The exact China passport photo size in millimeters, centimeters and inches
If you are preparing a passport application for China, the single number that matters most is the printed dimension: 33 × 48 mm. This is the size enforced by National Immigration Administration of the People's Republic of China (国家移民管理局, NIA), with day-to-day issuance handled by the Exit-Entry Administration of the local Public Security Bureau (公安局出入境管理局, PSB) when you submit a physical photo at a China office or visa application centre. Express the same size in centimeters and you get 3.3 × 4.8 cm; express it in inches and you get 1.30 × 1.89 inches. Every China photo studio recognises one of these three notations.
Why does China insist on exactly 33 × 48 mm and not the closest standard size? Two reasons. First, ICAO Doc 9303 specifies a face-height range that only works when the print falls within tight millimeter tolerances — even being 1 mm off pushes the chin or crown out of the biometric template. Second, National Immigration Administration of the People's Republic of China (国家移民管理局, NIA), with day-to-day issuance handled by the Exit-Entry Administration of the local Public Security Bureau (公安局出入境管理局, PSB) uses physical templates with a cut-out window of 33 × 48 mm; if your photo is even slightly oversized, a clerk simply cuts it back and the cropped image fails the face-height check.
Print at home or order a print online
If you print at home, use glossy photographic paper rated for inkjet or laser printing. Set your printer to "Best" or "Photo" quality at 300 DPI minimum and to "Actual size" — never "Fit to page", which silently rescales the print. National Immigration Administration of the People's Republic of China (国家移民管理局, NIA), with day-to-day issuance handled by the Exit-Entry Administration of the local Public Security Bureau (公安局出入境管理局, PSB) regularly rejects home prints on plain paper because they lack the gloss layer that biometric scanners read. If you order from a print service, give them the exact figure: 33 × 48 mm, glossy finish, no border.
Crop digitally first, then print
The reliable workflow is: take the photo with a phone, crop it digitally to the correct pixel size, then send the digital file to print. ImageGates does the digital crop for free — open the China passport photo resize tool and your image lands at exactly 390 × 567 pixels (the 300 DPI equivalent of 33 × 48 mm). Then upload the JPEG to your local print shop or print at home on photo paper.
Common millimeter mistakes that get rejected
- Printing at 35 × 45 mm by default when China actually needs 33 × 48 mm. Auto print kiosks frequently default to the Schengen 35 × 45 mm size.
- Trimming with scissors after printing. Hand-trimming almost always shaves the head height below the National Immigration Administration of the People's Republic of China (国家移民管理局, NIA), with day-to-day issuance handled by the Exit-Entry Administration of the local Public Security Bureau (公安局出入境管理局, PSB) minimum.
- Asking for "passport size" without specifying the country. Different countries mean different mm — say "33 by 48 millimetres for China" out loud.
National Immigration Administration of the People's Republic of China (国家移民管理局, NIA), with day-to-day issuance handled by the Exit-Entry Administration of the local Public Security Bureau (公安局出入境管理局, PSB) rule that catches most applicants
The required print size is 33 mm wide × 48 mm tall — an unusual format that most international photo booths and templates cannot produce without manual resizing. This is on top of the size requirement and is the silent rejection cause for many China passport applications.