Netherlands Schengen Visa
photo.
The Dutch spec’s head-height window is 26–30 mm — narrower than the Schengen 32–36 mm most tools assume. Oversized head crops fail biometric review at submission.
- 35×45 mm
- Light grey, light blue, or white — plain, even, single colour
- JPEG · ≤500 KB
Photos deleted within 24 hours · Full refund if your photo is rejected · No training on your photo.
Illustrative model, not a real applicant — this photo is not tied to Netherlands and is shown only to preview the frame and background. Your compliant render will follow Netherlands Schengen Visa specs exactly.
A photo, not a selfie. We handle the rest.
Framing, cropping, and background are automatic. But arm’s-length selfies distort your face — most authorities reject them. Take a few steps back instead.
- Ask someone to take the photo from about 1.5–2 m away — or prop your phone and use the timer
- Use the rear camera, not the front / selfie camera — the wider front lens distorts your face
- Face a window for soft, even light; no harsh shadows on you or the wall behind
- Head and shoulders in frame, eyes looking straight at the lens
- Plain-ish background is fine — we replace it with the exact required colour
- Arm's-length selfie — the close focal length stretches your nose and chin
- Wide smile or visible teeth
- Glasses (prescription included — remove for this spec)
- Hats or sunglasses
- Head coverings unless worn for religious reasons
- Hair, earrings, or headphones that obscure your ears
- Another person in the frame — only the applicant
- Photos older than the recency window below
Four steps. Under two minutes.
End-to-end, from picking a photo to downloading the final compliant JPEG.
- № 01Upload your photo
Your browser loads a face-check model (once, ~3 MB) and runs the compliance rules locally. The photo never leaves your device at this step.
- № 02Free compliance check
We verify face position, expression, eyes, centering, and head-height against the Netherlands Schengen Visa spec. If something fails, we tell you exactly what to fix.
- № 03Spec-compliant render
Once it passes, we auto-crop to 35×45 mm, replace the background with light grey, light blue, or white — plain, even, single colour, and compress the JPEG to under 500 KB.
- № 04Preview, then pay $9
Watermarked preview first — you only pay if you're happy. Download link works for 24 hours, emailed to you as a receipt.
Exact specification
Drawn from Government of the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid).
- Dimensions
- 35×45 mm (1.38″ × 1.77″)
- Pixels
- 413×531 px @ 300 dpi
- Head height
- 26–30 mm (58–67% frame)
- Background
- Light grey, light blue, or white — plain, even, single colour#F2F2F2
- File
- JPEG ≤ 500 KB
- Use
- Printed photo
- Recency
- Taken within 6 months
What reviewers check
The common rejection reasons, ranked by frequency.
- No eyeglasses — frames or lenses
- Neutral expression, mouth closed — no smile
- Both ears fully visible
- No head covering unless religious (face fully visible)
- Taken within the last 6 months
Country-specific notes
Notes- 01Dutch government spec uses chin-to-crown 26–30 mm (stricter than the 32–36 mm many tools default to — an over-tall head crop fails biometric review).
- 02Light grey is recommended for Schengen visa submissions to maximise acceptance across consulates; light blue and white are also accepted by the Dutch government rules.
- 03Glasses discouraged — no glasses is the Schengen-wide consensus and the safest default, though NL technically permits fully-transparent, reflection-free frames.
- 04Ears preferred but not mandatory if the full face width is visible (per NL government). We recommend ears-visible for pan-consulate acceptance.
- 05Head centred, neutral expression, mouth closed.
The measurement diagram, annotated.
Beside every sample output we publish the compliance diagram — frame ratio, head-height window, background colour swatch — drawn from the issuing authority. No guesswork before you pay.
Official source · www.government.nl/topics/identification-documents/requirements-for-photos
Common questions
- What makes this photo compliant?
- Every output is rendered to exactly 35×45 mm (413×531 px at 300 DPI) with the #F2F2F2 background required by Government of the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid). The JPEG is compressed to fit the up to 500 KB cap.
- What if my photo is rejected?
- If the issuing authority rejects your photo because it doesn’t match the spec on this page, we refund you in full within 30 days. We can’t refund rejections for reasons unrelated to the photo (application errors, document issues, clerk discretion).
- Is my photo stored?
- Your uploaded photo and the rendered output are both deleted within 24 hours. We store only a SHA-256 hash and order metadata (for your receipt and chargeback defense). We never train models on your photo.