What size is a Swiss passport photo?

35 × 45 mm with no border. The head (chin to top of skull) must be 29–34 mm tall.

Does Switzerland specify a head height?

Yes — it is one of the few countries that does. The head must be at least 29 mm and at most 34 mm from chin to top of skull. For children under 11 the minimum is 23 mm.

What background does Switzerland require?

A single-colour, uniform and neutral background with no shadows, clearly separated from the head. The official criteria do not name a specific colour value.

What if the person has voluminous hair?

The 29 mm head-height floor still applies — showing the face at the right size matters more than the full hairstyle, and the hair may exceptionally cross the photo edge.

Switzerland Passport Photo — 35 × 45 mm, head 29–34 mm

Switzerland uses the familiar 35 × 45 mm print, but it is one of the few countries that publishes a head height in millimetres: 29–34 mm. The background rule is deliberately colourless — listed below. Verified against the official fedpol photo criteria, September 2026.

Official specification

Size	35 × 45 mm, no border
Head height	Chin to top of skull: at least 29 mm, at most 34 mm
Children under 11	Head height at least 23 mm
Background	Single-colour, uniform and neutral, with no shadows and a clear separation from the head
Recency	Not older than 1 year
Other	Frontal, shoulders level, looking at the camera; head straight (not tilted or turned), nose on the vertical centre line; both eyes open at the same height and clearly visible; neutral or friendly expression, mouth closed; no hands or objects over the face; glasses must not cover the eyes, glare, or be tinted; religious or medical head coverings are allowed if the face from chin to forehead and ear to ear stays visible.

A published head height

Most countries describe framing loosely and leave you guessing. Switzerland states it outright: chin to top of skull must be 29–34 mm. If the person has voluminous hair, the 29 mm floor still applies — it is more important to show the face at the right size than the full hairstyle, and the hair may exceptionally cross the photo edge. For children under 11 the floor drops to 23 mm.

The background rule is colourless — on purpose

The official criteria require a background that is single-colour, uniform and neutral, with no shadows, and clearly separated from the head. They do not name a specific colour value. The “white or light grey” you will see on third-party sites is not stated in the official source, so treat it as a conventional choice rather than a written rule.

What the official source does not specify

Two items are not published: a background colour value (only “single-colour / neutral”) and any DPI or pixel figure (it only requires that no pixel structure be visible). A capture distance is not published either. These are marked as unverified rather than guessed.

Getting a compliant shot

Shoot frontally against a plain, shadow-free wall — see the home photo guide.
Crop to 35 × 45 mm with the head at 29–34 mm (23 mm for under-11s) from the size chart.
Check the head straightness and eyeline — see head coverings and rejection reasons.
Print and confirm true size with the print calibration step and the print sheet.

Everything runs locally in your browser — the photo never leaves your device.

Official source

Swiss fedpol “Kriterien für die Annahme von Fotos für Pässe und Identitätskarten” (fotomustertafel.pdf), fedpol.admin.ch — confidence A (official PDF, retrieved 2026-09-24).