Key Takeaways
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The Japan visa photo size on the official application form is 45 mm high by 35 mm wide (2 x 1.4 inches), but Mumbai’s application centre asks for 2 x 2 inches and Chennai’s for 2 x 2 inches or 45 x 45 mm, so print the size your own centre publishes (Visa Application Form to Enter Japan; VFS Global Mumbai and Chennai, accessed 2026-09-17). On the rest, the official sources agree.
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group. It covers the photo only; for eligibility and the application routes, start with our guide to the Japan visa for Indians .
Last verified: 2026-09-17.
Japan visa photo size by application centre
Your state’s application centre sets the size to print, and the five Japanese missions in India give three different answers. Every tourist application from India goes in through the Japan Visa Application Centre run by VFS Global, the Embassy of Japan’s official partner. Check you are on the real site: visa.vfsglobal.com . Sizes are height by width.
Source | Photo size | Face in the frame | Rules it adds |
Application form (Japan’s Foreign Ministry) | 45 x 35 mm, or 2 x 1.4 inches | Not stated | “Paste photo here” |
New Delhi (Embassy) | Passport size, 45 x 35 mm | 70% to 80% | Good quality paper; one photo |
Bengaluru (checklist) | 45 x 35 mm (its page writes “35mm X 45mm”, width first) | 80% | White background |
Kolkata | 45 x 35 mm, or 2 x 1.4 inches | About 70% | Not used for any previous visa; hair tied; no spectacles; no border; glossy finish |
Mumbai (checklist CL-01) | 2 x 2 inches (about 51 x 51 mm) | 70% | White background |
Chennai | 2 x 2 inches, or 45 x 45 mm | In millimetres (below) | Good quality paper |
For Chennai’s 45 x 45 mm option, the centre fixes where the head sits:
Measurement | Chennai’s figure |
Top edge of the photo to the top of the hair | 4 mm |
Face, top of the hair to the chin | 34 to 36 mm |
Chin to the bottom edge | 7 mm |
Which centre is yours
Where you live, not where your passport was issued, decides your mission (VFS Global, Japan visa information, accessed 2026-09-17).
If you live in | Mission | VFS centres | Size to print |
Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand (listed as Uttaranchal), Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep | Embassy, New Delhi | New Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Lucknow | 45 x 35 mm |
Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli | Consulate-General, Mumbai | Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa | 2 x 2 inches |
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Puducherry | Consulate-General, Chennai | Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Puducherry | 2 x 2 inches or 45 x 45 mm |
Karnataka | Consulate-General, Bengaluru | Bengaluru | 45 x 35 mm |
West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha | Consulate-General, Kolkata | Kolkata, Bhubaneswar | 45 x 35 mm |
VFS lists its Jaipur and Jalandhar centres as temporarily closed, and Ladakh is not named on its list, so ask the centre.
Travelling to Japan? Get covered before you fly. Travel insurance for Japan is not on any Japan visa checklist, but Japan’s Foreign Ministry calls cover highly recommended, and its consulates warn that medical costs in Japan can be very high.
Why the sizes differ, and which to print
The 45 x 35 mm size is the box on the application form; Mumbai and Chennai ask for a square 2 x 2 inch photo instead, so print what your own centre names.
· Two inch sizes. The form’s 2 x 1.4 inches is the same upright photo as 45 x 35 mm. The 2 x 2 inch photo is square.
· Print to size. Give the studio the exact size in millimetres or inches, and do not trim a print made for another size, because centres also set how much of the frame your face fills.
· Check on the day. On visa.vfsglobal.com , open your mission’s page, choose the tourism visa type and read the “Photo Specifications” tab.
Background, colour and recency
Use a colour photo, taken within the last six months, against a plain white background.
Rule | Who states it |
Colour | New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai |
Plain white background | All five centres; the JAPAN eVISA website asks for a plain, untextured background |
Taken within the last six months | New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai; the JAPAN eVISA website |
Not used for any previous visa | Kolkata |
Not re-photographed from a passport, driving licence or group photo | The JAPAN eVISA website ( evisa.mofa.go.jp ) |
So a photo from a passport renewal more than six months ago does not qualify, and in Kolkata neither does the photo from your last Japan visa.
Expression, pose and face size
Look straight at the camera, with your face centred and filling 70% to 80% of the photo, as the centre pages ask. New Delhi asks for a photo “looking straight ahead”, and the JAPAN eVISA website asks for the face to be centred. Mumbai sets 70%, Kolkata about 70% and Bengaluru 80%, so a small face in a wide frame, such as a crop from a holiday photo, falls short.
None of the official sources we read sets a rule on smiling; a neutral expression with your mouth closed is the safe choice.
Glasses, hair and head coverings
Among the official pages we checked, only the Kolkata centre’s states rules here: no spectacles, and hair tied.
· Glasses. Take them off. Kolkata requires it, and no other official source we read requires them on, so a photo without glasses suits every centre.
· Hair. Tie it if you apply in Kolkata; anywhere, keep it off your face.
· Head coverings. None of the pages we read publishes a rule on religious head coverings. If you wear one, keep your whole face clearly visible and ask your centre before you print.
Printed photo or digital upload
Indian applicants hand in a printed photo at the application centre; you do not upload one on the JAPAN eVISA website. Residents of India cannot apply on that website themselves: applications go through the centre, and a single-entry tourist visa is then issued electronically (MOFA, The JAPAN eVISA system, accessed 2026-09-17). See how to apply for the Japan eVISA .
· How many. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) lists one photo (MOFA checklist, accessed 2026-09-17), pasted in the form’s photo box, and New Delhi asks for one. The Bengaluru and Kolkata checklists say “photos”, so carry a spare.
· Paper. New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai ask for good quality paper; Kolkata adds a glossy finish and no border.
· The upload screen is for other countries. The eVISA website takes JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP or HEIC files, up to 2 MB recommended, fitted to an on-screen red frame (JAPAN eVISA FAQ, accessed 2026-09-17), for applicants from the countries that apply online. Follow your centre’s checklist instead.
Common Japan visa photo mistakes that risk rejection
Each mistake below breaks a rule on an official page, and Japan’s missions will not tell you what went wrong. MOFA lists errors or omissions among the reasons an application may not be accepted, gives no reasons for refusals, and does not accept a new application for the same purpose within six months of a refusal unless circumstances have changed significantly (MOFA, Visa FAQ, accessed 2026-09-17).
Mistake | The rule it breaks | Stated by |
A 45 x 35 mm print for Mumbai | 2 x 2 inches | Mumbai |
A 2 x 2 inch print for New Delhi, Bengaluru or Kolkata | 45 x 35 mm | Those three centres |
A passport or PAN card photo more than six months old | Taken within six months | New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai |
The photo from your previous Japan visa | Not used for any previous visa | Kolkata |
A photo of a printed photo, or a group-picture crop | No retaken or group photos | JAPAN eVISA website |
A cream, blue or patterned background | Plain white | All five centres |
A small face in a wide frame | 70% to 80% face | New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru |
Glasses on, hair loose | No spectacles; hair tied | Kolkata |
A matte print with a white border | Glossy; no border | Kolkata |
Japan visa photo checklist
Run through this before you hand over your application.
· Size from your centre’s page: 45 x 35 mm (New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata), 2 x 2 inches (Mumbai), or 2 x 2 inches or 45 x 45 mm (Chennai).
· Taken in the last six months, never used for another visa.
· Colour, plain white background.
· Face straight on, centred, filling the share your centre asks for.
· Glasses off; hair tied for Kolkata.
· Good quality paper; glossy and borderless for Kolkata.
· One print in the form’s photo box, plus a spare.
For the rest of the file, see Japan tourist visa documents for Indians .
Where travel insurance fits
Travel insurance is not a requirement for a Japanese visa or for entry, but Japan’s Foreign Ministry calls it highly recommended (MOFA, VISA, accessed 2026-09-17), and no checklist asks for it. Since 2026-04-01, an unpaid hospital bill of JPY 10,000 or more (about INR 6,170 at 1 JPY = INR 0.617 on 2026-09-17) can be reported to Japan’s immigration agency and lead to strict screening on your next visit (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice, in Japanese, accessed 2026-09-17).
Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel plans cover Japan under the Asia geography: Excel, with sum insured up to USD 100,000, and Prime, up to USD 500,000. The Asia plans accept travellers up to age 70, with no Senior Citizen plan on this geography; travellers aged 71 or over can read about travel insurance for senior citizens . See travel insurance for Japan once your dates are fixed.
FAQs
Q: What is the photo size for a Japan visa from India? A: It depends on your application centre. The application form’s photo box is 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, which New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata use; Mumbai asks for 2 x 2 inches, and Chennai for 2 x 2 inches or 45 x 45 mm. Check your centre’s Photo Specifications tab before you print.
Q: Is a 2 x 2 inch photo accepted for a Japan visa? A: At the Mumbai and Chennai centres, yes. New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata list 45 x 35 mm, the size on the application form.
Q: How old can my Japan visa photo be? A: No more than six months, according to the New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai centres and the JAPAN eVISA website. Kolkata adds that it must not have been used for any previous visa.
Q: Can I wear glasses in a Japan visa photo? A: Take them off. The Kolkata centre says no spectacles, and no other official source we read requires them, so a photo without glasses suits every centre.
Q: Do Indians upload a photo on the Japan eVISA website? A: No. Residents of India cannot apply on that website themselves, so you hand in a printed photo with your application at the Japan Visa Application Centre for your state.
