The Saudi tourist eVisa photo size is **200 x 200 pixels, square, with a file size of 5 to 100 KB**, on a white background, face 70 to 80% of the frame, taken within the last six months. That comes from the [Photo Specifications page](https://visa.visitsaudi.com/Home/PhotoSpecifications) of the official eVisa portal, visa.visitsaudi.com, which we read live on **October 6, 2026**. One detail: the page writes "200 x 200 in Width and Height" without naming a unit. For a digital upload that must weigh 5 to 100 KB, pixels is the only reading that fits. The text matched, word for word, the archived copies we used on September 20, 2026, when the live portal blocked us. Its home page still blocks automated reads, so the eligibility details further down come from archived copies.

<Callout type="note" title="Quick answer">
**File:** exactly **200 x 200 px**, **5 to 100 KB**. **Background:** white, no pattern, no shadows. **Framing:** close-up of face and top of shoulders; face 70–80% of the frame, centred. **Age:** no more than six months. **Headwear:** not permitted except for religious reasons — face visible chin to forehead, no shadows.
</Callout>

<SpecTable
  document="Saudi tourist eVisa photo (visa.visitsaudi.com)"
  verifiedOn="October 6, 2026 (live Photo Specifications page)"
  source={{ label: "Saudi eVisa - Photo Specifications", href: "https://visa.visitsaudi.com/Home/PhotoSpecifications" }}
  rows={[
    { label: "Dimensions", value: "200 x 200 (width and height; unit not printed, pixels for a digital file)" },
    { label: "File size", value: "5 to 100 KB" },
    { label: "Framing", value: "Close-up of face and top of shoulders; face 70-80%" },
    { label: "Face coverage", value: "Written as 70-80% of the face, or 1.4 x 1.6 in chin to crown" },
    { label: "Photo age", value: "No more than six months old" },
    { label: "Background", value: "White, no pattern, no shadows, one person only" },
    { label: "Pose", value: "Head square to camera, face and eyes straight at it" },
    { label: "Headwear", value: "Not permitted except religious; face shown chin to forehead" },
    { label: "File format", value: "Not stated on the specification page" },
  ]}
/>

## What the spec actually says, line by line

**Size.** "200 x 200 in Width and Height and Image Size must be from 5 to 100 Kb." The page does not print the word pixels, but a file of 5 to 100 KB settles it. Two hard numbers: exactly square at 200 pixels a side, and a file between 5 KB and 100 KB. The lower bound exists to stop thumbnails: a 200 x 200 JPEG at normal quality usually lands between 10 KB and 40 KB, so the 5 KB floor is easy to pass and the 100 KB ceiling is the one to watch. Our [file-size guide](/blog/passport-photo-file-size-kb) covers hitting a KB window without wrecking the image.

**Framing.** A close-up of your face and the top of your shoulders, "so that your face takes up between 70% - 80% of the face or 1.4" x 1.6" from the chin to the crown of the head." The wording is garbled — it most likely means 70–80% of the photo — but the inches figure is a useful cross-check: a chin-to-crown band of 1.4–1.6 inches on a 2-inch square photo is indeed about 70–80% of the height. Keep the full head including hair in frame; the spec notes that voluminous hair must be fully depicted without shrinking the face.

**Background.** White, no pattern, no shadows, and only the person being photographed — no group crops, no objects. A plain white wall with you standing a step in front of it is the setup; [white-background technique](/blog/white-background-passport-photo) explains the lighting that keeps the wall clean without putting a shadow on it.

**Pose.** Head "square to the camera" — neither tilted nor turned, though the spec oddly adds that the face "can be slightly rotated and or tilted". Eyes and face straight at the lens so both ears and cheeks are clearly visible. That ears-and-cheeks line is stricter than many portals: hair tucked behind ears is the cautious read.

**Age and headwear.** No more than six months old, "to ensure an up to date likeness". Headwear is generally not permitted, with exceptions especially for religious reasons; then the face must be visible from the lower tip of the chin to the forehead, with no shadow on the face — the same test most issuers use, covered in [hijab in a passport photo](/blog/hijab-passport-photo).

**What the page does not say.** No file format is named — JPEG is the safe assumption for a photo upload, but the spec does not print it. No rule on glasses appears at all; the conservative choice is to take them off. And no rule on expression beyond head position — a neutral face with a closed mouth is the standard reading, not a stated one.

## The visa this photo belongs to

The home page describes the tourist eVisa in three steps — fill the application, pay the fee, get the visa online — and lists **66 eligible countries**: the US, UK, Canada, Australia, most of Europe, China including Hong Kong and Macau, Japan, South Korea and several Central Asian and Gulf states among them. The visa is **one year, multiple entry, up to 90 days per stay**, for tourism including events, family visits and Umrah — explicitly excluding Hajj. Nationals of unlisted countries are directed to the nearest Saudi embassy. A separate MOFA platform (visa.mofa.gov.sa) handles visit visas arranged through Saudi sponsors and businesses; the tourist eVisa on visa.visitsaudi.com is the self-service route for the listed nationalities.

## Why the exact numbers matter

200 x 200 is a small file, and that is the point: the portal wants a thumbnail-grade portrait, not a print-resolution image. A full-resolution phone photo fails twice — it is the wrong shape and roughly a hundred times too large. Crop the square first, resize to exactly 200 pixels, then check the file lands inside 5–100 KB. Do not enlarge a smaller image to reach 200 px; upscaling blurs the face. And resist retouching: the spec asks for an up-to-date likeness, and an edited face is the wrong kind of likeness. [How to take a passport photo at home](/blog/how-to-take-a-passport-photo-at-home) covers the capture; the resize is a ten-second job in any editor.

<Steps items={[
  { title: "Check the eligible-country list", text: "66 nationalities are listed on the portal's home page. If yours is not among them, the route is a Saudi embassy, not this portal." },
  { title: "Shoot against a white wall", text: "Step clear of the wall so no shadow lands on it. Face the camera square on, eyes straight at the lens, ears and cheeks visible, nothing on your head unless religious." },
  { title: "Crop square to 200 x 200 px", text: "Face and top of shoulders, face filling 70-80% of the height. Crop — never stretch — to the exact square." },
  { title: "Export under 100 KB", text: "Check the file lands between 5 and 100 KB. Reduce JPEG quality slightly rather than shrinking below 200 px." },
  { title: "Upload it in the application", text: "The spec page is the portal's own; if the upload screen states anything different, the screen wins." }
]} />

<ToolCTA title="Square, but not our square" text="The Saudi spec is square like our US and India visa formats, but neither produces a 200 x 200 px file inside 5-100 KB — our outputs are larger on both counts. What the free check can tell you is whether your source photo is sharp, evenly lit and on a plain background before you resize it yourself. $4.99 for a digital file, $6.99 with a print sheet, pay only at download." />

## Checklist before you upload

<RuleList items={[
  { text: "Exactly 200 x 200 px, 5 to 100 KB", ok: true },
  { text: "White background, no pattern, no shadow, you alone", ok: true },
  { text: "Face 70-80% of the frame, chin to crown fully in view", ok: true },
  { text: "Taken within the last six months", ok: true },
  { text: "Head square, eyes straight at the camera, ears visible", ok: true },
  { text: "A hat, or a head covering that hides the chin-to-forehead edges", ok: false },
  { text: "A photo stretched or padded to look square", ok: false },
  { text: "A file over 100 KB or a thumbnail under 5 KB", ok: false }
]} />

For neighbouring Gulf portals, the [UAE visa photo](/blog/uae-visa-photo) rules differ on almost every line, and [Turkey's e-Visa](/blog/turkey-visa-photo) accepts a much looser file but demands ICAO framing. [Egypt's e-Visa](/blog/egypt-visa-photo), by contrast, publishes no photo rule at all. If you want a second pair of eyes on a source photo before you resize it for this portal, [run it through our free check](/photo).

## Frequently asked questions

### What size photo does the Saudi eVisa need?

A square 200 x 200 pixel photo with a file size from 5 to 100 KB, per the portal's Photo Specifications page read October 6, 2026. The page writes '200 x 200 in Width and Height' without a unit. It must be a close-up of the face and top of the shoulders, face 70 to 80% of the frame, on a white background.

### What background does the Saudi eVisa photo need?

White, according to the portal's Photo Specifications page. The background must have no pattern and show no shadows, and the photo must contain only the person being photographed — no other people or objects.

### How recent must the Saudi eVisa photo be?

No more than six months old. The spec says the face must be centred in the photo and no more than six months old "to ensure an up to date likeness", so reuse of an older passport photo is the wrong approach.

### Can I wear a head covering in a Saudi eVisa photo?

The spec says head wear is generally not permitted, with exceptions especially for religious reasons. In that case the face must be visible from the lower tip of the chin to the forehead, with no shadows on the face.

### Who can apply for the Saudi tourist eVisa?

The portal's home page lists 66 eligible countries — the US, UK, Canada, most of Europe, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the GCC among them. The eVisa is a one-year, multiple-entry visa allowing stays of up to 90 days for tourism including Umrah, but not Hajj.

### Did you read the Saudi portal directly?

Yes for the photo rules. The Photo Specifications page on visa.visitsaudi.com loaded for us on October 6, 2026, and its text matched the archived copies we used on September 20. The portal's home page still shows an access-denied page to automated requests, so the eligibility list and visa terms come from archived copies.

<Sources items={[
  { label: "Saudi eVisa portal - Photo Specifications (read live October 6, 2026; archived copies September 20, 2026)", href: "https://visa.visitsaudi.com/Home/PhotoSpecifications" },
  { label: "Saudi eVisa portal - home page (66 eligible countries, one-year multiple entry, 90-day stays; archived copies, live page blocks automated access)", href: "https://visa.visitsaudi.com/" },
  { label: "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia - visa services portal (alternative channel for visit visas)", href: "https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/" }
]} />