A Chinese visa photo is 48 mm high by 33 mm wide, color, white background, taken within the last 6 months, head 28 to 33 mm tall. A standard U.S. passport photo is 2 by 2 inches (51 by 51 mm). It is the wrong shape, and most pharmacy photo counters will hand you the wrong one unless you ask.
- 48 x 33 mmprint size, head 28 to 33 mm tall
- 6 monthsmaximum age of the photo
- 40 to 120 KBJPEG for the COVA upload
- 354 to 420 pxwide, by 472 to 560 px high
24 Hour Passport & Visas is a private expediter in Los Angeles. We are not the Chinese consulate. The consulate’s own photo page is the standard; what follows is that standard with the practical parts filled in. Call 310-913-7804 if you are not sure your photo passes.
What are the China visa photo requirements?
The consulate lists six rules for the printed photo. They are the same rules it applies when it looks at your uploaded image.
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Photo size | 48 mm high by 33 mm wide |
| Head height (chin to crown) | 28 to 33 mm |
| Head width | 15 to 22 mm |
| Color | Color only. Natural tone, not over- or under-exposed, no red-eye, no distortion |
| Background | White, no edge frame, no pattern, no shadow |
| Age of photo | Taken within the last 6 months |
| Expression | Neutral. Eyes open, lips closed |
| Pose | Facing the camera, head centered, whole head and face visible, both ears visible |
| Tilt | No more than 20 degrees left or right, 25 degrees up or down |
| Glasses | Allowed, except thick-rimmed, tinted or glare-producing frames |
| Head covering | Religious reasons only, and no facial feature may be hidden |
| Print quality | Glossy photo paper. No creases, scratches, stains or marks. Not matte, not plain paper |
Three of these catch Americans. The size, because 2 by 2 is what every U.S. photo counter defaults to. The ears, because U.S. passport photos do not require them and many people’s hair covers them. And the head height, because a 2 by 2 photo cropped down to 33 by 48 usually leaves the head too small.
Head height is measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair, not the top of the skull. Big hair counts. If your head measures 36 mm the photo fails even though everything else is right.
You will see other dimensions on commercial photo sites, including 35 by 45 mm. That is the Schengen format, mislabeled for China by some photo apps. The consulate does not list it. Use 33 by 48.
For everything else the application needs, see China visa requirements for U.S. travelers.
What are the digital photo file requirements?
Since September 30, 2025, every Los Angeles application goes through the China Online Visa Application system (COVA), and COVA requires an uploaded photo. The upload screen currently asks for:
- Format: JPEG (.jpg)
- Width: 354 to 420 pixels
- Height: 472 to 560 pixels
- File size: 40 KB to 120 KB
- Color: 24-bit true color RGB
- Background: white or near white
- Taken: within the last 6 months
The pixel ratio is 3 to 4, the same as 33 to 48. A 354 by 472 file is the minimum; 420 by 560 is the maximum. Anything outside the range is rejected before a human sees it. The 120 KB ceiling is small by modern phone standards. A photo straight off a phone is several megabytes and will fail. You have to export it at the right pixel size and a moderate JPEG quality, then check the file size in your computer’s file properties.
Different Chinese government pages quote slightly different pixel numbers, because the specification has been revised. One older visa center FAQ says “cannot exceed 354 by 472.” The current COVA screen gives the ranges above. When the system and a web page disagree, the system wins. Read the message on the upload screen the day you apply and match it.
Resizing and cropping are fine. Retouching is not. Do not smooth skin, remove a mole, whiten teeth, change the background in software, or run the photo through a beauty filter. The consulate rejects altered images, and if the person at the window does not look like the photo, you have a bigger problem than a resubmission. Automatic background removal tools are a gray area: they often leave a halo around the hair, which reads as an edited photo. A real white wall and decent light is safer.
Do you need a printed photo or a digital upload?
In Los Angeles, the upload is what counts. The consulate’s current document table lists the photo as “upload required” and adds “no need to submit if uploaded successfully.” If COVA accepted your photo and your status reached “Passport to be Submitted,” you do not need a print in the file.
That said, put one printed 33 by 48 mm photo in the file anyway. It costs a dollar and it avoids a second trip if an officer asks for it. Treat the print as insurance, not as the requirement.
Two situations where a print matters more:
- Other consulates and the embassy. Each post sets its own submission rules. If you apply in San Francisco, New York, Chicago or Washington, read that post’s page. Do not assume Los Angeles rules travel.
- Review comments. If the consulate flags your photo during online review (“Supplementary Materials to be provided” or “Rejected and to be modified”), you fix it in COVA by uploading a new file. Do not mail or email a print; the consulate ignores documents sent outside the system.
The practical rule: produce one good photo, keep the digital original, upload it, and carry a print.
How can you take a compliant visa photo?
You can do this at home with a phone if you are careful. The failure rate is high when people rush it, so give it ten minutes.
- Find a white wall and daylight. Face a window. Do not put the window behind you. Stand about a foot off the wall so your head does not throw a shadow on it. If the wall looks gray in the photo, the light is wrong, not the wall.
- Camera at eye level, lens straight on. Have someone else take it, or use a tripod and timer. Selfie-arm photos distort the face and tilt the head. Shoulders level, chin level, look straight into the lens.
- Clear the face. Hair behind the ears. Nothing over the eyebrows. No hat, headband or scarf unless worn for religious reasons, and even then the whole face must show. Take glasses off if there is any reflection; it is simpler than fighting the glare.
- Neutral face. Mouth closed, eyes open, no smile, no raised eyebrows. Neutral is not angry. Relax the jaw.
- Frame wide, crop later. Leave room above the head and below the shoulders so you can crop to a 3:4 portrait with the head at 60 to 70 percent of the image height. That puts a 48 mm print’s head height inside 28 to 33 mm.
- Shoot five, pick one. Choose the sharpest, straightest one with the cleanest background. Not the most flattering one.
- Export twice. One copy at 354 to 420 by 472 to 560 pixels, JPEG, under 120 KB, for COVA. One copy at full resolution for printing at 33 by 48 mm on glossy paper. Check the small file’s size before you upload it.
Before uploading, hold the photo up against the consulate’s rules one more time: ears, background, head size, no frame. If you print, measure the print with a ruler. Pharmacy printers sometimes scale a 33 by 48 file to fit a 4 by 6 sheet.
Where can you get a China visa photo?
Pharmacies and shipping stores. CVS, Walgreens, UPS Store, FedEx Office and Staples all take ID photos, usually for about $17 for two prints. Most of their systems have a “China visa” preset. The counter staff may not know it exists. Say “Chinese visa photo, 33 by 48 millimeters, not a passport photo” before they start, and check the print against a ruler before you pay. Ask whether they will give you the digital file; some will email it, some will not. A digital file saves you a scan.
Portrait studios and passport photo shops. More expensive, but they measure head height and will give you both the print and a correctly sized JPEG. In Los Angeles, photo shops in the San Gabriel Valley and Koreatown see the Chinese format often and are less likely to default to 2 by 2.
Online photo tools. Several websites and apps crop and resize a phone photo to 33 by 48 and to COVA’s pixel limits, usually for $7 to $20, and some mail prints. They are convenient. They also cannot fix a photo that was taken badly, and a few of them “clean up” the background in ways the consulate may read as editing. If you use one, start with a clean photo on a real white wall and turn off any enhancement options.
Our office. Call 310-913-7804 before you come to 8170 Beverly Blvd and ask about visa photos. We will tell you the fastest way to get a compliant print and file for your drop-off.
Whatever you choose, keep the digital original. If COVA rejects the upload for file size or dimensions, you re-export from the original in two minutes. If all you have is a print, you are scanning it, and scanned prints often fail the quality check.
China visa photo requirements FAQs
Photo questions are the most common reason an online application stalls. These are the ones we hear most, answered from the consulate’s published rules.
How recent must a China visa photo be?
Taken within the last 6 months. The consulate’s rule is “taken recently within the last 6 months,” and the COVA screen repeats it. If you cannot remember when a photo was taken, it is too old. A photo from your last U.S. passport application is almost certainly too old and is the wrong size anyway.
Can you wear glasses in a China visa photo?
Yes, with limits. The consulate allows eyeglasses except thick-rimmed, tinted or glare-producing ones. Your eyes must be fully visible through clear lenses. In practice, any reflection in the lens gets the photo flagged, and reflections are hard to avoid under indoor light. Taking the glasses off is the reliable choice.
Are head coverings allowed in China visa photos?
Only for religious reasons, and only if no facial feature is hidden. The face from chin to forehead and ear to ear must be visible. A fashion hat, cap, headband or hair wrap is not allowed. If you wear a religious covering, pull it back far enough that the hairline and both sides of the face show.
Can you reuse a China visa photo?
Only if it was taken in the last 6 months, still looks like you, and meets the current size and file rules. A photo COVA accepted for a family member’s application last spring does not get a pass this fall; the 6-month clock runs from the day it was taken. If anything about your appearance has changed, such as new glasses, a beard, or a very different haircut, take a new one.
Call 310-913-7804 before you upload. We will walk you through size, head measurement, background and file properties against the consulate’s rules, so your application does not stall on the one item that is easiest to get right. For how the rest of the Los Angeles process works, see China visa service in Los Angeles, and for what the application costs, China visa fees.
Call 310-913-7804Sources: Consulate General of China in Los Angeles, Photo Requirements for Visa; Apply for Ordinary Visas (September 2025); China Online Visa Application (COVA).