Korea Visa Photo Requirements — Size, Background & Rules

Korea's visa application form — 사증발급신청서 (별지 제17호서식) — and the form used for alien registration — 통합신청서(신고서) (별지 제34호서식) — both call for a passport-style photo sized 3.5cm × 4.5cm (35mm × 45mm). The CVI application form your sponsor files on your behalf asks for the same size.

Some consulates set their own size. The Korean Embassy in the US, for example, asks for a 2 × 2 inch photo with the visa application. Check your consulate's visa page before you print.

The photo must be taken within the last 6 months. An older photo — even a technically correct one — can be rejected as outdated, particularly if your appearance has visibly changed.

Background: plain white or off-white, with no pattern, shadow, or other people/objects visible.

Framing: front-facing, full face visible, neutral expression, both ears generally visible (head coverings are only accepted for religious reasons, and even then the full face must stay visible).

Ruled out by the official photo standard: • Tinted glasses, or anything else that covers part of the face • Colored or patterned backgrounds • A photo older than 6 months

Our practical advice (not official rules, but each makes it harder to meet the standard above): • Use a proper front-facing shot rather than a selfie or an angled photo • Skip heavy filters, retouching, and AI "enhancement" — the photo should look like you do now • Avoid glare across your glasses that hides your eyes, and shadows on the background • Have a photo taken for this purpose rather than cropping one out of a group or casual picture

Online CVI application: if your sponsor applies for your CVI online, they upload a digital photo that meets the same size/background spec in the online application.

Embassy visa application: most Korean embassies and consulates require a physical printed photo attached to the paper application form, even if you also submitted documents online.

ARC registration at an immigration office: bring a printed photo in person — this is a paper-form requirement, not something you can substitute with a phone photo shown on-screen.

Because the requirement differs by step, don't assume one digital photo file covers your whole process — check what the specific office or embassy page you're dealing with asks for.

Photo studios and photo booths located near Korean immigration offices and embassies are generally familiar with this exact spec and will size and background the print correctly. Self-printed or app-generated photos carry more rejection risk, mainly around background evenness and correct cropping to 3.5cm × 4.5cm — if you go this route, double-check the output dimensions and background before submitting.