Vietnam e-Visa Photo Requirements: The Complete Guide

Of everything that can slow down a Vietnam e-visa application, a bad photo is the most avoidable — and the most common. It's a small detail that's easy to rush past, and rushing past it is exactly what causes delays. Here's precisely what's needed, described in enough detail that you don't have to guess.

A Common Way This Goes Wrong

Picture someone applying the night before a flight, in a hurry. They snap a quick selfie in dim evening light, standing in front of a patterned curtain, phone held slightly below eye level. The photo looks fine to them on a small phone screen. Submitted with the application, it comes back flagged — the background isn't plain, the lighting has created shadows across one side of the face, and the upward angle distorts the proportions enough that it doesn't meet requirements.

Now they're redoing the photo under more time pressure than before, exactly the situation good preparation avoids. A five-minute photo taken calmly a day or two in advance, against a plain wall in daylight, would have avoided this entirely.

Portrait Photo Requirements

What's Required

• Background: plain white or light-colored, no patterns, no shadows cast on the wall behind you
• Framing: front-facing, head and shoulders visible, face centered
• Expression: neutral, both eyes open, mouth closed
• Lighting: even and bright, no harsh shadows across the face
• Accessories: no hat, no sunglasses; regular glasses are generally fine as long as there's no glare obscuring your eyes
• Recency: a photo taken reasonably recently — not one from years ago that no longer resembles you closely

What Commonly Gets Photos Rejected

• A background that isn't plain — a wall with texture, art, furniture, or other people visible
• Shadows cast on the face or the background from a single off-angle light source
• A tilted or angled head, rather than looking straight at the camera
• Sunglasses, hats, or glasses with visible glare over the eyes
• A smiling or exaggerated expression instead of neutral
• Low resolution or a visibly blurry image
• A cropped or resized photo that distorts proportions

How to Get It Right in a Few Minutes

1. Find a plain wall — white or a light neutral color works best. A hallway or bathroom wall often works fine.
2. Use daylight or bright, even indoor lighting — face a window if possible, rather than having light behind you.
3. Have someone else take the photo if you can, holding the camera at your eye level, a few feet away. This avoids the angle distortion common in selfies.
4. Look straight at the camera with a neutral expression, both eyes open.
5. Check the photo before submitting — no shadows, no blur, the whole head and shoulders visible, background plain behind you.

For more detail on taking this kind of photo with just a phone, see our guide on applying for an urgent Vietnam visa using only your phone.

Passport Scan Requirements

What's Required

• The entire bio page, uncropped — all four corners visible
• In color, not black and white
• In sharp focus, with the passport number, name, and dates all clearly readable
• No glare from overhead lighting obscuring the laminated photo page
• Passport valid for at least 6 months from your intended entry date

What Commonly Goes Wrong

• A corner or edge of the page cut off in the scan or photo
• Glare from a single overhead light reflecting off the laminated section
• A shaky or out-of-focus photo where numbers are hard to read
• A black-and-white scan instead of color

Quick Checklist Before You Submit

• ☐ Portrait photo: plain background, neutral expression, no shadows, no accessories covering your face
• ☐ Passport scan: full page visible, in color, no glare, sharp and readable
• ☐ Passport has at least 6 months of remaining validity
• ☐ Both files are the correct format and under any size limits noted on the application form

Our Refund Guarantee

Since photo issues are the most common cause of delay, we review your photo and scan before submission rather than after — catching a problem at that stage costs you a few minutes; catching it after submission can cost the timeframe you paid for. If a delay does happen on our end despite that review, the processing fee is refunded.

Why Document Review Matters

• We check before submission, not after. A photo or scan issue is caught while there's still time to fix it, not discovered as a rejection days later.
• We tell you specifically what to fix — not just "photo rejected," but what about it needs to change.
• 24/7 support if you're not sure whether a photo you've taken will pass.
• Transparent, all-inclusive pricing — document review is part of the service, not an added extra.
• Refund if the committed timeframe isn't met on our end, as described above.

FAQ: Vietnam e-Visa Photo Requirements

Related Guides

• 👉 Common mistakes in Vietnam e-visa applications
• 👉 Vietnam e-visa requirements: the complete document checklist
• 👉 Vietnam visa rejected or incorrect? How to fix it
• 👉 How to submit a Vietnam visa correction request
• 👉 How to apply for your Vietnam e-visa, step by step

VietnamVisaEasy.com is a private service agency and is not affiliated with the Vietnamese government. We charge a fee to assist with visa applications. If you don't need assistance, you can apply directly on the official government website, evisa.gov.vn. For questions, visit our contact page.