Kenya visa photos under the Directorate of Immigration Services
Kenya’s visa photo standard is set by the Directorate of Immigration Services (DIS) within the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services. The canonical format is a 55 mm by 55 mm square on a plain white background, with the head occupying 70 to 80 percent of the frame and the photo taken within the last six months. The same biometric standard underpins the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) that replaced the eVisa on 5 January 2024, the eFNS portal used for long-stay permits and passes, and the printed photos required for in-person endorsements at Nyayo House.
Kenya does not use VFS Global, BLS, or any other visa application centre for inbound travel. Applications flow directly through government portals: etakenya.go.ke for short-stay eTAs (which accepts both uploaded files and a live selfie taken in-browser) and fns.immigration.go.ke for work permits, the Student Pass, the Dependant’s Pass, and the Alien Card. The eFNS portal enforces a stricter 207 by 207 pixel minimum with a 500 KB file ceiling, while individual embassies handling residual paper visas can tighten the rules further.
A photo that misses the DIS standard will be rejected outright at upload, and scanned photocopies are explicitly refused under the eCitizen guidelines. For long-stay permits, a rejected photo means the application stalls before it ever reaches an officer, so the subject-side rules below are worth following exactly.
What the Directorate of Immigration Services expects in a Kenya visa photo
The Directorate of Immigration Services applies one biometric standard across the eTA, long-stay permits, and embassy endorsements. The rules below cover what must be true of the subject in the final image.
Expression & pose
- Full-face frontal viewThe applicant must face the camera directly with shoulders squared toward the lens. Profile and three-quarter angles are rejected by eCitizen.
- Neutral expressionKeep the mouth closed with no smile and no visible teeth. The face should be relaxed and natural.
- Eyes open and visibleBoth eyes must be open and looking straight at the lens. Red-eye is not accepted.
- Both sides of the face visibleThe eTA portal requires both edges of the face to be visible in frame so that facial contours can be read clearly.
Eyewear & lenses
- Sunglasses and tinted lensesSunglasses and any tinted or photochromic lenses are prohibited by the Directorate of Immigration Services.
- Prescription glassesClear prescription glasses are tolerated only if there is no glare on the lenses and the frames do not obscure the eyes. Removing glasses for the photo is the safer option.
- Stockholm embassy exceptionFor transit visas processed through the Kenyan embassy in Stockholm, glasses are banned outright regardless of lens type.
Hair & forehead
- Face shape visibleHair must be arranged so that the shape of the face is apparent. eCitizen instructs applicants to tuck hair behind the ears where possible.
- No bangs over the foreheadBangs or fringes that cover the forehead are prohibited. The forehead must be visible enough to show the contour of the face.
- Hair off the faceHair must not fall across the eyes or cheeks. Loose strands that obscure facial features will cause the photo to be rejected.
Headwear
- General ruleHeadwear is prohibited in Kenyan visa photos.
- Religious or medical exceptionHead coverings worn daily for religious or medical reasons are permitted. The covering must not obscure any part of the face from the chin to the forehead and must not cast shadows across the features.
Jewelry & accessories
- Small jewelry toleratedSmall, non-reflective jewelry is generally accepted on the eTA and eFNS channels provided it does not obscure facial features.
- Stockholm embassy exceptionEarrings are not permitted in transit-visa photos submitted through the Kenyan embassy in Stockholm.
Clothing
- No uniformsUniforms, including military and occupational uniforms, are not accepted. Everyday civilian clothing is required.
- Religious dressDaily religious attire is permitted as long as the face remains fully visible from the chin to the forehead.
Photo quality
- No shadows on the faceShadows cast across the face, including those from a hat brim or strong overhead light, will cause rejection. The face must be evenly visible.
- No red-eyeRed-eye from on-camera flash is not accepted. Eyes must show natural colour.
- Sharp focusThe photo must be sharp and clean, with no motion blur, creases, or ink marks on the subject. Scanned photocopies of an existing photo are explicitly rejected by eCitizen.
- Natural skin toneSkin tone must appear natural. Heavy beautifying filters or any alteration of facial features will cause the photo to fail review.
Photo recency
- Taken within the last 6 monthseCitizen requires the photo to be no more than six months old so that it reflects the applicant’s current appearance.
- Alien Card extensionFor the Foreign Nationals Certificate (Alien Card), a photo up to twelve months old is accepted.
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 38.5 mm and 44 mm (roughly 70–80% of the photo height).
- Eyes must sit between 30.2 mm and 35.7 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.
Kenya accepts more than one size — we generate them all.
Kenya publishes more than one acceptable format depending on where you submit your application — domestic passport offices, the official online portal, and regional consulates abroad can each call for a different print or pixel size. We render every variant below from the same source photo, so the head sits at the same physical position across files, and each one arrives in your order email with a clear filename indicating which submission channel it's for.
Kenya Visa 2×2 in
Primary · Print + DigitalKenya's official format — the same file works for both printed in-person submissions and the online portal upload.
Kenya Visa 500×500 px — e-Visa
Digital uploadSized for Kenya's e-Visa online application.
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
Other things to know.
A few aspects of Kenya’s visa photo process don’t fit the standard subject rules.
eTA replaced the eVisa
Since 5 January 2024, Kenya issues an Electronic Travel Authorisation through etakenya.go.ke instead of an eVisa. Every foreign visitor, including infants and children, needs an eTA with a photo before travel.
Live selfie capture supported
The eTA portal lets applicants capture a live selfie in-browser or in the mobile app instead of uploading a file. The photo still has to meet the standard subject rules for expression, eyewear, and headwear.
No VFS or VAC channel
Kenya does not route inbound visa applications through VFS Global, BLS, TLScontact, or any other visa application centre. All submissions go directly through the eTA portal, the eFNS portal for long-stay permits, or a Kenyan embassy.
Embassy-specific tightening
Some embassies apply rules stricter than the central standard. The Kenyan embassy in Stockholm bans glasses and earrings outright for transit visas and asks for three printed copies of the photo rather than the usual two.
Take your Kenya visa photo at home in three steps.
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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 300 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.