Photo for New Zealand Citizenship

What to Prepare Before You Apply for NZ Citizenship?

If you were born outside New Zealand and at least one of your parents was a New Zealand citizen at the time of your birth, then you need to register your citizenship to get your certificate. To obtain s NZ citizenship certificate, it is essential to get your photo and documents ready before starting your citizenship application. You will also need an identity referee (if you are applying online) or a witness (if you are applying in person or by post).

There are 3 things you must include with your application:

• Your full birth certificate or birth record.
• Your current passport or your travel document - or your most recent one, if it has expired.
• A photo must be taken less than 6 months ago that meets passport photo requirements.

As for the needed photos, the Citizenship Office only accepts passport-style photos for New Zealand citizenship applications. If you intend to take photos with your cellphone or camera, you can surely ask a friend or family member to take your photo. However, remember that selfies are not accepted in any document as they may change the way your face looks.

Passport-style Photo Requirements for NZ Citizenship

Technical requirements:

• A portrait photo with a 4:3 aspect ratio, or 3:4 on a smartphone;
• The photo has to be in color;
• The photograph should be saved in .jpg or .jpeg format;
• The file size must between 250KB and 10MB;
• The photo resolution should be between 900 and 4500 pixels wide, and 1200 and 6000 pixels high.

The photo must show:

• Your head and shoulders are visible;
• Your face looking directly at the camera;
• Your eyes are open and visible - not covered by hair or glasses;
• A neutral expression - not smiling or frowning - with your mouth closed.

Note: You can wear prescription glasses for medical reasons as long as your eyes are still visible.

Must-know Rules to Keep in Mind When Taking Photos

Notably, photos that do not meet official requirements will not be accepted. To help you to avoid some of the most common problems with photo quality, we have sorted out some of the must-know requirements:

• 2 identical color photos, less than 6 months old are required;
• Be a full front, close-up view of the head and shoulders;
• With the head covering 70% to 80% of the photograph;
• Be taken with a neutral expression (not smiling or frowning) with your mouth closed;
• The applicant should look straight at the camera and head not tilted;
• Show your eyes open and visible, and no hair in their eyes. Without sunglasses;
• Tinted prescription glasses may be worn as long as the eyes are still visible. Glasses frames must not obscure the eyes;
• A true image and not altered in any way;
• Clear, sharp, and in focus with no reflective light on the face;
• With a plain light-colored background (not white).

How to Shot a Good Photo at Home?

As we said earlier, your photo must be a portrait image, in color, and taken within 6 months old. To take a proper passport photo, here is a photo checklist for you:

• Get someone else to take your photo - no selfies

Ask a friend or family member to take your photo. Selfies change the way your face looks, so they can’t be used in your NZ citizenship application. It is recommended that you stand around 1.5 m away from the background and hold the camera at eye level.

• Use a plain, light background

There must be a strong contrast between your face and the background. Use a plain, light-colored background. Make sure there are no people or objects in the background.

• Center your head, with space around the top and sides

Your head must be in the center of the photo, with a clear gap around the sides and top of your head. Include part of your shoulders and upper chest in the photo.

• Look at the camera lens with your entire face in view

Make sure that your face is fully visible, and not tilted or turned to the side and your hair is out of your eyes, and away from the sides of your face.

• Remove tinted and thick-frame glasses

You can wear prescription glasses in your photo as long as they are not tinted or thick-framed and be sure there is no glare or flash reflection on the lenses. However, sunglasses are not acceptable.

• Keep your facial expression neutral - no smiling

Remain a neutral expression on face with your eyes open and mouth closed.

• Take off hats, hoods, headbands, and head coverings

You must not wear a head covering in the photo unless you wear one for religious or medical reasons. If you do, you need an endorsement in your document. If you do wear a head covering for religious or medical reasons, make sure your face is fully visible.

• Do not use filters or digital programs to alter your image

Your appearance should not be digitally altered in any way. Do not use a filter or change the way you look using other photo editing software.

After taking a photo, if you are not sure about whether it is suitable to use in your New Zealand citizenship application, you can always opt for our online photo checker. AiPassportPhotos checks your photo against the specifications and gives you a detailed compliance test report if your photo does not meet the requirements so that you know how to fix it in time.

Test Your Photos Online Using AiPassportPhotos

If you are not clear about the size and background of your photo, our online photo editing tool can help you with that. The entire process is quite easy. You just need to choose the document, upload your picture and wait for a few seconds. Then we will scan the photo with our advanced AI technology as well as human experts and correct its size and background. What's more, you can use AiPassportPhotos to check the compliance of your uploaded photo.