Vietnam E-Visa Photo Requirements: Portrait and Passport Scan Rules

A Vietnam e-visa application needs two images, and they are the most common reason an application is sent back. Both are easy to get right on a phone if you know what the system is looking for.

1. The portrait photo

This is a separate, recent photograph of you - not a crop of the photo printed in your passport.

The rules:

• White background, plain and evenly lit. No shadows, patterns, doors or furniture.
• Face forward, looking straight at the camera, whole face visible.
• No glasses. Take them off, even ordinary prescription ones.
• No hat or head covering, unless worn for religious reasons, and then the face must be fully visible from chin to forehead.
• Recent - taken within the last six months.
• Passport-style framing: head and shoulders, portrait orientation, in 4 x 6 cm proportions.
• Neutral expression, mouth closed.
• Ordinary clothes. Avoid a white top, which disappears into the background.
• A JPEG file, in colour, in focus, under 2 MB.

How to take it at home: stand an arm's length in front of a white wall, facing a window so the light falls on your face. Have someone else take the picture at eye level from about a metre and a half away. Do not use a selfie - the lens distorts the face and the arm shows.

2. The passport scan

A photo or scan of the whole page that carries your photograph.

The rules:

• All four corners of the page inside the frame.
• The two lines of letters, numbers and chevrons at the bottom fully visible and sharp. Vietnam's system reads your details from these lines, so they matter more than anything else on the page.
• No glare. The laminate reflects ceiling lights and camera flash. Turn the flash off and tilt the passport slightly until the shine is gone.
• No fingers, clips or shadows over any text.
• Flat and straight, not photographed at an angle.
• In colour, at full resolution.

A phone camera is fine. Lay the passport on a table near a window, hold the phone directly above it, and check the picture at full size before you upload it.

The mistakes that get applications sent back

Mistake	Why it fails
Cropping the portrait from the passport	The system wants a separate, recent photo
Grey, cream or textured background	It has to be white
Wearing glasses	Not accepted, even without glare
Selfie or photo taken from above	Distorted face, wrong framing
Glare across the code lines	The details cannot be read
Bottom of the passport page cut off	The code lines are missing
Blurry or heavily compressed image	Text is not legible
Passport photo page of an old passport	Details will not match at the border

Children and babies

The same rules apply: white background, face forward, eyes open, nobody else in the picture. For a baby, lay them on a plain white sheet and take the photo from directly above. Hands supporting the child must not be visible.

What happens if the photo is rejected

The immigration department marks the application as needing a correction and waits. It does not email you. Until a new photo is uploaded the three-working-day processing clock is not running, which is how a simple photo problem turns into a missed flight.

When you apply through us, a person looks at both images before the application is lodged. If either will not pass, we message you on WhatsApp and you send a better one - before any government fee has been spent.

Frequently asked questions

What size is a Vietnam visa photo?

4 x 6 cm proportions - a standard passport-style portrait. For the e-visa you upload a digital file rather than a print.

Can I wear glasses in a Vietnam visa photo?

No. Remove them for the photo.

Can I use the same photo as my passport?

Only if it is a separate, recent photo file that meets the rules. A picture of the photo printed in your passport is not accepted.

Do I need printed photos as well?

Not for an e-visa. Printed photos are only needed for a visa on arrival or an embassy application.