A China visa photo is a JPEG sized 354×472 to 420×560 pixels, with the file at 40–120 KB, head at 58.4–68.7% of the photo's height, background: Plain white. That's the whole specification, transcribed from the official visa photo requirements — and the file-size window is the rule a home-made photo misses most often. Read it, check it at the source, then let the maker hit the numbers for you.
WHAT WE HAND YOU: 354×472 to 420×560 JPEG · 40–120 KB · pure white background
Make my photo → Free compliance check · download for $16.99at CVS; ours is $9.99 if it passes · refunded if the government rejects it
The specification
These are the numbers your photo is measured against, transcribed from Official China visa photo requirements (visaforchina.cn) — verifiable at the source, which is linked under the table:
| Photo size | 354×472 to 420×560 pixels |
|---|---|
| File size | 40–120 KB |
| Format | JPEG |
| Head height | 58.4–68.7% of the photo's height |
| Eye height | at least 54% up from the bottom of the photo |
| Head tilt | 20° or less |
| Background | Plain white |
Already have a photo? Check it against the spec — free
Applying as a family? Check the whole family's photos at once — the official requirements linked below ask for a photo of each applicant.
Who does what
Everything on the left is measurement and file work, which is what the maker is for. Everything on the right happens before the photo exists.
Make my photo →When COVA says no
COVA is China’s online visa application form. You crop and upload your photo inside it, in a separate pop-up window.
When it appears. In COVA’s crop pop-up, the moment you pick a file — before you crop anything.
What it means. Your file is smaller than 40 KB. The crop tool enforces a minimum file size here, not a maximum. A photo that has been through email, a chat app, or a web-optimised export is the usual cause.
What to do. Go back to the original file from the camera or phone rather than a copy that has been sent or shrunk. If you exported it yourself, save it again as JPEG at high quality so it comes out above 40 KB. The published band for the finished photo is 40 KB to 120 KB.
When it appears. Straight after you select a file. The cropper never opens.
What it means. The image you picked is under 354 pixels wide or under 472 pixels tall. COVA checks the file you select, not the crop you are about to make.
What to do. Use a larger original. A photo that has already been cropped down to passport size often fails this check. Pick the full-size file from the camera or phone and let COVA’s tool do the cropping.
When it appears. When you select a file whose name does not end in .jpg, .jpeg, .png or .gif.
What it means. COVA reads the file extension. iPhone .heic files and .webp files are turned away here. The tool’s help panel also says it accepts JPEG images only.
What to do. Save the photo as JPEG before uploading. On an iPhone, Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible makes new photos JPEG; for a photo you already have, exporting a copy converts it. Renaming a .heic file to .jpg passes the name check but does not convert the image.
When it appears. When the file you selected is empty.
What it means. The file has no image data in it. An interrupted download, a broken transfer, or a cloud placeholder that has not been downloaded to the device yet will all do this.
What to do. Open the file in a photo viewer first and confirm it displays. If it lives in iCloud, Google Drive or OneDrive, download the full file onto the device before you upload it.
When it appears. Written in the crop tool’s Help panel. It applies when the guidance box overhangs the edge of your photo.
What it means. The crop frame has to sit entirely on the image. If you have zoomed or dragged so that part of the frame sits over empty space, the tool will not save the crop.
What to do. Zoom in a little, or drag the photo so the whole guidance box is covered by image. If your original has no room above your head or beside your shoulders, that space cannot be invented — retake the photo standing further back.
When it appears. After you finish cropping and the photo is sent.
What it means. Your crop was sent for checking. This is not a pass. The check runs after this point, and the result appears on the main COVA form rather than in the pop-up.
What to do. Close the pop-up and look at the photo box on the main form. The tool hands the photo back through a browser cookie, so if the box is still empty, try again in an ordinary browser window rather than a private or heavily locked-down one.
China caps the retries. After three unsuccessful uploads the system tells you to bring a printed photo instead, and until then the form lets you finish every other section with nothing attached.
What to do. Correct the photo before you retry rather than sending the same file again. If the third attempt fails, take a printed photo to the visa centre, where staff scan and upload it for you.
China states head size in pixels, not as a percentage: in a 354 x 472 pixel photo the face is about 205 pixels wide, the crown sits 10 to 70 pixels below the top edge, and the eye line is above the halfway mark.
What to do. Use COVA’s own crop tool and its zoom slider rather than arriving with a pre-cropped photo. Size the head so that chin to crown sits between the inner and outer ovals of the guide.
The digital photo runs 354 x 472 to 420 x 560 pixels, which is a 3:4 shape. The printed photo is 33 x 48 mm, which is narrower. One crop cannot be both, so a print-shop file will not match COVA’s frame.
What to do. Treat them as two separate jobs. Upload a 3:4 crop to COVA, and print the 33 x 48 mm version separately for the visa centre.
China asks for eyes open, lips closed and ears visible. The US and the UK do not require visible ears, so a photo that passed for another country can fail here.
What to do. Pin, clip or sweep hair back so both ears and both eyebrows are clearly visible before you take the photo.
The rule is white or close to white with no edge frame around the image. A shadow behind you reads as a second background colour, and a border added by a print layout counts as a frame.
What to do. Shoot against a plain white wall and stand far enough forward that no shadow falls behind you. Two lights, or daylight from the side, clears the shadow better than a single flash.
A garment identical to the background is its own listed failure. Against the required white, a white or very pale top makes the shoulder line disappear and the checker cannot find the head outline.
What to do. Wear a top that contrasts with white. Mid or dark tones work. Avoid white, cream and pale grey shirts for this photo.
China publishes numbers: 20 degrees or less of left or right turn, and 25 degrees or less of up or down tilt. Most corridors only say to look straight at the camera.
What to do. Put the camera at eye height and face it square on. A photo taken from above or below tips the head out of range even when it looks fine to you.
China sets a measurable floor: the distance between the eyes must be more than 60 pixels. That threshold is in pixels, so a low-resolution photo taken across a room fails even after cropping.
What to do. Fill more of the original frame with your head and shoulders, and upload the full-resolution file rather than a screenshot or a shrunken copy.
China still allows glasses, unlike the US, but the exception is written narrowly: not thick-rimmed, not tinted, and no glare.
What to do. The simplest route is to take the photo without glasses. If you keep them on, use thin frames that sit clear of the eyes and angle the light so nothing reflects off the lenses.
Ornaments are listed as their own failure, and so is a hand, a toy or another person appearing in the photo — which catches out a parent holding up a small child.
What to do. Remove large earrings, necklaces and hair ornaments, and make sure nothing and nobody else is in the frame.
A photo with a scene of everyday life is not accepted for this corridor, even when the face itself is clear and the crop looks tidy.
What to do. Take a new photo specifically for the application: plain background, front-facing, nothing else in the frame.
The photo has to be recent, taken within the last six months, and it has to look like you do now.
What to do. Use a photo taken in the last six months. If your appearance has changed since — weight, hair, facial hair, glasses — take a new one anyway.
The visa centres ask for glossy finish photo paper, not matte or plain paper, and the print has to be clean, unscratched and uncreased. Most corridors say nothing about paper finish.
What to do. Ask for a glossy finish when you print. Keep the print flat and unmarked, and do not fold it or paperclip it to the form.
Rejected by the portal? We refund you.
Email us with your order id and the full amount goes back to your card. No screenshots, no proof — just tell us it was rejected.
30 DAYS FROM PURCHASE · NO PROOF UPLOADS · EVERY MEASUREMENT CHECKED AGAINST THE PUBLISHED GOVERNMENT SPEC BEFORE YOU PAY
Questions
No. We're an independent service that makes and checks visa photos — not affiliated with the Chinese government or any visa center. The official visaforchina.cn photo requirements are linked below if you'd rather do it yourself.
354 x 472 to 420 x 560 pixels, saved as a JPEG between 40 KB and 120 KB. COVA enforces that 40 KB floor on the file you pick, which is why correctly composed photos still get refused.
48 x 33 mm, written height by width, with the head measuring 28 to 33 mm. It sits close enough to 35 x 45 mm to be a common mix-up, but the two are not interchangeable.
Between 58.4% and 68.7% of the photo height, with your eyes at least 54% of the way up from the bottom edge.
Head tilt must be 20 degrees or less. China publishes that limit, so a slightly angled selfie is a genuine rejection risk.
Plain white. An object left showing behind your shoulder after background removal will fail the check.
Within the last six months, the same window most countries apply.
No. The China flow is digital-upload-only, because COVA accepts a file rather than paper. The US, UK, Schengen and Australian flows offer a print-ready sheet as a checkout add-on.
The dimensions are only one of the seven rules on this page. Head height, eye line, tilt, background and file size are judged separately, so a correctly sized photo can still fail on composition.
You won't be charged. We show you exactly which check failed and how to fix it — move closer, find better light, use a plainer background — so you can retake and try again for free.
We refund you. Email info@readyvisaphoto.com with your order id (it is in your receipt, and on the page your refund link opens) and tell us it was rejected — the full amount goes back to your original card. No screenshots, no forms, no proof. Covers 30 days from purchase.
It’s used only to run the checks, downloadable by you for 30 days, then deleted automatically. No account, no photo library, no reuse.
Your download link stays active for 30 days after purchase.
Free compliance check. Pay only when it passes.
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