As a rule, you don’t bring a photo for a Hungarian passport. When you apply in person — at a government office (kormányablak) in Hungary or at a Hungarian embassy or consulate abroad — your facial image, signature and fingerprints are captured when you submit the application. A printed 35 × 45 mm (3.5 × 4.5 cm) colour passport photo is needed when the applicant doesn’t appear in person: a child under 12 who doesn’t attend, an applicant whose health doesn’t allow it, or a postal application from abroad. Some missions also ask for a photo for young children. This page is for Hungarian citizens and parents in those cases.
Check your mission’s page before you make the photo yourself. The Hungarian missions in London, Dublin and Szabadka ask for a photo taken by a professional photographer, Edinburgh asks for one taken by an “official photographer”, Berlin and Abuja ask applicants not to bring home-made photos, and Csíkszereda asks for studio-quality photos. IDPhotoBy can’t confirm that a photo you prepare online and print yourself meets that wording, and we don’t promise that any mission will accept it.
According to the passport case description on the Hungarian government portal (kormany.hu) and the Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (konzinfo.mfa.gov.hu), the facial image is captured when the application is submitted. Government Decree 101/1998, section 17(2a), makes the ID photo (igazolványkép) part of the application when the applicant does not act in person. A printed photo can be needed in these cases:
- A child under 12 who doesn’t attend. Children under 12 are exempt from appearing in person because their passport holds no fingerprints or signature (Act XII of 1998 on travel abroad, section 21/B(2)).
- An applicant whose health doesn’t allow personal appearance. The treating doctor certifies this in writing, and the application is made through an authorised representative (section 21/B(3)).
- A postal application from abroad. An applicant living or staying abroad can send the application by post to the consular officer when appearing in person would be disproportionately difficult and the passport doesn’t need to hold fingerprints (section 21/B(4)).
- A temporary passport issued by a consul. Under a separate rule, the Consular Service lists an ID photo “if necessary”.
An adult who applies in person doesn’t bring a printed photo, because the facial image is captured on the spot. For young children, some missions ask for a photo even when the child comes along — see the table below. The photo isn’t an online upload either. Act XII of 1998 says the rules on electronic administration do not apply to passport applications, except where the Act provides otherwise.
The government portal and the law say when a photo is needed, but they don’t set its size or background. The requirements below come from the passport pages of the Hungarian embassies and consulates (mfa.gov.hu) and from the ministry’s photo leaflet, which the London, Edinburgh and Szabadka missions link to.
| Rule | Hungarian passport photo |
|---|
| Photo size | 35 × 45 mm (3.5 × 4.5 cm), one colour photo (Berlin, Abuja, Dublin, Csíkszereda); Berlin and Abuja call it the EU standard size |
| Background colour | White (Szabadka, Düsseldorf); white or light grey (London); light (Abuja); the leaflet asks for a light, uniform background |
| Print | Printed on photo paper (Düsseldorf) |
| Age of the photo | Taken no more than 6 months before the application (London, Szabadka, the leaflet); not older than 3 months at Csíkszereda |
| Framing | The face fills 70–80% of the picture, framed slightly above the shoulders and the head |
| Quality | Sharp, clean and high resolution, with no stains or creases |
| Colour | Colour-neutral, with natural skin tones and correct brightness and contrast |
| Expression and eyes | Looking straight at the camera with a neutral expression and a closed mouth; eyes open, clearly visible and not covered by hair |
| Pose | Face frontal and centred, with both sides of the face visible |
| Lighting | Even, with no glare, shadows or red eye |
| Glasses | Allowed without glare or tinted lenses, with frames that don’t cover the eyes |
| Head covering | Only for religious reasons, with the face from chin to forehead and both sides of the face clearly visible |
| People in the photo | The applicant alone |
Practice differs between missions, so the page of the embassy or consulate you will use is the one to follow.
Several Hungarian missions say who should take the photo:
- London, Dublin and Szabadka ask for a photo taken by a professional photographer.
- Edinburgh asks for one taken by an “official photographer”.
- Berlin and Abuja ask applicants not to bring home-made photos — Berlin adds that such photos often don’t meet the requirements.
- Csíkszereda asks for studio-quality photos.
IDPhotoBy formats a picture you upload; it doesn’t replace a photographer. We can’t confirm that a photo prepared online and printed by you meets this wording. If your embassy or consulate asks for a professional photographer, follow its instructions.
The law exempts children under 12 from appearing in person, but missions handle young children differently. Some take the photo on site when the child comes along, and others ask you to bring one.
| Mission | Photo for a child’s passport |
|---|
| London | A child under 12 doesn’t have to attend. Bring one photo taken by a professional photographer within the last 6 months, on a white or light grey background. |
| Edinburgh | A child under 12 doesn’t have to attend, but both parents need to be present to submit the application. Bring one passport photo taken by an “official photographer”. |
| Dublin | The photo is taken on site from age 6. For children under 6, bring one 3.5 × 4.5 cm colour photo taken by a professional photographer. |
| Berlin | The photo is taken on site for children over 5. Where a photo is needed, Berlin asks for one 3.5 × 4.5 cm colour photo and not a home-made one. |
| Düsseldorf | A photo for every child under 6, whether or not the child attends, and for a child aged 6–12 who can’t attend. It must be fresh and good quality, taken against a white background and printed on photo paper. Children aged 12–18 are always photographed on site, and a brought photo isn’t accepted. |
| Csíkszereda | A photo when a child under 12 doesn’t attend, and always for children under 6. Studio quality, not older than 3 months. |
| Szabadka | A photo for children under 6 in the mission’s document list, and for children under 12 in its procedure description. Taken by a professional photographer within the last 6 months, on a white background. |
| Abuja | For the smallest children, one current colour photo is accepted instead of taking the photo on site. Otherwise the applicant is photographed when the application is submitted. |
IDPhotoBy works with the photo you upload. It crops the photo to 35 × 45 mm, frames the head and checks the background against the requirements above, and it doesn’t retouch or beautify the face. We prepare the printed photo only, because the Hungarian passport photo isn’t uploaded online, and IDPhotoBy doesn’t submit anything for you. Whether a photo is accepted is decided by the government office or the mission, not by us.
Practice differs between Hungarian embassies and consulates and can change. Read your mission’s passport page on mfa.gov.hu and the passport case description on kormany.hu. Check the official application portal before submitting.
