Need an OCI card photo? For the OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card — the lifelong registration for foreign nationals of Indian origin and their family — the photo is a 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) colour photograph, square, on a plain light-coloured background. Upload a recent portrait with the tool on this page and IDPhotoBy sizes and crops it to that standard, with the India OCI Card document already selected. It is free — no payment required.
These are the requirements published on the official OCI Photo Specification — the document titled “Requirement of photograph for OCI Registration” on the Online OCI Services portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bureau of Immigration) at ociservices.gov.in. This page prepares the printed 2×2 inch photo that specification describes.
The OCI card is issued to people of Indian origin who hold a foreign passport, so an OCI applicant is usually applying or renewing from outside India. The photo is a 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) square colour photograph — the same square size a US passport photo uses, and the same size the official OCI specification notes also applies to Indian passport and visa applications made through Indian missions or VFS Global. IDPhotoBy formats that 2×2 inch photo for you and places it on the plain white background the specification asks for.
Check your photo against this checklist before you print. These are the requirements stated on the official OCI Photo Specification:
- 2×2 inches (51×51 mm) — a colour photograph, square.
- Plain light-coloured background — white is accepted and recommended, with no distracting shadows on your face or on the background.
- Head 25–35 mm — about 1 to 1-3/8 inch, measured from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin, with your head centred in the frame.
- Full face, front view, eyes open — look straight at the camera with a natural expression.
- Head facing the camera directly — portrait style, with no tilt and no turn.
- Glasses — no tinted or dark glasses; keep your eyes clearly visible, not covered by hair or eyeglass frames, and avoid glare on the lenses.
- Head coverings — permitted only for religious reasons, and your face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead and both edges of the face must stay clearly shown.
- Unaltered — the photograph must not be retouched, enhanced or softened.
- Babies under one year — infants below one year of age do not have to have their eyes open.
The OCI photo size is 2×2 inches — that is 51×51 mm, a square, and the same size as a US passport photo. IDPhotoBy outputs a 1205×1205 px file at 600 dpi, which prints at exactly 51×51 mm, with your head at 25–35 mm from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin. That is the print photograph the official OCI specification describes.
The OCI card is applied for online through the official OCI portal, and the official Photo Specification describes the printed 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) colour photograph — that is what IDPhotoBy prepares. If your online application also asks you to upload a digital photo on screen, that upload has its own on-screen size set by the portal, and the print specification does not state it. So use this page for the 2×2 inch print photo, and check the OCI portal for the current digital-upload size if your form asks for one. We deliberately do not publish an online-upload pixel figure we cannot confirm from the official source.
The size is the same — both use the 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) square photo, and the official OCI specification notes the same size applies to Indian passport and visa applications through Indian missions and VFS Global. The documents are different, though: the OCI card is a registration for foreign nationals of Indian origin, while an Indian passport is for Indian citizens. Prepare the photo for the document you are actually applying for — this page has the India OCI Card document preselected.
- Upload a recent, well-lit portrait with the tool on this page — the India OCI Card document is already selected.
- IDPhotoBy resizes and crops your photo to 2×2 inches (51×51 mm) with your head 25–35 mm from chin to crown, and places it on the plain white background the specification requires.
- Preview the result — check the size, the head position, the plain white background, that your eyes are clearly visible and your expression is natural.
- Download the finished photo, free, and use the printable sheet to print the copies you submit with your application.
The tool also works as a size checker and resizer for a 2×2 photo you already have — it runs online in your browser, with no app to download.
IDPhotoBy sizes and crops the photo you upload to the 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) standard and places it on the plain white background the requirements ask for. It does not retouch, beautify or AI-edit your face — the OCI specification says the photograph must be unaltered, so your features are left exactly as they are.
We also make no acceptance promise — no tool can promise an OCI photo will be accepted. Your file is prepared to the published 2×2 inch requirements, and the OCI portal and your Indian mission make the final decision.
Requirements can change — check the official OCI portal (ociservices.gov.in) and your Indian mission's instructions before you submit; they are the final authority on whether a photo is accepted.
