# Photo size for perm or temp



## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

The website for the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, (like all others I suspect), says the photo size we need to bring in for permanent resident visa (& temp visa) is 3.9cm x 3.1cm. I assumed that was the same size as a passport photo, but when I Google passport photo size, 3.9cm x 3.1 cm is not a size that comes up. Is that a special size, or will a passport photo do. Anyone know from a recent application for perm or temp, Gracias,


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Odd. It doesn’t seem to be any of the standard Mexican photo sizes.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

What I found: 

""Once the procedure has been approved, the applicant must go the Immigration Institute to request an appointment. On the day of the appointment, the applicant must be at the Immigration Institute 10 minutes before and must bring 3 pictures as follow:

Three color photos with white background, infant size (2.5 x 3 cm):

Two photos taken from the front.
One photo taken from the right profile.
Applicant must not be wearing glasses or earrings in the photo and hair must be behind the ears.
Pictures should be taken in a specialized photography studio. Polaroid or cellular phone pictures will not be accepted.""

From this website:
How To Apply For a Mexican Resident Card For The First Time - Yucatan Expatriate ServicesYucatan Expatriate Services


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

For perm res visas, this is what it says on the Mexican Consulate website for Vancouver...
""One photograph measuring 3.9 cm x 3.1 cm, face uncovered, no eyeglasses, frontal view, in colour and with white background.""...
are you perhaps referring to the final procedure for once you are in Mexico with the paperwork from the consulate where the initial application was made?:confused2:



chicois8 said:


> What I found:
> 
> ""Once the procedure has been approved, the applicant must go the Immigration Institute to request an appointment. On the day of the appointment, the applicant must be at the Immigration Institute 10 minutes before and must bring 3 pictures as follow:
> Three color photos with white background, infant size (2.5 x 3 cm):
> ...


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## EmilyTravels (May 19, 2018)

I did a lot of research on just this recently. Unfortunately, I got several different answers from different people and websites. My husband and I ultimately decided that the most common answer for Mexican visa photo size was Mexican passport size, 35mm x 45mm. We are going to the Orlando Consulate, and they don't specify the size; just say "passport size".

https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/orlando/index.php/visas

We went to a local photo lab and got two photos apiece (in case something happened to one of them), no glasses, hair behind ear, no jewelry, white background. 

Our appointment at the Consulate is on August 22nd, so I guess we'll find out if we chose right or wrong when we get there! :fingerscrossed:

The three infantile size photos (2.5 x 3 cm) are what is needed when you actually get to Mexico and are doing the rest of the procedure with INM. I was told on a Facebook expat group that the photo places near INM locations all know exactly the size and type of photos you need, and it's much cheaper to get those taken there, so that is what we plan to do.

I hope this helps. I will follow up after our appointment and let you know if our photos were accepted.


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

Gracias for the replies, ..But problem is now solved, called a local photo place that does passport, visa, portrait photo's etc, asked if they did 3.9cm x 3.1cm photo's, first thing she said was, " Yes we do, Is it for a Mexican visas?. I asked if it was same as passport photo and she said no. So one less thing to worry about. 



EmilyTravels said:


> I did a lot of research on just this recently. Unfortunately, I got several different answers from different people and websites. My husband and I ultimately decided that the most common answer for Mexican visa photo size was Mexican passport size, 35mm x 45mm. We are going to the Orlando Consulate, and they don't specify the size; just say "passport size".
> 
> https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/orlando/index.php/visas
> 
> ...


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## EmilyTravels (May 19, 2018)

gringotim said:


> Gracias for the replies, ..But problem is now solved, called a local photo place that does passport, visa, portrait photo's etc, asked if they did 3.9cm x 3.1cm photo's, first thing she said was, " Yes we do, Is it for a Mexican visas?. I asked if it was same as passport photo and she said no. So one less thing to worry about.


That is interesting. As I mentioned, the Orlando Mexican Consulate says "passport size", so that is what we got. If they reject us based on that, I am gonna be  

Best of luck to you (and to us...)!


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

Yes, Good luck to you as well, post how it goes, especially regarding the photo's, have heard that some consulates interpret the rules differently than others.



EmilyTravels said:


> That is interesting. As I mentioned, the Orlando Mexican Consulate says "passport size", so that is what we got. If they reject us based on that, I am gonna be
> 
> Best of luck to you (and to us...)!


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## EmilyTravels (May 19, 2018)

And falling under the category of "don't sweat the small stuff", at least at the Orlando Consulate, the guy interviewing us didn't measure the photo at all. In fact, it almost seemed like an afterthought that he asked for it.

For those who might be going through the residency visa application process in the future, I'll detail our experience today. It went quite smoothly.

Backstory: It took ten days to get a response (via email) from the Consulate in reply to our request for an appointment. We were convinced we'd never hear back and were thinking about driving all the way to Miami, especially since Orlando had many bad reviews. But we did finally hear back from the guy who processes visa requests and were able to schedule our appointment for about 1.5 weeks later. They only do appointments for visas in Orlando on Wednesdays, and you have to have an appointment in advance.

Arrived about 15 minutes early for our appointment today. The man assisting people gong into the consulate was polite and helpful and spoke perfect English. The person we had our appointment with was busy, but the greeter did let him know we were there, and let us know that he had done so. Very nice.

The window you talk to the visa guy through is right in the main waiting area; not a private room or anything, so it is a bit distracting (babies crying, etc.). He was with another couple when we arrived, then processed a single man before he called us over. We were about 30 minutes behind our schedule appointment time at this point.

He asked for our applications (which we'd filled out in advance online and printed), passports, and proof of income or investments (we went the latter route as we're retired but not currently drawing off SS or any pensions). My husband and I were both applying for permanent residency, and since our individual investments qualified me on my own, we did not have to show the certified original or copy of the marriage certificate we had brought along just in case

The guy asked us only a few questions. Were we retired? Yes. Were we wanting temporary or permanent residency? Permanent. Had we had a Mexican visa before? Only tourist visas. He didn't ask why we wanted PR or anything like that, much to my surprise. 

He looked through our investment statements pretty quickly and didn't even need the originals (color), only the copies. He just checked the balance on each of five quarterly statements for each of us, covering all of the past year.

He fiddled with our passports and typed on his computer for awhile, then had us move our chairs back, one at a time, and he took photos for the visa that they put into your passport. We had to remove glasses for those photos (but I didn't have to remove my earrings). 

At this point he had us go to the next window to pay our $36 each application fee, which had to be in cash and exact change only. The clerk gave us receipts, and we were told that we might need to show them at INM in MX so to hold onto them.

Back at the Visa window, the guy finally asked us if we'd brought a photo. He barely glanced at them as we handed them over. I think they must just attach them to the paper application for their files, since they use the ones they took on the Visa itself. I am thinking if we hadn't had any, by this time in the process, they probably would have just used the ones they took, since we'd already paid and were almost done. But by having us bring photos, it saves them the cost of color printing.

After our guy disappeared with our passports for awhile, he brought them back with our shiny new Visa stickers inside. We were approved. Yippee!! :clap2: :clap2:

He briefly explained the process in Mexico (have to present ourselves at INM within 30 days, can't leave the country during the process, etc.) and asked if we had any questions. He said to go through the residents line at immigration at the airport in MX, rather than the tourists line. 

We got there at 10:45 am for an 11:00 appointment, and the appointment itself lasted just under 30 minutes. Really much less worrisome than I expected, and most of the printouts and copies we'd made weren't even needed. He did keep the copies of our investment account statements, but we had also printed out social security estimates, pension estimates, and checking account statements, none of which was needed in our situation since we weren't qualifying based on income.

I fear the process won't go quite as easily in Mexico, but will hope for the best!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Congratulations.

About the photos … I have had similar experiences. Mexico seems to be in a bureaucratic transition phase. When I got my Mexican passport, I had to provide photos. Then when I turned in the paperwork, they took a digital photo. Same for fingerprints. They took an old fashioned ink set of prints, as well as scanning them with a machine. The printed photos and paper fingerprints were all stapled to a paper form that went into the files somewhere. But at the same time, everything was in the computer and that seems to be the system they really use.


Incidentally, I would not bet that they would have given you a pass if you hadn't brought the photos, even though they don't need them.


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## EmilyTravels (May 19, 2018)

TundraGreen said:


> Congratulations.
> 
> About the photos … I have had similar experiences. Mexico seems to be in a bureaucratic transition phase. When I got my Mexican passport, I had to provide photos. Then when I turned in the paperwork, they took a digital photo. Same for fingerprints. They took an old fashioned ink set of prints, as well as scanning them with a machine. The printed photos and paper fingerprints were all stapled to a paper form that went into the files somewhere. But at the same time, everything was in the computer and that seems to be the system they really use.
> 
> Incidentally, I would not bet that they would have given you a pass if you hadn't brought the photos, even though they don't need them.


You might be right. But interestingly, we had already paid before he asked for the photos. I wouldn't have been too pleased had we been sent home at that point. Just glad we had done our homework, even though there was still some uncertainty about whether we'd gotten the photo size right. 

I forgot to mention that he also took our index fingerprints only, digital ones, not ink. 

I'm sure you're right that everything is gradually transitioning to digital from paper, but at the moment, there's still a bit of each.


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## Zane124312 (5 mo ago)

I've had similar experiences with passport photos and bureaucracy in Mexico. It seems like the country is in a transition phase when it comes to these things. When I got my Mexican passport, I had to provide photos. Then, when I turned in the paperwork, they took a digital photo. They also took my fingerprints, both with an old-fashioned ink set and with a scanning machine. The printed photos and paper fingerprints were all stapled to a paper form that went into the files somewhere. But at the same time, everything was entered into the computer system, which is probably the one they really use.


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## Zane124312 (5 mo ago)

If you need cheap passport photos in Toronto then reach out to Globeia.


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## 255 (Sep 8, 2018)

@gringotim -- At the Mexican Consulate in Tucson; their "fact sheet" required:

"One recent color photograph (32mm x 26 mm) -- full frontal view, white background, no glasses."

This was the same for both permanent and temporary resident visa applications. Our local photo shop's editing software had this size, as standard for Mexico. When we got the photos, we were surprised how small they were (having gotten loads of "passport photos," in the past.) The photos just fit a small block and was glued to the application. The actual photo for our visa was taken at the Consulate with a digital camera. Cheers, 255


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