Can you be smiling in your passport photo

Guidelines also require both eyes open and no glasses or sunglasses, even if you wear them every day. The only exception to eyewear is for medical reasons, and you must submit documents of this condition along with your application. A: Yes. If this is the case, you must submit a signed statement either from a doctor or to verify the uniform is religious attire required to be worn continuously in public by a recognized, traditional religion.

A: The above requirements apply to hats and headwear as well. Both are forbidden unless you have a religious or medical condition requiring the headwear, and you provide a signed statement verifying this. While headwear is permitted in these circumstances, it cannot obscure or shadow your features. This means all headwear must be pulled back to reveal your entire face and hairline.

Finally, find a neutral expression that you like. Not only will this practically ensure approval no matter whose passport you're applying for, but it will complement the rest of your efforts to look good.

Don't be afraid to take practice photos! Whether you're snapping selfies with your smartphone or practicing online, these pics let you see what your passport photo could resemble.

From there, making your real picture look the way you want is simple. Even though smiling in passports won't boost an entire country's mood, a little common courtesy still goes a long way no matter where you are on the globe.

The best moment to share a smile is when you hand your passport and its perfect picture to a customs agent for approval. Explanation of why smiling is forbidden in passport photos. Give us a call at or try any of our other passport and visa services. Written for Passport Health by Jerry Olsen. He has over 15 years of combined experience as a writer and editor in Salt Lake City. Passports and Visas service is temporarily suspended Due to COVID and the health of our employees, we will not be accepting new applicants at this time.

If you are inquiring about an application currently in process through Passport Health services, please contact us via this form. Connect With Us. Here they are giving instructions to people to have a neutral expression. Even the natural smile is not encouraged by the government. Here are some of the screenshots that we have taken from the official websites of the major countries encouraging you to have a neutral face. When analyzing further on this, we found that countries like the U.

K, Canada, Australia use a different type of face recognition algorithm to read your face which makes it harder to recognize if you smile for the photo. This makes the countries encourage you to have a neutral expression on the passport photos. Most countries suggest a neutral facial expression. So when in doubt, its better to not smile and maintain a neutral facial expression.

We hope that you learned something from this article regarding smiling for a passport photo. Or maybe, you have some other questions regarding passport photos.