Nigeria passport photo rejected? The NIS online rules and how to fix it
Updated 15 October 2026
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) online passport portal accepts a photo only if it is 600 x 800 px, under 2 MB, on a white background, with your hair off your face and ears and nothing like headphones or a mask. Almost every rejection comes down to one of these rules.
The NIS photo rules
These are the rules the NIS lists on its Image Compliance page, read on 15 October 2026:
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 600 x 800 px |
| File size | Less than 2 MB |
| Background | White |
| Hair | Must not cover the face or ears |
| Items | No headphones, masks or similar |
| Lighting | Neither too dark nor too bright |
For children under 5 the rules are relaxed, but the child must look toward the camera with the face centred.
Why photos get rejected, and the fix for each
Wrong resolution. A phone photo is usually around 3000 x 4000 px, and a cropped one can be any shape. The portal wants exactly 600 x 800 px. Fix: crop and resize to 600 x 800 px. The Nigeria online passport photo tool does this automatically.
File too large. Original phone photos are often 3–8 MB. Fix: the file must be under 2 MB. A 600 x 800 px JPEG is usually well under that.
Background not white. Patterned walls, curtains, a door or a coloured wall all fail, and so does a white wall with a strong shadow on it. Fix: stand about 50 cm in front of a plain white wall with light coming from the front. Avoid replacing the background in an app; it often leaves an edited-looking edge around the hair.
Hair over the face or ears. Fringes over the eyebrows, and hair covering the ears, are both on the NIS list. Fix: tie long hair back and keep your ears visible.
Headphones, masks and similar items. The NIS list names headphones and masks. Fix: take off anything you can on your head or face, including caps, for the photo.
Too dark or too bright. Taking the photo at night under one bulb, or in direct sun, makes the face too dark or washed out. Fix: face a window in daylight, out of direct sun.
Test before you apply
The NIS gives you a free test: on its Image Compliance page, upload your photo and choose Check Image. It is quicker to fix a photo before you start the application than after a rejection.
A good order of steps:
- Take the photo against a white wall in daylight, from about 1–2 m away, with the camera at eye level.
- Upload it to the Nigeria online passport photo tool. It crops and resizes the photo to 600 x 800 px, and you can check the free preview first.
- Run the downloaded file through the NIS Check Image test.
- Upload it in your passport application.
Going to a passport office instead of applying online? The printed Nigerian passport photo is 35 x 45 mm; see the Nigeria passport photo page.