Free BNO Passport Photo Online

Need a BNO passport photo (also written BN(O) passport photo) — a British National Overseas passport photo for your British passport application? A BN(O) passport is a British passport, so it uses the same photo standard HM Passport Office applies to every UK passport: a digital photo sized to 35×45 mm on a plain light-coloured background. Upload a recent photo — the UK BNO passport document is already selected — and IDPhotoBy sizes and crops it into a ready-to-upload 700×900 px JPEG. It is free — no payment required.

One honest note: a passport photo is not a selfie — gov.uk says "You'll need someone to help you take a photo during your application." IDPhotoBy does not take the photo; it formats a photo you already have.

British National (Overseas) — BNO — is a form of British nationality connected with Hong Kong. Someone who was a British overseas territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong could register as a British national (overseas) before 1 July 1997, and a British national (overseas) can hold a British passport — the BN(O) passport, issued by HM Passport Office.

So if you hold BNO status and are applying for or renewing a BN(O) passport — in Hong Kong or already in the UK — you need a photo that meets the UK passport standard. Because BNO status had to be registered before 1 July 1997, many holders are now renewing long-held passports — the same standard applies to a renewal as to a first application.

HM Passport Office publishes one photo standard for British passports. For the online application, the BNO passport photo requirements are a digital photo that is:

• The right size — the BNO passport photo size is 35×45 mm (45 mm high by 35 mm wide when printed). IDPhotoBy outputs a 700×900 px JPEG, above HMPO's minimum of at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall.
• Correctly framed — from the crown of your head to your chin must be between 29 mm and 34 mm; IDPhotoBy crops to this for you.
• On a plain light background — a plain light-coloured background (plain cream or light grey when printed), your face in clear contrast to it.
• In colour and recent — in colour, unaltered by computer software, and taken in the last month.
• A plain look — a plain expression with your mouth closed, eyes open and clearly visible, and no glasses unless you have to.
• A valid file — a JPG (JPEG) between 50 KB and 10 MB.

Making a BNO passport photo with IDPhotoBy takes three steps and costs nothing:

1. Upload your photo — a clear, well-lit photo taken by someone else (or a booth or shop) on a plain light background. The UK BNO passport document is already selected.
2. IDPhotoBy formats it — resizes and crops to 35×45 mm with your head 29–34 mm from crown to chin, on the plain light-coloured background the rules require, as a 700×900 px JPEG.
3. Preview and download — check the head size, that your eyes are fully visible, and the background, then apply online. No payment, no charge to download.

gov.uk requires a passport photo to be unaltered by computer software. IDPhotoBy respects that: it sizes and crops your photo and sets the plain light background the rules ask for — it never retouches, beautifies or AI-edits your face.

It also makes no acceptance promise. IDPhotoBy prepares your file to HM Passport Office's published requirements; HM Passport Office decides whether a photo is accepted. Any tool promising "guaranteed" acceptance is overstating what it can do.

You apply for or renew a BN(O) passport through the UK passport service. You need a digital photo to apply for a passport online — you upload the photo file (or use a photo code from a booth or shop). IDPhotoBy gives you that file: a 700×900 px JPEG ready to apply online. A booth or shop photo is more likely to be approved than one from your own device.

Whether you are in Hong Kong or the UK, and whether this is a first BN(O) passport or a renewal, the 35×45 mm standard is the same. Check the official gov.uk passport photo rules before you apply — HM Passport Office is the final authority.