Why does Canada want the photographer's details on the back?

It is how IRCC establishes that the photograph is recent and was taken by someone rather than assembled. The requirement predates digital submission and it still applies to printed photographs. Write it legibly on the reverse of one of the two prints.

Can I use a 35 × 45 photograph instead?

No. Fifty by seventy is a different shape as well as a different size, so a 35 × 45 photograph cannot be enlarged into it without either distorting the face or cropping into the head. Start from the original picture and use this page's framing.

Do the two photographs have to be exactly the same image?

Yes — two prints of one file, not two shots from one session. Printing a sheet from a single image guarantees this, which is one reason the sheet option is worth using even when you only need a pair.

Is a photograph from a phone acceptable?

The resolution is fine on any recent phone. Framing is the risk: at 50 × 70 the head takes up proportionally less of the picture than people expect, so shoot wider than feels right and let the crop here do the work.

Canada Passport Photo — 50 × 70 mm

50 × 70 mm at 300 dpi (591 × 827 px), plain white or light-coloured.

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Drop your files here

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Options

Country and document

Sets the millimetre size, the head-height range and the background colour.

Background

Anything but 'keep' cuts you out with a model that runs on this device and puts you on a plain colour. 'Keep' skips the model entirely, so it is instant.

Cutout tightness0%

Only used when the background is being replaced. Raise it to trim a halo, lower it to rescue hair that was cut into.

Print sheet

A sheet tiles as many copies as the paper takes, with a cut line around each. Any print shop can run it.

Also save a framing guide

A second file with the crown and chin bands drawn on, so you can check the head is the right size. Never submit that one.

Show exact numbers

Frame measured in

The frame is written as a percentage so it means the same thing whatever the photograph's resolution.

Frame from the left

Frame from the top

Frame width

Frame height

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Ask about Canada Passport Photo — 50 × 70 mm

Questions about what this tool does, which option to pick, or what it can and cannot handle.

The question you type here is sent to an AI provider to be answered — your files and whatever you put in the tool above are not, and the assistant cannot see them. Answers are generated and can be wrong. The tool itself is not guessing: it runs deterministic code on your device.

About the Canada Passport Photo — 50 × 70 mm

A Canadian passport photograph is 50 by 70 millimetres, larger than almost anywhere else, which rules out a picture cropped for any other country before you start. A Canadian passport photograph puts between 31 and 36 millimetres of face into that taller frame, so the head occupies a smaller share of it than the 35 × 45 standard gives — the composition is genuinely different, not merely scaled.

There is a requirement here that no software can satisfy for you. The back of one of the two prints must carry the photographer's name, the studio address and the date the photograph was taken, written on or stamped. IRCC uses it to verify the photograph is recent and professionally produced. If you print these yourself, you write that information on the back yourself, and applications have been returned for its absence.

Two identical photographs are required, not one, and they must genuinely be identical — two exposures from the same session are not acceptable because the images differ.

The background is plain white or light-coloured with no shadows, and the photograph must be uncropped from the original frame in the sense that it cannot be an enlargement of a small area of a bigger picture. Resolution, in other words, has to be real.

Glasses are permitted if the eyes are clearly visible with no glare and the frames do not cover any part of the eyes. Neutral expression, mouth closed.

Check canada.ca for the current specification, particularly the endorsement wording, which is the part that changes.

How to use it

1Add a photograph with plenty of resolution — the 50 × 70 frame at 300 dpi needs 591 × 827 pixels of real detail.
2Leave Canada selected so the unusual 50 × 70 proportions and the 31–36 mm head range are applied.
3Set the background to the required colour if the wall behind you is anything other than plain and evenly lit.
4Print two copies — the 4 × 6 sheet gives you a pair with room to cut cleanly.
5Write the photographer's name, address and the date on the back of one print before you submit it.

Questions

Why does Canada want the photographer's details on the back?: It is how IRCC establishes that the photograph is recent and was taken by someone rather than assembled. The requirement predates digital submission and it still applies to printed photographs. Write it legibly on the reverse of one of the two prints.
Can I use a 35 × 45 photograph instead?: No. Fifty by seventy is a different shape as well as a different size, so a 35 × 45 photograph cannot be enlarged into it without either distorting the face or cropping into the head. Start from the original picture and use this page's framing.
Do the two photographs have to be exactly the same image?: Yes — two prints of one file, not two shots from one session. Printing a sheet from a single image guarantees this, which is one reason the sheet option is worth using even when you only need a pair.
Is a photograph from a phone acceptable?: The resolution is fine on any recent phone. Framing is the risk: at 50 × 70 the head takes up proportionally less of the picture than people expect, so shoot wider than feels right and let the crop here do the work.