British Passport Photographs
Every passport application or renewal lodged with His Majesty’s Passport Office requires the applicant to provide a passport size and quality photograph/s. Securing these photographs can be a time consuming and frustrating affair for some. Firstly they have to locate their nearest photo booth or merchant who offers compliant passport size and quality images, pay a fee of around £8 and hope that the machine or shop keeper has shot them in a manner accepted by His Majesty’s Passport Office.
Applicants overseas have also reported to us that they often struggle to find a photobooth that prints the passports in the required 35mm x 45mm dimensions required for a British Passport therefore clients who use any of our optional third party services can now benefit from having their photographs edited, re-sized and either saved in the correct file type accepted by HMPO or printed to the correct size (35mm x 45mm) and quality for a UK passport application. Clients who have paid for our support can either email over a complaint photograph they did via their smart phone or use our mobile app to produce the photo.
Passport Photos App – You can download the Print & Post app for your passport photographs here > It operates on both Andriod and IOS devices. Whilst the webpage above speaks of a £10 topup required to secure the passport photographs, clients who have paid for our service simply need to email us for a discount code which will mean they will not need to pay anything further (an £8 saving). Once we have received your photograph our specialists will ensure it is the cropped, has the correct lighting and is the correct file size or is printed to the correct size. Get the app here >
Send Your Pictures via Email – You can also send us the applicant/s photographs in PNG or JPG format via email. These will then be forwarded to the editing department. Please ensure any photo has a background of a cream/off white wall and the applicant is has a neutral facial expression.
Other Ways to Secure Passport Photograph
It is not a requirement for consumers to use our passport picture service as photographs from high street retailers such as: http://www.snappysnaps.co.uk/services/passports-and-id/id.php can create compliant passport photographs online or by using one of their photobooths which are commonly located in Supermarkets or main railway stations. The fee required to use these services will range from £8 to £10 for up four to five photographs. Just two will be needed with the passport application.
Is a Counter Signatory Required?
Many consumers become confused when a counter signatory is required and when it is not. The below is a list of circumstances when a counter signatory is required. It is important to remind consumers that should a counter signatory be required then only one of the photographs should be signed by the counter signatory the other must be left blank. The format of the counter signature should be “I certify this represents the true likeness of __________” along with the date. A full list of how can and cannot counter sign can be found here.
The general rule of thumb is that the counter signatory must know the applicant for at least 2yrs and not be related by blood or marriage. For very young children the counter signatory must know one of the parents for at least 2yrs. Doctors or solicitors can no longer counter sign if they just now the applicant in a professional manner. Those that know the applicant in a social manner can continue to counter sign.
You will need one photograph countersigned if…
- This is a child application/renewal
- This is a first ever British Passport
- The previous passport has been lost or stolen
- The applicants appearance has changed significantly since the last passport was issued
- The applicant has changed gender since the previous application