By PassportNinja Team · Last updated: July 2026
Yes, your two-month-old needs their own passport: every country abolished "children on a parent's passport" years ago. And no, you don't need to carry a newborn to a photo booth. A white sheet, daylight, burst mode and a lot of patience beat the studio every time, because at home the attempts are free.
Crop the best shot to official size, free →Authorities know you cannot direct a newborn. Nearly every country formally loosens the requirements for infants and young children. What stays strict is who is in the frame (only the child) and the photo geometry (size, head height, plain light background):
Requirements last checked: July 2026. Always confirm with the issuing authority.
| Country | What's relaxed for young children |
|---|---|
| United States | For newborns and very young infants, eyes don't have to be fully open and the mouth may be slightly open. Official tip: lay the baby on a plain white blanket, or cover a car seat with a white sheet before putting the baby in it. |
| United Kingdom | Under 1: eyes don't need to be open, and the head may be supported, as long as the supporting hand is not visible. Under 6: no need for a neutral expression or a direct gaze at the camera. |
| EU / Schengen countries | Most member states (including the Netherlands and Germany) accept deviations for children under ~6: expression, head position and eye direction are judged leniently; several also allow smaller head heights for infants. The plain background and "only the child in frame" rules still apply in full. |
| Canada & Australia | Similar infant exemptions: neutral expression and open eyes are not enforced for newborns (Australia specifies under 6 months for the eyes rule; Canada accepts open mouths and non-neutral expressions for under 1). |
What is never relaxed, anywhere: another person visible in the photo (including your hands), a dummy/pacifier in the mouth, toys in frame, hats, and shadows across the face or background.
Sit them on a chair against any wall with a parent crouched behind the chair, fully hidden, gently steadying them under a loose white cloth if needed. Get their attention with a toy held right next to the lens, not in the frame. Expect negotiation.
Honest answer: 20–40 photos across two or three short sessions is completely normal, and even studios routinely need multiple visits with infants. You only need one good frame. This is the real reason to do it at home: a booth gives you one paid attempt at a bad moment; your phone gives you unlimited attempts at the perfect moment. If today's session doesn't work, feed, nap, try again.
Once you have the frame, the geometric work (exact country size, head-height measurement, cropping, and turning that slightly-creased sheet into a perfectly even white background) is exactly what our free tool does automatically. Pick your country, upload the photo, and download both the digital file and a printable 10×15 cm sheet with cut lines. The tool measures the head height against your country's official range and warns you if the frame won't work, before you waste a trip to the application office. (As always: final acceptance is the issuing authority's call. The infant leniencies above are applied by a human at the counter.)
For newborns, usually not: the US accepts infants' eyes not fully open, and the UK requires no open eyes under age one. From about age one, aim for eyes open and facing the camera. When in doubt, try for open eyes — a photo that meets the strict rule will normally satisfy the lenient one too.
Support must be invisible: a hand under a draped white cloth, a rolled towel under the sheet, or a white-covered car seat. A visible hand, arm or lap is one of the most common rejection reasons for infant photos worldwide.
No, nowhere. Same for bottles, toys in frame, and hats or headbands that cover part of the head.
The same rule as adults — usually taken within the last 6 months of applying. Take the photo close to your application date; a passport photo of a 2-week-old submitted when the child is 8 months old can be refused as no longer resembling the child.