Italian Passport Photo Requirements in Montreal

An Italian passport photo handed in at the Italian consulate in Montreal measures 5 cm wide by 7 cm high. That is the Canadian passport format, about the size of a business card standing on its short edge.

You bring two identical photos, not one. Both must be recent, six months old at most, with your face centred and turned to the camera, and a neutral expression.

Because the consulate asks for the Canadian format, the head follows the Canadian measurement too: 31 to 36 mm from the chin to the crown. The same goes for teenagers and for children: two photos, same format.

An Italian passport photo does not have one size everywhere, and this is the trap. Search online and you will read 35 x 45 mm. That is true in Italy, and it is not what Montreal asks for.

In Montreal. Two photos of 5 x 7 cm, the Canadian passport format.

In Italy. A small photo 35 to 40 mm wide, with the face filling 70 to 80% of it. You look much closer to the camera than on a Canadian photo.

At the Italian embassy in Ottawa. Two photos of 35 x 45 mm.

In Halifax. Applications sent to the honorary vice consulate use photos of 3.5 x 4 cm.

A small photo cannot be turned into a large one, and trimming a large one leaves the face the wrong size. So before the camera clicks, tell us which office your application is going to. If you live in the Montreal consular district, the answer is 5 x 7 cm.

An Italian passport photo is taken square to the camera, like a mirror and not like a portrait. Keep your head straight, with no tilt and no three-quarter turn, so that both sides of your face show. Look into the lens with a neutral expression and your mouth closed.

Your eyes must be open and easy to see. Sweep your hair off them: a fringe that touches the eyes is enough to get a photo refused.

Glasses are allowed, with conditions. The lenses cannot be tinted, there can be no reflection on them, and the frame cannot cover any part of your eyes. The official rules add a piece of advice: avoid heavy frames and pick a lighter pair if you have one. Taking them off for a minute is simpler still.

Hats and caps are out. A head covering is accepted only for religious reasons, and your face must then be visible from the tip of the chin to the top of the forehead, and on both sides.

One practical tip: the background is light, so a mid-tone or dark top gives you a clean outline.

An Italian passport photo for a baby or a child follows the adult rules, with one extra: the child must be alone in the picture. No parent's hand, no toy, no soother, no back of a chair showing behind the head. The child looks at the camera, with a neutral expression and a closed mouth.

That last part takes patience with a six-month-old, and that is fine. We wait for the right second and shoot again as often as needed.

At the Montreal consulate, a child's application takes the same two identical photos of 5 x 7 cm, six months old at most. There is good news for parents of little ones: for a child under 12, fingerprints are not taken.

An Italian passport application in Montreal is made by appointment at the consulate, at 3489 Rue Drummond. On the day, you bring:

• The original application form, filled in and signed

• Your Italian passport or identity document

• Two recent identical photos of 5 x 7 cm

• The consular fee (check the current amount and accepted payment on the consulate's website)

The Italian electronic identity card, the CIE, is simpler on the photo side: one photo, in the same 5 x 7 cm Canadian passport format.

Appointments are hard to get, so do not lose yours over a photo. Have it taken a few days before, and keep the prints flat in their envelope.

An Italian passport photo is usually turned away for one of a handful of reasons:

• A 35 x 45 mm photo brought to the Montreal consulate, which asks for 5 x 7 cm

• One photo instead of two, or two that are not identical

• A photo taken more than six months ago

• A face too close to the camera, or too far from it

• A head tilted or turned in a portrait pose

• Hair over the eyes, or closed eyes

• Tinted lenses, glare on the glasses, or a frame that covers the eyes

• A shadow on the face or behind the head, or red-eye

• A background that is not plain

• A print that is blurred, grainy, washed out or creased

• A hat or a cap

Italian passport photos are part of our international passport photo service at 683 Rue Jean-Talon O in Montreal, not far from Little Italy. Tell us the photos are for the Italian consulate in Montreal and we print two identical 5 x 7 cm photos on a plain light background, and measure the head before you leave. If your application is going to another office, we print the size that office asks for.

No appointment is needed, and photos are usually ready in about 15 minutes.

You can get two identical prints, a digital file or both. Current prices are on our international passport photo service page. If your photo is turned down, we reshoot it free.

The studio is open seven days a week: 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.