Make Bangladesh Visa Photo

The portal at visa.gov.bd lists what to have ready and describes the photo as "45mm x 35mm Digital Photo in JPEG format; Maximum size is 300kb (Photo is optional)". People read the word optional and conclude they do not need a photo. That is the wrong conclusion.

It is optional because the online step is not the submission. You fill the form, print it, and take the printed form with your documents and fee to the nearest visa office or Bangladeshi mission — and the printed form, D.I.P Form-4, has a box in its top-left corner labelled "Applicant’s Photograph Measuring 45 mm x 35mm".

So the upload saves the counter some typing. The photograph you physically stick on the form is the one that matters, and skipping it means being turned away.

Both the portal and the printed form write the measurement as 45 mm x 35 mm. Most photo guidance, including this page's editor, writes width first — so the same photograph is a 35x45mm one, 35mm wide by 45mm tall.

These are the same rectangle described in opposite order, not two different sizes. If you have seen 45x35 quoted for Bangladesh and 35x45 quoted elsewhere and assumed you needed two photos, you do not.

The one thing to watch is that you do not accidentally produce a landscape photo. It is taller than it is wide, whichever way round the numbers are printed.

Most countries publish one photo size. Bangladesh effectively publishes several: 45 x 35mm is what the national form specifies, but individual Bangladeshi high commissions and embassies have asked for 2 x 2 inches, 4x5cm (40x50mm) and 45x55mm on their own application pages, and many ask for two copies rather than one.

The 45 x 35mm figure on the national form is the safe default. But since you are handing the application to a specific mission, open that mission's own page or call them before printing — it is a two-minute check that avoids a wasted trip.

Bangladeshi photo guidance specifies a white background in all cases. Plenty of countries accept a light grey alternative; this is not one of them.

Use a genuinely white wall or backdrop, lit evenly, and stand about a metre clear of it so your shoulders do not cast a shadow onto it.

The e-visa upload wants a JPEG no larger than 300KB. Black-and-white photos are not allowed, so the file must be a colour image.

If you are over the limit, reduce the JPEG quality rather than the pixel dimensions. Shrinking the image to hit the byte count leaves the face too small to verify, which fails a different check.

Your face should cover about 70-80% of the image height, centred, with your head clearly visible and level. On a 45mm frame that is roughly 32-36mm from chin to crown.

Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed. Smiling, frowning or showing teeth interferes with biometric matching and is not accepted.