VISA PHOTO PREPARATION
South Korea visa photo: 35 × 45 mm for a consular application
The Korean Consulate in Sydney’s C-3 visa checklist requests a 35 × 45 mm photograph taken within six months. The Chicago C-3-9 checklist permits either 35 × 45 mm or 2 × 2 inches. Check the office receiving your application before choosing a print size.
Keep the application route in the answer
This guide concerns a photograph for a consular visa application. It does not establish the digital upload requirements for every Korean immigration service, e-Visa route or K-ETA application.
Find the receiving embassy or consulate's visa checklist before ordering. Note the visa type and office beside the photo requirement. A travel agent's generic “Korea photo” label can hide which application the image was prepared for.
The difference is visible in official checklists: Sydney specifies 35 × 45 mm for its C-3 submission, while Chicago explicitly lists a 2 × 2 inch alternative for C-3-9. That alternative is permission from a particular office, not a conversion between equal sizes or a rule to assume everywhere.
What 35 × 45 mm means at the print counter
The dimensions are 3.5 × 4.5 cm, with the 35 mm side as width and the 45 mm side as height. Measure the finished print. A 2 × 2 inch square or a Japanese preset is not automatically interchangeable because a shop calls both of them passport photos.
Ask for the intended border treatment and head positioning under the receiving office's instructions. Avoid an automatic crop that cuts off the subject or stretches a square portrait to fill the rectangle.
Use older official guidance with its date and scope
A San Francisco consulate notice dated May 14, 2018 gives a Korean visa-photo standard with a 25 to 35 mm face-height range and a 35 × 45 mm image. It is useful historical official guidance, but it is not a reason to override a different current instruction from your receiving office.
Likewise, do not import a head measurement from a Korean passport guide solely because the overall print dimensions look familiar. Different documents can share a paper size while using different composition instructions.
A print-preparation checklist
- Identify your visa category and receiving office.
- Copy the office's current photo count, size, background and age requirement into your checklist.
- Capture a suitable fresh original with the full face visible.
- Have the print made at the specified physical dimensions without beauty retouching.
- Measure the cut print and inspect the face before attaching it.
If an office also requests a digital copy, ask for its actual format and upload limits. A scanner's default settings do not define that requirement, and DPI metadata alone does not establish a correctly sized paper print.
What this site's tool can do
Visa Photo Prep currently has no dedicated Korean visa preset. Other 35 × 45 mm presets on the site are tied to their own source rules. Do not present a shared rectangle as verification of Korean visa compliance.
Use the millimeter-and-pixel guide to understand print scaling, then check the final result against the receiving office's document. The office remains the source for the requirements applicable to your submission.
Official sources and preparation notes
- Korean Consulate in Sydney: C-3 visa checklist
- Korean Consulate in Chicago: C-3-9 tourist visa checklist
- Korean Consulate in San Francisco: visa photo standard, May 14, 2018
Sources checked October 3, 2026. Prepared by Visa Photo Prep with AI assistance for research and drafting. Calculations and checklists are preparation aids; the receiving authority decides whether a photograph is acceptable. Check the current instructions for your application before submission.
Use the current instructions for your application route; the receiving authority decides whether a photograph is acceptable.
How we distinguish official rules from tool settings · Report a correction