Nigerian passport photo size: what the NIS portal accepts

A Nigerian passport photo for the online application is a 600×800 pixel colour image, smaller than 2 MB, in JPG or PNG, on a white background. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) portal also asks for ears uncovered, no eyeglasses, no headphones or face mask, and a head that fills 50–69% of the image height. After you apply online, you go to your chosen immigration office for photo and fingerprint capture, with two printed passport photographs endorsed at the back by your guarantor. You can make the upload photo online from a good selfie in SelfieDoc: the service fits the size, background and head position to the requirements.

Nigerian passport photo requirements

Checked: October 2026 against the NIS passport portal (passport.immigration.gov.ng) and the passports page on immigration.gov.ng.

The NIS pages don't give a printed size in millimetres for the paper photos. If you're unsure, ask your passport office before you print.

Where the photo goes: online upload and office visit

The process has two parts, and the photo matters in both.

1. Online application. On passport.immigration.gov.ng you fill in your details and upload your passport photograph. The portal checks the photo against the ICAO standard, the international rules for passport photos, and lists any "ICAO Compliance Issue(s)" it finds.
2. Payment and appointment. Payment is online only. You pick a passport office and a date.
3. Office visit. NIS says applicants must appear at the chosen immigration office for photograph and biometric data capture. Your passport photo is taken there, along with your fingerprints.
4. Documents at the office. You bring the application form with two passport photographs endorsed at the back by your guarantor, plus the guarantor's form signed by a Commissioner for Oaths, with a copy of the guarantor's passport data page and one passport photograph of the guarantor.

Before you start the application, use the Test Photo Upload on the portal's home page. NIS put it there so you can check your photo's compliance before you go further. It saves a failed upload in the middle of the form.

How big should your head be in a 600×800 photo?

The NIS guidelines measure the head from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin. It must take up 50% to 69% of the image height. In a 600×800 image, that's roughly 400 to 552 pixels.

The eyes should sit between 56% and 69% of the height, counting from the bottom of the image. That's about 448 to 552 pixels from the bottom edge, which puts them a little above the middle.

In practice:

• leave a small gap between your hair and the top edge;
• show your neck and the top of your shoulders;
• keep your head straight and centred, looking into the camera.

If your hair touches the top edge, the head is too big. If you look like a small figure in the middle of the frame, it's too small.

Glasses, caps, gele and hijab

Glasses. The NIS guidelines say plainly that eyeglasses are no longer allowed in passport photos. That includes people who wear glasses every day. Take them off for the photo.

Head coverings. A hat or head covering is allowed only if you wear it for religious reasons and it doesn't hide any facial features. A hijab worn for religion that leaves the whole face visible fits this rule. A fashion cap or a party gele comes off.

Hair and ears. Hair should not cover your face or ears. Pull long hair or braids back behind the shoulders.

Accessories. No headphones, earpieces or face masks.

If your facial appearance makes a standard photo impossible, the upload page has an ICAO Exception option to select. Children under 5 get some relaxation: they must look toward the camera with the face centred.

Printed photos for the guarantor

Even with the online upload, you still need printed passport photographs for the office visit:

• Adults: two passport photographs, endorsed at the back by your guarantor.
• Guarantor: one passport photograph of the guarantor, attached to the guarantor's form.
• Minors (under 18): one passport photograph, endorsed on the reverse by the consenting parent.

Use the same rules for the prints: white background, no glasses, face fully visible. Print on photo paper, not on plain office paper.

How much the passport costs in 2026

Since 1 September 2025, a passport applied for in Nigeria costs ₦100,000 for the 32-page booklet valid for 5 years and ₦200,000 for the 64-page booklet valid for 10 years. Fees for Nigerians abroad stayed at $150 and $230. Check the amount on the portal before you pay, as fees are reviewed from time to time.

Common Nigerian passport photo mistakes

• Wrong pixel size. A photo straight from your phone is usually several thousand pixels wide. The portal wants a 600×800 portrait image.
• File over 2 MB. Big phone photos often go over the limit. Export or save a smaller JPG.
• Glasses on. Even clear lenses are not allowed.
• Cream, grey or blue wall. The background must be white or close to it, without shadows.
• Background cut out with an editing app. The NIS examples mark this as unacceptable because it changes the outline of the head and neck. Stand in front of a white wall instead.
• Smiling. The expression must be neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open.
• Ears hidden by hair, a cap or a scarf that isn't religious wear.
• Shadows or harsh light, such as one side of the face dark, or a flash glare on the forehead.

How to get your Nigerian passport photo

At a studio or business centre. Ask for a "passport photograph for the NIS portal, 600×800 pixels, white background" and for two prints. Check the soft copy before you leave: no glasses, ears showing, plain white background.

At home with a phone. Stand a metre from a white wall, face a window in daylight, and ask someone to take the photo at eye level. Our guide on taking a passport photograph with your phone covers the light, the wall and the file size step by step.

Online from a selfie. SelfieDoc crops the photo to the NIS portrait format, sets the head position and checks the background before you get the file. Your facial features stay as they are. Before you upload, open the file details and make sure the image is 600×800 px.

For other Nigerian documents (NYSC, US visa, university portals), see our passport photograph size guide for Nigeria.

Sources

• Nigeria Immigration Service passport portal: photo instructions and Test Photo Upload.
• Nigeria Immigration Service: passports, requirements and guarantor.
• Voice of Nigeria (federal government broadcaster): NIS reviews passport application fees, 28 August 2025.