Make Finland Passport Photo

The Finnish police photo guide states that an electronically submitted photo must measure exactly 500 x 653 pixels — "Yhdenkään pikselin poikkeamia ei hyväksytä", a deviation of even one pixel is not accepted. Most authorities publish a minimum and let you exceed it; Finland publishes a single number.

That is why this tool renders 36 x 47mm at 353 dpi rather than a round 300 or 600. Those figures land on 500 x 653 pixels exactly, so one file satisfies both the print measurement and the pixel rule.

The file must be JPEG — the guide explicitly excludes JPEG2000 — and stay under 250KB.

Finland's frame is 36mm wide by 47mm tall, slightly larger and proportionally taller than the 35x45mm ICAO photo the rest of the EU shares. A photo cropped to the European standard is the wrong shape here.

The head measures 32-36mm from crown to chin excluding hair, which is 445-500 pixels. Leave 4-6mm of clearance above the head (56-84px) and 7-9mm below the chin (96-124px). The guide notes the same measurements apply at every age, including infants.

The guide names a lightish grey as the best background colour — single-toned, evenly lit and free of shadows. White is not what it asks for, and it is a common way to get a photo bounced back.

Stand far enough from the wall that your body throws no shadow onto it, and light your face evenly from the front.

Finland permits glasses provided no frame or reflection touches the eyes — a more permissive rule than several neighbouring countries, though taking them off still removes the risk entirely. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are out.

The guide also accepts black-and-white photographs as well as colour, which is unusual in modern biometric requirements.

Hats and head coverings are not permitted except when worn for religious reasons, and even then the full face from chin to forehead must stay visible.

Finnish passport applications commonly work on a system where the photographer transmits your photo to the police electronically and gives you an identifier to quote on the application, rather than you handing over a print.

Procedures like this do change, and they vary by application type. Before relying on a self-made photo, check the current police guidance for how a photo must be submitted for the application you are making.