Netherlands Passport Photo Requirements & Guidelines

A Netherlands passport photo is 35 × 45 mm — but unlike most countries, the Dutch government checks it against a precise official template, the fotomatrix. Your head has to fall inside exact zones: 26–30 mm from chin to crown (notably smaller than the 32–36 mm most countries want) and 16–20 mm wide ear to ear. A photo that's correctly sized for another country is often the wrong size here.

That precision is what catches people. This guide walks through the fotomatrix measurements, the background options, and the glasses rule — following the Rijksoverheid acceptance criteria.

The specification, at a glance

The fotomatrix: a smaller head than you expect

The defining feature of the Dutch requirement is the fotomatrix — an official model that positions your head within fixed zones. For ages 11 and up, the head measures 26–30 mm chin to crown, with the face 16–20 mm wide, eyes level on a horizontal line, head straight, shoulders square. (Children aged 10 and under get a wider 19–30 mm range.)

The practical trap: 26–30 mm is a smaller head than the ~33 mm norm elsewhere, so if you crop to the familiar "face fills most of the frame" look, a Dutch photo comes out too big and is rejected. Rather than eyeball it, you can create your Netherlands passport photo and have the head placed into the fotomatrix zones from your original image.

Background: grey, blue, or white — but even

Good news here: the Netherlands is flexible on colour. A plain light grey, light blue, or white background is all accepted — the real requirement is that it's uniform and contrasts with your head, with no shadows or reflections. A patchy or shadowed backdrop is a leading rejection reason, whatever the colour.

Even, soft lighting matters just as much: no over- or under-exposure, and no shadow falling on your face or the background behind you.

Glasses and head coverings

Glasses — allowed, but reflection is the killer

Contrary to a common belief, the Netherlands has not banned glasses — they're permitted *if* your eyes are fully visible, the lenses are completely transparent (no tint), and there's no glare, reflection, or shadow, with frames that don't cross the eyes. In practice, reflection and shadow are the top reasons glasses photos fail, so if you only wear them occasionally, take them off.

Head coverings

Not allowed by default; permitted only for religious/belief reasons or medical hair loss. The covering must be plain, a single colour, contrast with the background, and leave the full face visible.

Expression and how you apply

Expression

Neutral — look straight at the camera, mouth closed, both eyes open and fully visible. (Children under six are exempt from the strict expression and positioning rules.)

In person at the gemeente

The Dutch passport is applied for in person at your gemeente (municipality) with a printed photo — there's no citizen online photo upload, and the same applies at embassies via Netherlands Worldwide. So the deliverable is a clean printed 35 × 45 mm photo; there's no official uploaded-file pixel spec to worry about.

How the Netherlands compares

The Dutch 35 × 45 mm frame is the shared EU size, but the fotomatrix zones — especially the small 26–30 mm head — make it stricter and distinct from neighbours, and its grey/blue/white background flexibility is more relaxed than countries that demand one colour. The frame travels; the exact zones don't. If you're preparing photos for more than one country, our passport photo tool for 150+ countries applies each country's own measurements to the same source image.

The short version

A Netherlands passport photo is 35 × 45 mm measured against the official fotomatrix: a small 26–30 mm head, 16–20 mm face width, neutral expression, mouth closed. The background can be grey, blue or white as long as it's even, and glasses are allowed only if glare- and shadow-free. Get the head into the fotomatrix zones and you've cleared what the Netherlands rejects most.