Philippine Passport Photo Requirements in Montreal

No. A Philippine passport, new or renewed, never needs a photo from you. Every applicant appears in person, and the Embassy captures the photo, fingerprints and signature on the spot. The official page says it plainly: you do not have to bring your own photos.

What you do need is the right look on the day. Wear a shirt with sleeves, and take off facial jewellery such as earrings, nose rings or studs, and necklaces before the photo.

For a child's passport, the child comes too, with one parent or a legal guardian. If the parents are not married, the mother appears. Montreal is covered by the Embassy in Ottawa, which also holds consular outreach days in Montreal a few times a year.

Philippine applications made from Canada do not all ask for the same thing. Here is what the Embassy in Ottawa lists for each one:

• Passport, new or renewal: no photo. It is taken at your appointment.
• Dual citizenship (RA 9225): three 2 x 2 inch colour photos on white for an adult, plus two of each child under 18 and one more of the parent per child.
• Travel document, for a Filipino who needs to travel without a valid passport: two recent passport-size colour photos on white, full front view.
• NBI clearance from abroad: two colour 2 x 2 inch ID photos on white, taken in the last three months. One is glued onto NBI Form No. 5.
• Visa to visit the Philippines, for people who need one: one colour photo on white, taken in the last six months. Canadian citizens can visit for up to 30 days without a visa.

For anything not on this list, follow the instructions you were given for that application.

A Philippine dual citizenship photo is simple on paper, so the mistakes are small ones. These are the ones to watch:

• A blue background. Many ID photos taken in the Philippines use blue. The Embassy in Ottawa asks for white.
• The wrong size. A Canadian passport photo is 50 x 70 mm, and a European one is 35 x 45 mm. Neither is a 2 x 2 inch square, and trimming one down puts the head in the wrong place.
• Too few photos. Three for you, and for each child two of the child and one more of you. A parent with two children sends five of themselves.
• Photos stuck to the form. The checklist says not to attach them. Put them loose in the envelope, or in a small labelled envelope so nothing gets lost.
• An old photo. The one from your last Philippine passport, or from an ID card, will not do.

A child under 18 can be added to a parent's Philippine dual citizenship application, and each child needs their own photos: two 2 x 2 inch colour photos on a white background.

The part people miss is the parent's photos. The parent applying sends one extra photo of themselves for every child they include. So a parent applying with one child sends four photos of themselves and two of the child.

Babies and toddlers can be photographed too. The background still has to be white. Our baby and child photo service takes the time a small child needs.

A Philippine dual citizenship application can be mailed to the Embassy in Ottawa, so you do not have to make the trip to get it started. Send the completed form, your photos and photocopies of your documents. Keep the originals at home: you show them later.

If you would rather take the oath in Montreal, add a short letter asking to do it at a consular outreach mission. The Embassy holds these in Montreal a few times a year and announces the dates in advance.

The fee and how to pay it are set by the Embassy and listed on its dual citizenship page. Check them right before you send, because they can change.

Philippine dual citizenship photos are part of our international passport photo service at 683 Rue Jean-Talon O in Montreal. Tell us the photos are for Philippine dual citizenship and how many children are on the application, and we print the right number of 2 x 2 inch photos on a white background.

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 photos are turned down, we reshoot them free.

Applying for an NBI clearance or a travel document instead? Bring the form or the instructions you were given. We have been taking passport and visa photos for over 20 years, and we check the current official rules before we shoot.