Since Vietnam opened its e-Visa to citizens of every country in August 2023 — with a 90-day, multiple-entry option — the online application at evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn has become the default way into the country. But the e-Visa system rejects photos for reasons that are easy to miss, and the sting is that the $25 (single-entry) or $50 (multiple-entry) fee is not refunded when your photo fails review. You simply have to reapply and pay again.
This guide covers the exact Vietnam e-Visa photo specification for 2026, the rules that trip most applicants up (file format and glasses, not just size), a step-by-step way to get a compliant photo from home, and the specific mistakes that cause rejections.
Vietnam e-Visa Photo Specification at a Glance
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Size | 4 × 6 cm (40 × 60 mm) — not 2 × 2 inches |
| In inches | 1.57 × 2.36 in |
| In pixels | ~472 × 709 px at 300 DPI |
| Aspect ratio | 2:3 portrait |
| Background | Plain white, evenly lit, no shadows |
| File format | JPEG (.jpg) only — PNG, HEIC, PDF, BMP are rejected at upload |
| Face | Full face, front view, eyes open, neutral expression |
| Glasses | Not permitted — remove all frames |
| Head covering | None, except for religious purposes (face must be fully visible) |
| Recency | Taken within the last 6 months |
The single most common surprise: the Vietnam e-Visa photo is a 4 × 6 cm portrait, not the square 2 × 2 inch format the United States and India use. If you reuse a leftover US passport photo, the portal will reject it for the wrong aspect ratio. You can convert an existing photo to the exact 4 × 6 cm size with our free passport photo resizer, or check any dimension with the size converter.
The Two Rules That Cause the Most Rejections
Size gets all the attention, but two other rules quietly reject more applications.
1. The photo must be a JPEG — and your iPhone doesn't make JPEGs by default
The Vietnam e-Visa portal accepts only JPEG (.jpg) files. It rejects PNG, PDF, BMP, and — critically — HEIC, which is the format an iPhone saves photos in out of the box. Many applicants take a perfectly good photo, upload it straight from their phone, and get an error they don't understand because the file is a .heic, not a .jpg.
To fix this on an iPhone: open Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible, which switches the camera to JPEG. For a photo you already took, sharing or exporting it usually converts it to JPEG, or you can use a converter tool. Our photo tool outputs a portal-ready .jpg automatically, so this never comes up.
2. No glasses — at all
Eyeglasses are not permitted in Vietnam e-Visa photos, even without glare and even if you wear them every day. This includes prescription glasses, reading glasses, and tinted or sunglass frames. Take the photo without them. If you have a medical reason you cannot remove them, you need a signed doctor's note — but for the online e-Visa this is rarely worth the friction; it's far simpler to take the photo frameless.
Background, Attire, and Expression
- Background: plain white, evenly lit, with no shadows on the wall behind you and no objects in frame. A shadow cast on the background is one of the most common "invisible" rejection reasons — stand at least half a metre in front of the wall so your shadow falls out of frame.
- Lighting: light your face from the front. Overhead room light alone tends to leave shadows under the eyes and nose.
- Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open, looking straight at the camera. No broad smiling.
- Attire: normal everyday clothing. Avoid white tops, which can blend into the white background; avoid uniforms.
- Head position: face square to the camera, head not tilted, the whole face clearly visible from the top of the hair to the chin.
How to Take a Compliant Vietnam e-Visa Photo From Home
You do not need a photo studio. The steps:
- Stand about half a metre in front of a plain white wall, with a window or lamp lighting your face from the front.
- Remove glasses and any head covering. Keep a neutral expression, eyes open.
- Have someone take the photo from around 1.5 metres away with the rear camera (not a selfie — selfies distort facial proportions at close range).
- Crop and resize to exactly 4 × 6 cm (472 × 709 px) on a plain white background, and export as a JPEG.
Steps 4 is where most home attempts fail — the crop, the exact dimensions, the pure-white background, and the JPEG export all have to be right at once. Snap2Pass does that part for you: upload any photo, and it outputs a 4 × 6 cm, white-background, JPEG file sized exactly for the Vietnam e-Visa portal, with an AI compliance check before you download. If you'd rather do it by hand, our guide to taking a passport photo at home covers the lighting and framing in detail.
Common Vietnam e-Visa Photo Rejection Reasons
- Wrong aspect ratio — using a 2 × 2 inch square (US passport) photo instead of 4 × 6 cm portrait.
- HEIC file — uploading straight from an iPhone without converting to JPEG.
- Glasses left on — even clear, glare-free prescription lenses.
- Shadow on the background — standing too close to the wall.
- Off-white or textured background — cream walls, curtains, or visible corners.
- Old photo — anything older than 6 months, or a cropped social-media picture.
- Smiling or tilted head — expression and angle must be neutral and square.
Because the fee is spent whether the photo passes or fails, it is worth getting all of these right the first time rather than discovering them one rejection at a time.
Vietnam e-Visa Photo FAQ
What size is a Vietnam e-Visa photo? Exactly 4 × 6 cm (40 × 60 mm), which is 1.57 × 2.36 inches or about 472 × 709 pixels at 300 DPI. The aspect ratio is 2:3 portrait — not the square format used by US or Indian photos.
Can I use my US passport photo for a Vietnam e-Visa? No. US passport photos are 2 × 2 inches square; Vietnam e-Visa photos are 4 × 6 cm portrait. The square photo will be rejected for the wrong aspect ratio. You can resize an existing photo to the correct Vietnam size with our resizer tool.
Why does the portal reject my photo when it looks fine? The most common invisible cause is the file format: the portal accepts only JPEG, and iPhones save HEIC by default. The second is a shadow on the white background. Both pass a casual glance but fail the portal's check.
Can I wear glasses in my Vietnam e-Visa photo? No — eyeglasses are not permitted, even without glare. Remove all frames. A medical exemption requires a signed doctor's note.
What happens if my photo is rejected after I pay? If the photo passes upload but fails manual review, Vietnam Immigration emails you to reapply. The $25 or $50 fee is not refunded, so the reapplication costs you again. This is why the photo is worth getting right the first time.
Where do I upload the photo? On the official e-Visa portal at evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn. Only apply through the official government site — third-party "visa service" sites charge extra and add their own rejection risk.
