Spain Schengen Visa Photo Requirements (Type C)

Photo size and shooting rules

This page covers the photograph for a Spain short-stay Schengen visa (Type C) — the visa for short stays. National visas (Type D) for longer stays, residence, work, or study follow a different document list on the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC) portal and are not covered here.

The Spanish MAEC consular Schengen visa template asks for a recent colour photo of the face, taken against a light background, facing forward, with no dark or reflective glasses and no garments concealing the oval of the face, but it states only 'passport-size' without millimetres. The European Commission hosts an ICAO photograph guidelines PDF as the Schengen visa photo standard; under that PDF the format is 35–40 mm in width with the face taking up 70–80% of the photograph and no more than 6 months old. No chin-to-crown millimetre figure is stated in either source, so frame by the 70–80% face ratio. This service prepares a 35×45 mm print within that range. The common shooting rules below are drawn from the same template and Schengen/ICAO guidance.

The size can also vary by application route, not only by the EU ICAO baseline. For example, the Spain BLS US tourist route requires 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) photos, while the San Francisco BLS seamen/transit route uses 35 × 45 mm — a visa-category difference within the same provider. Other locations or categories may publish yet another size or none at all. If your application goes through a different location, jurisdiction, or category, confirm the size on that route's checklist rather than assuming the general 35–40 mm width.

The number of prints and the exact submission steps are set by the office that accepts applications where you live. Spain mainly receives Schengen visa applications through external visa application centres as well as consular sections; confirm the live checklist on the official Spanish consular page for your country of residence before you book or print.

• Recency: no more than 6 months old; must look like you today.
• Quality: colour, sharp focus, high quality, no creases or ink marks. Digital captures printed on photo-quality paper at high resolution.
• Background: plain light-coloured (a plain light grey can work if even). Avoid busy scenes and strong shadows on the face or behind the head.
• Lighting: even light, natural skin tones, appropriate brightness and contrast; no flash reflection on skin, no red-eye.
• Pose and expression: look straight at the camera; face square-on, not tilted; eyes open and not covered by hair; neutral expression, mouth closed; alone in the frame.
• Glasses: eyes fully visible; no tinted lenses; no flash reflection on the lenses; frames must not cover the eyes. Remove glasses if those conditions are hard to meet.
• Head covering: only for religious reasons, and the full face from chin to forehead and both edges of the face must still be clear.
• Editing: keep brightness and crop adjustments that do not change how you look. Avoid contour reshaping, eye or nose changes, and heavy beauty filters. The photo must remain realistic with natural skin tones.

Photos for children

Children need a photograph that meets the same quality rules: recency, a colour photo, a plain light background, facing forward, and the child alone in the frame. The child-photo wording here comes from the Spanish MAEC consular Schengen visa template itself — 'Photographs of minors must not show any part of the adult holding them' — so the basis is the Schengen visa page (childPhotoBasis: schengen-visa) rather than a national passport or ID-document standard.

The Spanish consular template and the EU ICAO photograph guidelines do not publish a separate, age-based face-size table for children (unlike some other Schengen states). Treat the 70–80% face ratio and the light-background rules as applying to children as well, unless the office that accepts your application tells you otherwise. Minors need their own photograph under the same quality rules.

Fingerprint and live-photo capture rules for children (for example, that under-12s are exempt from fingerprints, and prints taken within the last 59 months may be reused) are part of the application process rather than the photo specification. The office that accepts your application can confirm the current biometric procedure for children.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

These points combine the Spanish MAEC consular template photo wording with general ICAO-style preparation checks.

Spain-specific risks: a width outside 35–40 mm; the face under 70% or over 80% of the image; a dark or patterned background (the template asks for light); a half-length portrait or a tilted head; shadows on the face or behind the head; dark or reflective glasses; garments concealing the oval of the face; a photo older than 6 months or that no longer matches your current appearance; a low-resolution print.

Watch for the child rule too: an adult's hand, arm, or body appearing in a minor's photo is explicitly disallowed by the Spanish template. Retake with the child alone in the frame.

• Head cut off or tilted: retake with more distance, face square-on to the camera, both edges of the face visible.
• Uneven colour, shadows, or blow-out on the background: use a plain light background and even light so the face and the back of the head stay free of hard shadows.
• Glasses glare: remove glasses if practical, or use clear lenses and lighting that shows the pupils fully.
• Old photo: replace any portrait older than six months or that no longer matches your appearance.
• Heavy beauty filters: start again from a natural image; do not change face shape or skin texture.
• Pixelated print: export a high-resolution colour file and print on photo-quality paper.