Nigerian Passport Photo Requirements for the NIS Portal

The NIS publishes only a few hard numbers for the passport photo, all for the digital upload. Where it is silent, we follow the international ICAO standard that most passports use, so the photo is safe on every point.

The table marks which rules come from the NIS image compliance page and which are our defaults. Treat the defaults as best practice, not as official NIS requirements.

Nigerians in the US apply online first, then finish at an embassy or consulate. The photo you upload is checked on the NIS passport portal before you move on.

Step 1: the online application and photo upload

You fill in the application and upload your photo on the NIS passport portal (passport.immigration.gov.ng), for both fresh and renewal applications. The portal has an image compliance check, so a photo with the wrong size, a colored background or hair over the ears can be flagged before you pay or book.

Step 2: the enrollment appointment

After the online steps, you attend an enrollment appointment at the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC or a Nigerian consulate. NIS captures your biometrics and takes a live photo there. Bring the documents your mission lists, and check whether it also asks for printed passport photos for your type of application.

What 'passport size' means for prints

Nigerian missions ask for 2 passport sized photographs without stating millimeters. Our print sheet uses 35 x 45 mm, the most common international passport size, on a white background. If your embassy or consulate gives a different size, follow the mission's instructions.

Every Nigerian order is built for the portal upload first, with prints as an option. You get the exact pixel size the NIS asks for.

• Digital photo ($16.95): a 600 x 800 pixel JPG on a white background, well under 2 MB, ready for the NIS portal.
• Photo + print sheet ($18.95): the same digital file plus a print-ready 4 x 6 inch sheet (JPG and PDF) with 8 photos at 35 x 45 mm. Print it at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart and cut along the guides.

Order the sheet as a standard glossy or matte 4 x 6 photo print. Prints on plain paper from a home printer look washed out and may be refused at the mission.

Most failed uploads come from a few simple issues. Fix these before you upload to the NIS portal.

• Wrong pixel size. A photo straight from your phone is much larger than 600 x 800 pixels. Resizing it yourself often stretches the face.
• Background not white. Gray, cream or colored walls, patterns, or a door behind you.
• Hair over the face or ears. Tie hair back or tuck it behind the ears so both ears are visible.
• Headphones, earbuds or masks. Remove anything on the ears or face.
• Poor lighting. Dark photos, harsh shadows on one side of the face, or glare on the skin.
• Glasses. Glare on lenses is a common problem. NIS gives no glasses rule, so the safest choice is to take them off.
• File too large. Anything 2 MB or more is rejected.
• Head tilted or not centered. Look straight at the camera with your face in the middle of the frame.

Children under 5 get some ICAO relaxations on the NIS portal, but the child must still look at the camera with the face centered. That is the hardest part with toddlers, so plan for a few tries.

Seat the child against a plain white wall or lay a baby on a white sheet and shoot from above, with the phone parallel to the face. Keep hands, toys and other people out of the frame, and take several photos so you can pick the one where the child looks straight ahead.

PhotoForPass turns a phone photo into a 600 x 800 pixel NIS portal file. You take or upload a photo on any phone or computer, and our checks run in your browser before you pay, so your photo stays on your device until then.

We check face position, eyes, ears, lighting and shadows, fix the lighting, replace the background with plain white, and size and crop the photo to the NIS pixel size and our 35 x 45 mm print layout. Each order includes up to 5 photo checks and 3 free redos per person, and files are ready about 30 to 60 seconds after payment.

Because NIS publishes only part of the rules, final acceptance is up to the Nigeria Immigration Service. If your photo is rejected, our 14-day money-back guarantee gives you a full refund.