Nepali Passport Photo Requirements in Canada

No. A Nepali e-passport applied for from Canada does not need a printed photo, whether it is a first passport, a renewal, or a replacement for a lost or damaged one. The official document list says it plainly: photographs are not required.

That is because the e-passport is biometric. You book online, then go to the embassy in Ottawa on your appointment date, and your photo and details are recorded there during live enrolment. So keep the photo money in your pocket and put your effort into the paperwork instead: your printed application form with its barcode, your citizenship certificate and old passport with copies, and proof of your status in Canada.

One thing worth knowing before you go: miss your appointment slot and you will not be seen that day. Montreal to Ottawa is about two hours by car, so leave early.

The Nepali one-way travel document is the emergency option: it is for a Nepali national who has no valid passport, because it expired, was damaged or was lost, and needs to travel to Nepal right away. As the name says, it covers one trip home.

This is the Nepali document where photos really matter. The official list asks for three passport-size photos, 45 mm high and 35 mm wide, about the size of a large postage stamp. That is smaller than the Canadian passport photo, so the 50 x 70 mm prints from your last Canadian renewal will not do, and trimming them down leaves your face the wrong size.

Ask for three identical prints from the same shoot, keep them flat in an envelope, and send them with the application form, a letter explaining why you need the document, your citizenship certificate copy, proof of status in Canada and, for a lost passport, the police report.

The Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) ID card asks for one passport-size photo with your printed and signed application. The card is open both to Nepali citizens living abroad and to foreign citizens of Nepali origin, so Canadian citizens with Nepali roots can apply too. The official page gives no exact dimensions, and 35 x 45 mm is the standard passport size we print for it.

For a Canadian passport holder visiting Nepal, the visa starts with an online application, and you can also get a tourist visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport. The official visa page does not publish a photo size, so follow the instructions on the online form when it asks you to upload a picture. A digital passport photo file from a studio is the simplest way to get one that is evenly lit and correctly framed.

Nepali passport services for Quebec go through the Embassy of Nepal in Ottawa. For an e-passport, you fill in the online pre-enrolment form, upload colour scans of your citizenship certificate and current passport, choose "NE, Ottawa" as the location, then print the form and bring it to your appointment.

The embassy sets the application fee and how it can be paid; check its website for the current amount before your appointment. Leave a prepaid, self-addressed express envelope: the passport arrives by mail about two to three months later.

Requirements change from time to time, so check the official pages before you book.

Nepali passport-size photos for a travel document or an NRN card are part of our international passport photo service at 683 Rue Jean-Talon O in Montreal. We shoot on a plain light background, print at 35 x 45 mm and check that your face fills the frame before you leave. Tell us which document the photos are for, and we print the number you need from the same shoot, or prepare a digital file for an online visa form.

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

Current prices are on our international passport photo service page. If your photo is turned down, we reshoot it free. We have been taking passport photos for over 20 years.