If you plan on travelling to India, you will need to apply for an Indian visa. All British citizens headed to India require such a visa. Failure to present it at the airport will make it so you won’t be allowed on the plane. The visa application process can be ran through fairly easily, but there is one part where many people stumble: uploading the Indian visa photo.
Indian visa application
Travellers headed to India must possess an Indian visa. This can be acquired online, without needing to visit the embassy. The process is quite simple and straightforward: you fill in the online application form, pay through your preferred payment method, and that’s it. You will receive your visa within 4 workdays by e-mail. If you find yourself in urgent need of a visa, you can submit an urgent application, which are generally approved within 24 hours.
However, there is still one part that is of particular importance during the application: uploading your passport photo. It sounds simple, but it has proven to be one of the major stumbling blocks for applicants trying to get an Indian visa. This is especially the case with the official visa website, where minimal help is provided when trying to upload the document.
Indian visa photo requirements
To apply for an Indian visa you need to upload two things: a passport scan and a passport photo. The passport scan is fairly straightforward. No particularly strict requirements apply here. All that matters is that you upload the correct page, meaning the one that contains all your personal information. Scanning can be done with any scanning tool (such as a printer), or by taking a clear picture of the passport and uploading it to your computer.
The Indian visa photo requirements are a lot more strict, however. To start, the photo needs to be 2 inch by 2 inch, or 51 x 51 mm. Even the slightest deviation from this standard can make it so it will be rejected. If your picture is larger, you need to crop it yourself. The government website does not help with this. The picture also needs to be clear, with the tone quality being the same throughout. The entire head of the applicant needs to be in frame, front view with eyes opened and a neutral look on their face. No headgear is allowed except for religious purposes, but even then the majority of the face needs to be visible. Facial covering is not allowed whatsoever. Avoid any shadows influencing the picture, and stand in front of a plain white background.
Automated cropping tool
As is obvious by now, the Indian visa photo requirements are very strict. Such an extensive list can seem daunting, and it is no surprise so many people fail at uploading a correct photo. That is why e-Visa.ie implemented an automated cropping tool in our India visa application process. Once you have filled in the application form on e-Visa.ie and made the payment, you will be sent an e-mail asking you to upload the required photos. The e-mail will contain a link directing you to the upload page, where you can provide the photos.
The upload page has an automated cropping tool. This means that it will automatically crop the photo you upload to the correct size. Not only does this take a lot of work out of your hands, you can now be 100 percent certain the the photo you upload will be the correct size. All you need to worry about is having a clear background and to have your face in full view. We take care of the rest.
Manual checking
Of course, the size of the photo isn’t all that matters. As mentioned above, there are a host of other requirements the Indian visa photo has to meet. India is quite strict regarding this; even a faint smile on the face of the traveller can be cause for rejection. Are you unsure whether your photo qualifies, maybe because you are worried the background is too dark, or you are wearing religious headgear that you worry might disqualify you? All photos uploaded through e-Visa.ie are subjected to extensive manual checking by visa specialists. If your photo is deemed insufficient, you will be contacted right away and informed in detail on what was wrong with the photo. You will then be given the opportunity to upload a new photo.
Please note: this news article about the visa for India is more than one year old. It might contain outdated information and advice, and no rights can therefore be derived from this article. Are you going on a trip soon and do you wish to do know what rules currently apply? Read all about the up-to-date information about the visa for India.