Make Jamaica Passport Photo

Nearly every country names one background colour and leaves it there. Jamaica does something more thoughtful and, as far as this site's research goes, unique: it varies the background so that the person always contrasts with it.

Applicants of light complexion should avoid wearing white clothing and should have the photograph taken against a pastel shaded background. Applicants of dark complexion should wear coloured clothing and be photographed against a white background. Applicants with grey or white hair should use a pale blue or pastel background.

The logic is the same one hiding behind every other country's background rule — a face has to be separable from what is behind it — but Jamaica states it as an outcome rather than a fixed colour. Bright coloured clothing is not recommended in any case.

This is worth knowing before you sit down in a photo booth that only offers white.

Two passport-sized photographs must be certified by a Consular Officer, Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, Commissioner of Oaths, Medical Doctor or Lawyer.

The certification carries the applicant's name along with the name, number and signature of the certifying officer. It must be no older than six months, and the photographs themselves must be dated.

So there are two clocks running: the photograph must be recent, and the certification must be recent. A photo certified last year fails even if it still looks like you.

For overseas applicants, the printed application goes to a certifying official before it goes to a Jamaican High Commission or Consulate.

PICA specifies the length of the face at 25mm to 35mm and a margin of 3mm to 4mm between the head and the edge of the photograph. It does not publish an overall photo size — it calls them passport sized and leaves it there.

That is why this page is careful about what it claims. The 35x45mm frame in the editor is the standard passport print that satisfies both published constraints; it is not a Jamaican measurement, and we do not present it as one.

The 25mm lower bound is unusually generous. Most countries start their face range around 31 or 32mm, so a photo that would be rejected elsewhere for a small head can be acceptable here.

Photographs must be in colour with a matte or dull finish. There should be no creases or ink marks on the photograph, and no embossed seal should be affixed to them — a rule that exists because certifying officials in some jurisdictions habitually emboss documents.

The pose is a full frontal view of head, neck and the top of the shoulder, with no other person or object in the photograph and no background shadows.

Eyeglasses may be worn but must not have tinted lenses. Headgear is permitted only for religious purposes, and in that case Section H of the application form must be completed and the outline of the face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead must remain clearly shown.

One last detail worth knowing: photographs submitted with an application become the property of the Government of Jamaica, so do not send the only copy of something you want back.