Make Austria Passport Photo

Austria assesses passport photos against a published criteria catalogue — the Passbild-Kriterienkatalog. Rather than stating measurements and leaving the rest to judgement, it works through the failure modes: wrong head size, tilted head, shadow on the face or background, red-eye, reflections on glasses, hair obscuring the eyes, over- or under-exposure, poor sharpness.

That is genuinely useful, because it turns a subjective rejection into a checkable list. If a photo of yours has been refused elsewhere in Europe without explanation, the Austrian catalogue is a good place to work out why.

Because the catalogue covers technical quality, a photo can be perfectly framed and still fail. Softness from camera shake, blown-out highlights on the forehead, a colour cast from indoor lighting and visible compression artefacts are all grounds for refusal.

Work from the original camera file at full resolution rather than a messaging-app copy, and light your face evenly from the front so no part of it is either blown out or in shadow.

Austria uses the 35x45mm ICAO 9303 photo shared by all EU member states. Your head should measure 32-36mm from chin to crown — around 70-80% of the frame height — centred, with a small gap above the hair.

The background must be plain and even in a single light tone, with no gradient, pattern or shadow behind your head.

Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed, both eyes open and clearly visible, and your head level and square to the camera.

Glasses are a frequent failure point because of reflections; taking them off is the simplest fix. Austrian photographers who do passport work know the catalogue and will usually check against it, which is worth paying for if a previous application has been refused. Requirements and processes can change, so confirm current guidance for the office you are applying to.