Botswana visa photos and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Botswana visas are issued by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship within the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs. The same photo standard applies to every visa category, including tourist, visitor, business, employment, study, and transit, and it carries over to work and residence permit applications. Government visa pages describe the image as a recent coloured passport-size photograph on a white background.
Applications run through one of two channels with no third-party visa application centre involved. Online submissions go through the national e-Visa portal at evisa.gov.bw, where supporting documents including the photograph are bundled into a single PDF for upload. In-person and mail-in submissions go directly to a Botswana embassy or high commission and require two identical prints attached to Form 1.
A photograph that does not match the Department’s standard will cause the application to be returned or rejected, delaying travel. Regional missions sometimes follow the local passport-photo convention of their host country, so applicants printing for the Washington embassy or the London High Commission should confirm the accepted print size with that specific mission before submission.
Botswana visa photo requirements
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship expects a recent colour photograph that presents the applicant clearly and consistently. The subject-side rules below apply to every visa category.
Expression & pose
- Neutral expressionThe applicant must look directly at the camera with a neutral expression and the mouth closed. Smiling, frowning, and raised eyebrows are not accepted.
- Eyes open and visibleBoth eyes must be fully open and clearly visible. Red-eye is not accepted.
- Straight head positionThe head must face the camera squarely with no tilt or rotation. An equal amount of each ear and cheek should be visible.
- Shoulders squareShoulders should face the camera evenly. The applicant should not lean or turn the upper body.
Eyewear & lenses
- EyeglassesGlasses, if worn, must have clear lenses with no glare or reflections, and frames must not cover any part of the eyes. Removing glasses for the photo is the safer option and is widely recommended.
- Tinted and dark lensesSunglasses, tinted lenses, and transition lenses that have darkened are not accepted.
Hair & facial hair
- Hair off the faceHair must not cover the eyes, eyebrows, or the outline of the face. Both ears should preferably be visible.
- Everyday facial hairBeards and moustaches are accepted provided they reflect the applicant’s regular appearance and do not obscure facial features.
Headwear
- General ruleHats, caps, and other head coverings are not permitted.
- Religious and medical coveringsHead coverings worn daily for religious or documented medical reasons are permitted. The full face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead must remain visible, and the covering must not cast shadows on the face.
Jewelry & accessories
- Facial jewelleryJewellery and piercings are permitted only when they do not obscure or distort any facial feature.
- Headphones and bandsHeadphones, earbuds, wireless headsets, and visible hair bands worn across the forehead are not accepted.
Cosmetics
- Everyday makeupLight, everyday makeup is acceptable as long as it does not alter the applicant’s natural appearance or obscure facial features.
Clothing
- Everyday attireOrdinary day clothing is required. The clothing should contrast with the white background so the outline of the shoulders is visible.
- Uniforms not allowedUniforms and clothing resembling a uniform are not accepted. Religious garments worn daily are permitted.
Photo quality
- Recent photographThe photograph must be recent and reflect the applicant’s current appearance. Six months is the accepted standard.
- Colour photographThe photograph must be in colour. Black and white photographs are not accepted.
- No facial shadowsThe face must be evenly lit with no harsh shadows across the features, under the chin, or around the eyes.
Dimensions, resolution & background.
Head position & camera distance.
- Head height, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, must be between 29 mm and 31 mm (roughly 71–79% of the photo height).
- Eyes must sit between 19 mm and 23 mm from the bottom of the photo.
- The head must be centered horizontally in the frame with a small symmetrical margin on each side.
- Both shoulders must be square to the camera and visible. Three-quarter angles or rotated torsos are not accepted.
- The full face from chin to crown must be inside the frame with proper top margin.
How recent the photo must be.
Your visa photo must have been taken within the last six months. A new photo is required sooner whenever your appearance has changed in a way that makes the old photo no longer recognizable.
You need a new photo if you’ve had…
- Facial surgery or a major change to facial structure
- A significant gain or loss of weight that visibly changes your face
- Large facial tattoos or piercings added or removed
- A gender transition that has changed your appearance
You do not need a new photo just because of…
- A new hair color
- Growing or removing a beard or moustache
- Ordinary, minor aging
- A new hairstyle that still leaves the face fully visible
Photos for infants and young children.
Botswana does not publish an infant-specific photo rule, but the Department of Immigration and Citizenship still expects a usable biometric image. The tolerances below reflect what is realistically accepted for the youngest applicants.
Infants (under 1 year)
Botswana publishes no separate infant photo rule, so the same framing and background standard applies. Expression and small head-pose deviations are treated with more latitude in practice.
- ExpressionA neutral expression is preferred but not required for infants. Eyes that are not fully open are tolerated when the child cannot cooperate.
- Head positionSmall departures from a perfectly straight, forward-facing pose are accepted for infants who cannot hold their head steady, provided the full face remains visible.
- Solo subjectThe infant must appear alone in the frame. Hands, arms, pacifiers, toys, and supporting adults must not be visible.
- Background standardThe plain white background requirement still applies. Laying the child on a smooth white sheet is the conventional way to achieve this.
Other things to know.
A few procedural details set Botswana apart from neighbouring visa regimes.
Two identical prints
Walk-in and mail-in applications at Botswana embassies and high commissions require two identical colour prints attached to Form 1, regardless of visa category.
Photo bundled into one PDF
Applications submitted through evisa.gov.bw require the photo and every other supporting document to be combined into a single PDF for upload. The photo is not uploaded as a standalone image file.
Regional mission size variants
Some Botswana missions follow the local passport-photo convention of the host country. The Embassy in Washington DC commonly requests 2x2 in (51x51 mm) prints, and the High Commission in London requests 35x45 mm. Confirm with the receiving mission before printing.
No third-party visa centres
Botswana does not route its own visa applications through VFS Global, BLS, or TLScontact. Intake is limited to the national e-Visa portal and direct embassy or high commission channels.
Take your Botswana visa photo at home in three steps.
Free to check. You only pay when you keep it.
Print-quality requirements for in-person submissions.
When you submit a printed photo at a visa application centre, the paper, finish, and ink all matter. The points below cover the standards most consular missions accept.
- Print on photographic-quality paper at 600 DPI minimum.
- Use a matte or semi-gloss finish; high-gloss can produce reflections that confuse biometric scanners.
- Do not retouch, crop, or alter the photo after printing.
- Bring at least two identical prints when the submission channel calls for paper photos.