If you're from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada or certain other countries, you usually need a UK ETA rather than a visa — and the application needs a photo of the face of the person applying. On the GOV.UK website you take or upload a photo of yourself, and it must follow the UK rules for digital photos of faces. Upload yours here: IDPhotoBy crops and sizes it to a 700×900 px JPEG within 50KB–6MB and checks the background.
One honest note: this page is for the website route only — in the UK ETA app the photo is taken live, and a website face scan is a separate step a prepared photo does not replace. Need a UK visa instead? See our UK visa photo page.
The UK ETA photo requirements are the UK rules for digital photos of faces from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI); if the photo does not meet them, the application may be delayed or rejected. Your photo must be:
- clear and in focus, in colour and taken in a well-lit room;
- against a plain light-coloured background, in clear contrast to it, with no other objects or people;
- of your head, shoulders and upper body, with your shoulders and torso clothed;
- looking straight at the camera, with a plain expression, your mouth closed and your eyes open and visible;
- with no shadows on your face or behind you, no hair in front of your eyes and no red eye;
- without a head covering (unless it's for religious or medical reasons) and without glasses (unless you have to wear them).
It must be a real photo of you — not a scan or photo of another photo, not the same photo that is in your passport or identity card, and not a photo of your identity document — and it must not be altered by computer software or through other means, for example by adding a filter.
The UK ETA digital photo is uploaded as a file:
| Rule | UK requirement | IDPhotoBy file |
|---|
| Format | a jpg or jpeg file | JPEG |
| Size | at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall | 700×900 px |
| File size | at least 50KB and no more than 6MB | within 50KB–6MB |
| Orientation | vertically orientated, not mirrored or flipped | portrait, not mirrored |
The UK ETA photo size is a minimum, so the 700×900 px file clears it — nothing to resize or convert before you upload your UK ETA photo.
- Apply online on the GOV.UK website: you take or upload a photo of yourself — the route this page is for.
- The UK ETA app: you use your phone's camera to scan your passport and your face — the face scan is there to confirm you are a real person — and you take the photo of your face in the app, so a prepared photo is not used there.
The website may also ask you to scan your face with your device, if it has a camera (children aged 9 and under are not asked) — a step separate from the uploaded photo. If the person you're applying for is not with you, you must apply for their ETA online — that is when a ready-to-upload photo of their face helps most.
IDPhotoBy works around your face, not on it: it crops and sizes the photo you upload and checks the background. It does not retouch, beautify or AI-edit your face, and it adds no filters. It also makes no acceptance promise: the decision on your application is not ours to make.
Requirements can change. Check the official application portal before submitting — for the website route, that's the UK ETA application on GOV.UK.
