw off the facial-recognition matching the photo is used for later.
Can you wear glasses in a passport photo?
Increasingly, no. The US and Australia have both banned glasses outright unless you have a documented medical reason. Other countries still allow them, but only with zero glare, no tint, and frames that don't cover your eyes. If you can go without, it saves you a headache either way.
Can you wear earrings or jewelry in a passport photo?
Generally, yes. Keep it small and simple. Big pieces that change the outline of your face, or anything reflective enough to catch glare, are what tend to cause trouble.
Can you wear a hoodie or hat in a passport photo?
Hats and hoods have to come off, no matter what. A hoodie as a piece of clothing is fine, as long as the hood itself isn't up and framing your face.
Can you wear a hijab in a passport photo?
Yes. Religious head coverings are allowed by every country on this site, on the condition that your full face is visible: chin to forehead, both edges showing, nothing shadowed.