UK Residence Card and eVisa Photo Requirements
Biometric residence permits have all expired and been replaced by eVisas, so the photo now lives in your UKVI account. The Home Office specification is close to the passport one, with three differences worth knowing.
By Helal · Last updated
What are the photo requirements for a UK residence card or eVisa?
The Home Office specification for a visa, permission or UKVI account photo is: at least 600 pixels wide by 750 pixels tall, at least 50KB and no more than 6MB, a jpg or jpeg file, vertically orientated, in colour, showing "your head, shoulders and upper body" against "a plain light-coloured background."
First, though, a correction that affects what most people are actually searching for. Biometric residence permits no longer exist. GOV.UK states it plainly: "All BRPs have now expired and have been replaced by eVisas. An eVisa is a digital record of your identity and immigration status." BRPs were granted on or before 31 October 2024, and while an expired card can still be used for a few narrow purposes — signing in to view your eVisa, creating a UKVI account, or applying to extend your stay — it can be used for those and nothing else, and only until 24 months after expiry or 31 December 2026, whichever comes first.
So the question "what photo do I need for my residence card" has become "what photo does my UKVI account need." The answer is the specification above.
The full Home Office specification
Your photo must:
- be clear and in focus
- be in colour
- be taken in a well-lit room
- be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall
- be at least 50KB and no more than 6MB
- be a jpg or jpeg file
- be vertically orientated
- contain no other objects or people
- be taken against a plain light-coloured background
- be in clear contrast to the background
- not have "red eye"
- show your head, shoulders and upper body
- be facing towards and looking straight at the camera
- have a plain expression and your mouth closed
- have your eyes open and visible
- not have hair in front of your eyes
- not have shadows on your face or behind you
- ensure your facial features are clearly visible
And it must not:
- be a scan or photo of another photo
- be the same photo of you that is in your passport or identity card
- be altered by computer software or through other means
- have a head covering, unless worn for religious or medical reasons
On glasses: you may not wear sunglasses or tinted glasses. Other glasses are permitted if you need them, "but their eyes must be visible without any glare or reflection."
Three differences from a passport photo
The two specifications overlap almost completely, which is why one well-taken photo usually serves both. Three things differ, and they are easy to trip over.
Requirement | Passport (HMPO) | Visa / UKVI (Home Office) |
|---|---|---|
Maximum file size | 10MB | 6MB |
File format | Not specified | JPEG required |
Framing | Head and shoulders | "Head, shoulders and upper body" |
Minimum dimensions | 600 × 750 px | 600 × 750 px |
Minimum file size | 50KB | 50KB |
Reusing your passport photo | Not addressed | Explicitly prohibited |
The 6MB ceiling is the one that bites. A high-resolution photo from a recent phone can exceed 6MB while comfortably passing the 10MB passport limit. If you are producing one file for both purposes, keep it under 6MB.
The upper body framing is a genuine difference in composition. A passport photo is tightly framed on head and shoulders; the UKVI specification asks for a little more of you in the frame. Leave more room below the shoulders than you would for a passport crop.
The duplicate-photo prohibition is explicit and has no passport equivalent: your photo must "not be the same photo of you that is in your passport or identity card." You cannot recycle the image from your passport.
Updating the photo in your UKVI account
GOV.UK's guidance on updating your UKVI account details allows you to "change your photo, for example if your appearance has changed and you cannot be recognised from your current photo." You must "make sure it meets the rules for digital photos," and it states unambiguously: "Your photo will be rejected if it does not meet the rules."
Unlike a name or passport change, a photo update is not blocked while an application is pending.
The practical trigger is recognisability. If someone comparing you to your eVisa photo would hesitate, update it. The photo is what an employer, landlord or border officer sees when they check your status.
Taking a compliant photo
The technique is the same as for a passport, with the framing adjusted.
- Stand at least a metre clear of a plain, light wall. This is what removes the shadow behind you — the specification prohibits "shadows on your face or behind you." See passport photo lighting.
- Face a window with soft daylight. Flash off — it causes red-eye, which is an explicit rejection ground, and glare on glasses.
- Prop the phone at your eye height, about 1.5 metres away, and use the rear camera with a timer. Arm's length distorts facial proportions. See can you use a selfie for a UK passport photo.
- Frame head, shoulders and upper body, portrait orientation.
- Plain expression, mouth closed, eyes on the lens, head square and level.
- Check the file: JPEG, portrait, at least 600 × 750 pixels, between 50KB and 6MB.
- No filters, no beauty mode, no portrait blur, no AI enhancement. The photo must be unaltered.
The file check is worth doing properly. Photos routed through a messaging app get recompressed and can drop below the 50KB floor while still looking fine on screen. Always work from the original. See digital passport photo file requirements.
If you have not created a UKVI account yet
This is the more urgent problem for anyone still thinking in terms of a physical card.
Because BRPs have expired and been replaced by eVisas, your immigration status now lives in a UKVI account rather than on a card in your wallet. GOV.UK's guidance for holders of expired BRPs is to "create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to get access to your eVisa."
An expired BRP can still be used for exactly three things:
- Signing in to view your eVisa
- Creating a UKVI account
- Applying to extend your stay
And for nothing else. That narrow permission runs until 24 months after the card expired or 31 December 2026, whichever comes first. After that, the card does nothing at all — including for creating the account you need.
If you have not made the account yet, that is the task to do before worrying about the photo. The photo is a field inside an account you must first have.
Who sees your eVisa photo
Worth understanding, because it changes how carefully you should think about the "cannot be recognised" threshold.
Your eVisa is what you use to prove your immigration status — to an employer running a right-to-work check, to a landlord running a right-to-rent check, and when travelling. The photo in it is the image those checks display.
That makes it a working identification document, not a record. If someone comparing you to your eVisa photo would hesitate, the photo is doing its job badly, and the update route exists precisely for that. GOV.UK allows a change "if your appearance has changed and you cannot be recognised from your current photo," with no application pending required.
The counterpart risk is a rejected update: "your photo will be rejected if it does not meet the rules." So a photo change is worth doing properly the first time — the specification above, checked line by line.
Children and babies
The child rules are identical to the passport ones, in near-identical language: "children must be on their own in the picture," "babies must not be holding toys or using dummies," children under 6 are exempt from looking directly at the camera and from the plain expression requirement, and children under 1 need not have their eyes open and may be photographed lying on a plain sheet with their head supported — as long as the supporting hand is not visible.
See UK baby passport photo rules and child passport photo rules by age.
The immigration file specification is tighter than the passport one. Our UK eVisa photo service checks against that specification rather than the passport version.
Frequently asked questions
Do biometric residence permits still exist?
No. GOV.UK states that "all BRPs have now expired and have been replaced by eVisas." An expired BRP can still be used to sign in to view your eVisa, to create a UKVI account, or to apply to extend your stay — and for nothing else — until 24 months after its expiry or 31 December 2026, whichever comes first.
What size photo do I need for a UKVI account?
At least 600 pixels wide by 750 pixels tall, between 50KB and 6MB, as a JPEG in portrait orientation.
Can I use my passport photo for my eVisa?
No. The Home Office guidance states your photo must "not be the same photo of you that is in your passport or identity card."
Can I wear glasses for a UKVI photo?
Not sunglasses or tinted glasses. Other glasses are permitted if you need them, provided your eyes are visible without any glare or reflection. See can you wear glasses in a UK passport photo.
Can I wear a head covering?
Yes, if it is worn for religious or medical reasons — the same exception as for a passport photo. The face must remain visible. See head coverings in UK passport photos.
When should I update the photo on my eVisa?
When your appearance has changed enough that you "cannot be recognised from your current photo." A photo update is permitted even while an application is pending.
I still have my BRP card. Is it any use?
Only for three things: signing in to view your eVisa, creating a UKVI account, and applying to extend your stay. It cannot be used to prove your status for anything else, and even those uses end 24 months after the card's expiry or on 31 December 2026, whichever comes first.
Where is my eVisa photo actually used?
It is the image shown when your immigration status is checked — right-to-work checks by employers, right-to-rent checks by landlords, and when travelling. That is why the update threshold is recognisability rather than age.
Can I scan a printed photo and upload it?
No. The guidance states the photo must "not be a scan or photo of another photo." Use an original digital file.