Macau Passport Photo Requirements & Guidelines

Macau's travel documents — the MSAR Passport and the MSAR Travel Permit, both issued by the Identification Services Bureau (DSI) — share the same photo rules, and in practice that photo is a 35 × 45 mm colour image on a plain white background. Standard biometric stuff.

The confusion comes from two Macau-specific quirks. DSI's own wording describes a "1.5-inch" studio photo — a Chinese-standard studio size that doesn't obviously map to millimetres — and the official process nudges you toward a contracted studio, a self-service kiosk, or the Macao One Account "My Photos" feature rather than a home upload. This guide untangles both.

The specification, at a glance

The "1.5-inch" wording, decoded

If you read DSI's guidance and see "1.5-inch photo," don't overthink it. That's a traditional Chinese studio-print size, and for practical purposes the accepted, ICAO-equivalent image is 35 × 45 mm on white — the size every compliant photo tool produces for Macau. When a studio in Macau takes your "1.5-inch" photo, they're producing that format.

The head should fill about 77% of the frame — roughly 34.5 mm chin to crown — with a small margin above the hair, centred and facing the camera. You can create your Macau passport photo sized to 35 × 45 mm on white so you're working to the practical spec rather than guessing at inches.

White, not blue — and no border

A point worth stating plainly because the region varies: Macau's background is white, not light blue. It must be even, shadow-free, and the photo should have no white margin or border around the image. A blue backdrop, a shadow behind the head, or a bordered print are all avoidable faults.

The official flow expects a studio or kiosk

This is the process quirk. DSI's system is built around contracted photo studios, self-service kiosks, and the "My Photos" feature in the Macao One Account. Self-taken uploads are discouraged, and a non-compliant one will simply be re-requested.

What that means in practice: prepare a genuinely compliant image before you engage the official flow. A photo that already meets the 35 × 45 white-background spec will pass through a kiosk or a studio's check without a reshoot — the requirement isn't relaxed by using them, it's enforced.

The image rules

• Glasses: not permitted unless medically required with a signed statement (no glare, eyes visible).
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open, facing the camera directly.
• Head covering: bareheaded / full-faced; religious or medical coverings only with a signed statement, face fully visible.
• Same rules, both documents: the MSAR Passport and the MSAR Travel Permit use identical photo requirements.

Print and digital

The photo itself

A 35 × 45 mm colour image on white, head ~34.5 mm, no border, taken within the last six months. For the travel document the six-month rule applies; note that the Macau ID card uses a longer 12-month window — don't reuse an old ID-card photo assuming it still qualifies.

Digital submission

Because DSI routes photos through studios, kiosks and the Macao One Account, there's no published applicant pixel/DPI/file-size table. Aim for a sharp, correctly proportioned 35 × 45 image on white; third-party figures (600 DPI, under ~300 KB) are tool guidance, not official DSI specs.

How Macau compares

Macau's 35 × 45 mm white-background photo matches the format used across much of Asia and Europe, but the "1.5-inch" wording and the studio/kiosk/Macao One Account flow are DSI's own. The image is portable; the process is local — and the same rules covering both the MSAR Passport and Travel Permit are a Macau particularity. Our passport photo tool for 150+ countries handles the image side for each place from the same source photo.

The short version

The Macau MSAR passport photo is 35 × 45 mm on white — DSI's "1.5-inch" wording just means that practical size — with a ~34.5 mm head, no border, glasses off. The same rules cover the Travel Permit, and the official flow expects a studio, kiosk or Macao One Account photo. Arrive with a compliant image and it passes on the first try.