Japan residence photo · 3 × 4 cm

Checked and laid out to the Immigration Services Agency’s official photograph specification for residence applications, including the millimetre figures from its dimension diagram. Checked by us on 2026-08-17.

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Head and shoulders in frame, with clear space above the hair — the head should fill about half the photo, not all of it.

This document needs a wider shot: include your chest, not just head and shoulders — the head can fill at most 62% of the photo height.

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Official specification

Finished size	30 × 40 mm
Head height (chin to crown)	22 – 28 mm
Eye height	not published by this authority
Background	plain with no background objects and no shadows — no colour is specified
File formats	not published by this authority
File size	not published by this authority
Taken within	the last 6 months

Full rules

4 cm high by 3 cm wide, borderless, showing the applicant alone.
Face height — measured from the top of the head including hair, down to the tip of the chin — must be 25 ±3 mm, with 5 ±3 mm of space above the head, and the face centred within ±2 mm.
Hatless, facing forward, sharp and clear.
No background (including shadows) — nothing behind you and no shadow cast on the backdrop; a dark background that obscures your outline is listed as unsuitable.
Taken within six months before the day of submission.
Write your name on the back of the print — unless the procedure lets you print the photo directly into the application form's photo box.
Unsuitable examples include frames covering the eyes, very thick frames, light reflecting off the lenses, bangs hiding the eyes, and part of the face hidden by a mask.
A face covered by cloth is acceptable only if the face remains clearly visible; for religious or medical reasons, submit a statement in any format.
Altering your image through processing or editing — enlarging eyes, whitening skin, correcting facial features, moles or wrinkles — is inappropriate under any circumstances, and horizontally flipped images are inappropriate.
If an application is submitted with an unsuitable photograph, you will be asked to retake it.

Sources

https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/photo_info_00002.html
Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) — Specifications for submitted photographs · we checked it 2026-08-17

Photo size 4 cm high, 3 cm wide ... (Face dimensions are measured from the top of the head (including hair) to the tip of the chin.) ... A person without a hat, facing forward. Images without a background (including shadows) ... Photos taken within six months prior to the submission date ... altering a person's image through image processing or editing, such as making eyes appear larger, whitening skin, or correcting facial features, moles, or wrinkles, is inappropriate under any circumstances. Also, horizontally flipped images are inappropriate.

Questions

Which Japanese applications use this photo?

The Immigration Services Agency's photograph specification applies across its residence procedures — the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) that starts most work visas, changes and extensions of status, and residence card issuance.

What are the exact dimensions?

4 cm high by 3 cm wide, borderless, with your face — measured from the top of the head including hair down to the tip of the chin — at 25 ±3 mm, 5 ±3 mm of space above the head, and the face centred within ±2 mm. The figures come from ISA's official dimension diagram.

Is this the same as the Japanese passport photo?

No. The passport is a different ministry with different figures: 35 x 45 mm with the head at 34 ±2 mm. The residence photo is smaller (30 x 40 mm) with a smaller head (25 ±3 mm) — one cannot substitute for the other.

Does Japan measure the head with or without hair?

For residence applications, including hair — the opposite of Korea or Finland. That happens to be exactly how our tool measures, so the guide lines on the preview correspond one-to-one with ISA's diagram.

What background is required?

ISA specifies no colour — the requirement is no background at all: nothing behind you, no shadows, and a dark backdrop that obscures your outline is listed as unsuitable. A plain light backdrop photographs best.

Can the photo be retouched?

No. Altering your image through processing or editing — enlarging eyes, whitening skin, correcting features, moles or wrinkles — is inappropriate under any circumstances, and horizontally flipped photos are rejected too. Submitting an unsuitable photo means being asked to retake it.

Our own assumptions

This is the specification for residence applications handled by the Immigration Services Agency — Certificate of Eligibility, change or extension of status, residence card — not the Japanese passport, which is a different ministry with different figures (35 x 45 mm, head 34 ±2 mm).
ISA measures the head including hair — the opposite convention from Korea, Finland and Germany — which happens to match exactly how our tool measures. The millimetre figures come from the official dimension diagram on the ISA page; the diagram is an image, and our source record transcribes it.
ISA specifies no background colour — only that there be no background objects and no shadows. Our check accepts any plain light neutral backdrop; a coloured backdrop may warn even though ISA does not name a colour.
The ISA page publishes no file-size or pixel parameters for its online application system, so what we produce is a correctly laid-out file to print at 3 x 4 cm.
The chin is measured by 68-point facial landmarks; the crown comes from the top of the cut-out outline. Assumed accuracy ±5%, calibrated only on synthetic fixtures.

Where the authority does not specify something, we say so rather than pretending it does. The points above are our engineering choices, not official requirements.