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China visa photo 33×48 mm, free

By ShinobiTools Team · Last updated: July 2026

A Chinese visa and passport photo is 33×48 mm with the head 28–33 mm from crown to chin, on a plain white background. Upload any straight-on photo and PassportNinja crops it to the exact size and whitens the background — free, with a printable 10×15 cm sheet.

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The official Chinese requirements

China uses its own 33 × 48 mm size — narrower and taller than most formats, and different from both the US square and the European 35×45 mm. The head must be 28–33 mm tall (crown to chin) and 15–22 mm wide, centred, on a pure white background. Because the size is China-specific, pick the China template so the crop and head height come out right.

• Photo size: 33 mm wide × 48 mm high
• Head (crown to chin): 28–33 mm; head width 15–22 mm
• Plain pure-white background, even lighting, no shadows
• Neutral expression, mouth closed, both eyes open, ears visible where possible
• No glasses glare, no head covering (except for religious reasons), recent photo

Digital and printed China visa photos

Chinese visa applications (and the online COVA / visa-centre forms) typically want a digital photo on a white background within a set pixel range, plus a printed copy to attach to the paper form. PassportNinja gives you both: a 600-dpi digital file and a 10×15 cm print sheet at the correct 33×48 mm size.

PassportNinja handles the mechanical part: it crops to the exact size, scales your head to the required height and replaces the background with plain white, then gives you a digital file at 600 dpi plus a printable 10×15 cm sheet. It does not judge lighting, expression or glasses, and it can't guarantee acceptance — that's always the issuing office's call. Follow the checklist for the things a tool can't see.

How to make it

1. Choose "China — passport & visa (33×48 mm)" in the tool.
2. Upload a straight-on photo with a neutral expression against any background.
3. Let PassportNinja size it to 33×48 mm and replace the background with white.
4. Download the digital file for the online form and the print sheet for the paper application.

COVA has hard pixel and file-size limits

The Chinese visa application is submitted through the online COVA system, and it is stricter about the file than most portals are. This is the single most common reason a perfectly good photo gets refused at the upload step:

• Pixel dimensions between 354 × 472 and 420 × 560 px. Note that this is a maximum as well as a minimum. A big, high-quality 600 dpi export is too large for COVA and gets rejected — which is counter-intuitive if you're used to portals asking for "as sharp as possible".
• A JPEG between 40 and 120 KB. Both ends are enforced. Too small means over-compressed; too large means it won't upload.
• 24-bit colour. Greyscale and black-and-white files are refused outright, even if the photo looks fine.

This tool handles that for you: pick the China template and the downloadable JPG is written at 420 × 560 px with the quality tuned so the file lands inside the 40–120 KB window, while the print-ready sheet stays at full resolution for a paper application. If the file can't be made to fit — a very noisy original, for instance — you get told so rather than handed something the portal will bounce.

The physical spec, and what gets Chinese visa photos rejected

For a printed photo the frame is 33 × 48 mm — narrower and taller than the European 35 × 45 mm, so a photo cut for a Schengen visa is not reusable here. Head height runs 28 to 33 mm from chin to crown, and the photo must have been taken within the last six months.

Beyond the numbers, the recurring rejection reasons are consistent:

• Anything other than a plain white background. China is strict about this one; a cream or light grey wall that would pass in the UK does not pass here.
• Shadows. Both on the face and cast onto the background behind you — a single overhead lamp produces both at once.
• Glasses. Take them off. Frames and any reflection are a common cause of refusal, and there is no upside to keeping them on.
• Ears or hairline obscured. Hair should be clear of the face; if your ears are visible in daily life, keep them visible here.
• Smiling, or an open mouth. Neutral, lips together.
• A uniform or anything resembling one, and no head covering unless it's for religious reasons.

The same 33 × 48 mm format applies to a Chinese passport photo, so the template covers both. As always, check the current requirements on the embassy or consulate page for the country you're applying from — visa specifications change and this page is guidance, not authority.

Common questions