Turkey's e-Visa portal has changed. The application at evisa.gov.tr now starts with **Create Profile**, and the profile needs a photo. The site's own instruction text says: **"A profile photo is required. Please upload a biometric photo to your profile."** The file the upload box accepts is **JPG, JPEG or PNG, up to 4 MB, and at least 200 x 200 pixels**, and the portal checks that a face is visible in it before it lets you continue.

<Callout type="note" title="Quick answer">
**Required:** yes — a biometric photo uploaded to your profile. **File:** JPG, JPEG or PNG, maximum 4 MB, minimum 200 x 200 px.

**Framing:** face centred, covering the area from the shoulders to the top of the head. **Standards:** the upload screen links to an ICAO document — photo taken within six months, face 32–36 mm (70–80% of the photo), no shadows, no smile, mouth closed.

**Background:** white for dark hair, midtone grey for fair hair, no pattern.
</Callout>

<SpecTable
  document="Turkey e-Visa profile photo (evisa.gov.tr)"
  verifiedOn="September 20, 2026"
  source={{ label: "Republic of Türkiye Electronic Visa Application System", href: "https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/" }}
  rows={[
    { label: "Required", value: "Yes — a biometric photo on your profile" },
    { label: "Formats", value: "JPG, JPEG, PNG" },
    { label: "Maximum file size", value: "4 MB" },
    { label: "Minimum dimensions", value: "200 x 200 pixels" },
    { label: "Framing (portal text)", value: "Face centred; photo covers shoulders to top of head" },
    { label: "Face size (linked ICAO PDF)", value: "32–36 mm, 70–80% of the photo" },
    { label: "Photo age (linked ICAO PDF)", value: "Taken within the last six months" },
    { label: "Background (linked ICAO PDF)", value: "No pattern or shadow; white for dark hair, grey for fair hair" },
    { label: "Expression (linked ICAO PDF)", value: "Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open and visible" },
  ]}
/>

A note on how we read this. The portal is a JavaScript application, so its pages arrive empty and fill in from the site's own content feed. On September 20, 2026 we read that feed — the text the portal itself serves to visitors — plus the photo rules its upload component enforces and the ICAO document it links to. We did not create a profile or start an application, so we have not seen the payment step.

## Where the photo fits in the application

The portal's home page describes four steps: **Create Profile, Upload Files, Make Payment, Download the e-Visa**. The photo goes on the profile. If you try to apply without one, the portal's own wording is "A profile photo is required. Please upload a biometric photo to your profile."

The upload checks the file before accepting it. Its rules are: extension .jpg, .jpeg or .png (file type image/jpeg or image/png); size at most 4 MB; and — this is the part most third-party pages miss — **at least 200 x 200 pixels**. Reject an image smaller than that and the portal tells you the minimum and the size of what you uploaded. If the system cannot find a face in the picture, its message reads "Add a photo with your face clearly visible." So the portal does run a face check, not just a file check.

The framing instruction on the same screen: "Your face should be in the center of the photo, and the photo should cover the area from your shoulders to the top of your head." That is a head-and-shoulders portrait crop — the ordinary biometric shape, taller than wide.

## The ICAO document the portal links to

Next to the upload, the portal offers a "View ICAO photo standards" link that opens a PDF hosted on evisa.gov.tr itself. That document is where the detail lives, and it is stricter than the file rules:

- **Age:** taken within the last six months, biometric, per ICAO standards. Photocopied or computer-multiplied photos are not accepted.
- **Face:** face and hairstyle centred and completely visible; face height between 32 and 36 mm, comprising 70 to 80% of the photograph; sharp contrast and detail.
- **Pose:** looking directly at the camera, eyes open and clearly visible, hair not covering the eyes; head upright, not turned; no smile or other expression; mouth closed; both sides of the face from chin to hairline fully shown.
- **Background:** no pattern or shadow — white if your hair is dark, midtone grey if your hair is fair.
- **Light:** even on the face, with no reflection, shadow or red eye.
- **Glasses:** eyes must be clearly visible with no reflection on the lenses; sunglasses and coloured glasses are not allowed; frames must not cover the eyes.
- **Head coverings:** only the kind a person wears out of necessity; the face must be visible from the tip of the chin to the forehead, no shadow on the face, and the covering must be a different colour from the background. Hats and caps are out.
- **Children:** nobody else and no objects in the frame.

One honest caveat: the PDF's opening line describes the photo as being for "residence permit transactions" — Türkiye reuses its ICAO photo document for the e-Visa upload. The link is the portal's own, so treat it as the operative standard, but know it was written for a different process. The [hijab in a passport photo](/blog/hijab-passport-photo) guide covers the chin-to-forehead rule generally, and [glasses in passport photos](/blog/glasses-in-passport-photo) explains why glare fails photos everywhere.

## What the 200 x 200 minimum and 4 MB limit mean for your file

A phone photo is several thousand pixels on each side, so the 200 x 200 minimum is a floor you will pass without trying — it exists to stop thumbnails and heavily compressed copies, not to define a target. The 4 MB ceiling is the binding limit: export at JPEG quality around 85, or reduce dimensions, if a phone file overshoots it. Our [passport photo file size](/blog/passport-photo-file-size-kb) guide explains the compression trade-offs, and [digital passport photo upload](/blog/digital-passport-photo-upload) covers getting a clean file into a portal in general.

The portrait crop matters more than the pixels. Keep the whole head and the top of the shoulders, centred, with a small margin above the hair. Do not pad a landscape photo with borders to make it fit, and do not stretch a square photo into a portrait — the face check is looking for a real face in a normal position. A PNG is accepted, but a JPEG is the safer choice: it is what every camera produces natively, and it cannot accidentally be a screenshot.

## Who needs the photo — and who needs a visa at all

The FAQ's eligibility list covers about 50 nationalities — India, China, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa and Vietnam among them. Citizens of the US, UK and most of the EU are not on it because they enter Türkiye visa-free for tourism; the home page's eligibility check will tell you "You are exempt from visa" before you spend anything. If your nationality needs the e-Visa, the FAQ adds three rules worth knowing: your passport must be valid at least 60 days beyond the duration of stay granted; apply at least 48 hours before departure; and the fee is only charged on an approved application, so a failed application costs nothing but a used e-Visa is never refunded. Some nationalities must also fly on Turkish Airlines, Pegasus or Onur Air, and some get multiple-entry visas — the portal shows your terms after you pick your country and travel document.

Every traveller needs their own e-Visa, and because the photo sits on a profile, each person in a family uploads their own.

If your trip continues past Türkiye, the neighbouring portals ask for different files entirely: [Egypt's e-Visa](/blog/egypt-visa-photo) lists no photo at all on its public pages, [Kenya's eTA](/blog/kenya-eta-photo) accepts "a selfie or passport-type photo", and [Saudi Arabia's eVisa](/blog/saudi-visa-photo) demands exactly 200 x 200 px. Further along the same routes, [Indonesia's online visa](/blog/indonesia-visa-photo) caps both its files at 200 kb. For a document we can size and check against published rules, [start with the photo tool](/photo).

<Steps items={[
  { title: "Check you need an e-Visa", text: "Run the portal's eligibility query with your passport nationality before preparing anything. Exempt nationalities are told so on the home page." },
  { title: "Shoot against a plain light wall", text: "White if your hair is dark, grey if fair. Stand clear of the wall, face a window or two matching lamps, camera at eye level. Hair off the eyes, glasses off if you can." },
  { title: "Frame head and top of shoulders", text: "Face centred, upright, mouth closed, looking straight at the lens. The photo should run from the shoulders to the top of the head." },
  { title: "Export JPG or PNG under 4 MB", text: "At least 200 x 200 px — any normal camera crop passes. Avoid messaging-app copies and screenshots." },
  { title: "Upload it to your profile first", text: "The profile photo is a prerequisite: the portal says you must complete your profile before the application continues." }
]} />

<ToolCTA title="No Türkiye preset, but the crop is standard" text="Our tool has no Turkey format, so it will not produce a file labelled for this portal. Its Schengen visa crop is the same ICAO head-and-shoulders shape — face about 70 to 80% of the frame — and it exports a JPEG comfortably under 4 MB, which matches the file rules above. We measure background evenness, tilt, sharpness and exposure; we do not repaint backgrounds. $4.99 for the file, $6.99 with a print sheet, pay only at download." />

## Checklist before you upload

<RuleList items={[
  { text: "Recent photo, taken within the last six months", ok: true },
  { text: "JPG, JPEG or PNG, under 4 MB and at least 200 x 200 px", ok: true },
  { text: "Face centred, shoulders to top of head, eyes open, mouth closed", ok: true },
  { text: "Plain background — white for dark hair, grey for fair hair — no shadow", ok: true },
  { text: "Profile completed before starting the application", ok: true },
  { text: "Sunglasses, tinted lenses or glare on glasses", ok: false },
  { text: "Hat or cap; head covering that hides chin-to-forehead edges", ok: false },
  { text: "A thumbnail, screenshot or chat-app copy under 200 px", ok: false },
  { text: "A photocopied or multiplied photo — the ICAO document bans it", ok: false },
  { text: "Paying a third-party site instead of evisa.gov.tr", ok: false }
]} />

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the Turkey e-Visa application need a photo?

Yes. The current portal at evisa.gov.tr works on a profile system, and its own text says a profile photo is required and asks you to upload a biometric photo. The application bar shows four steps: Create Profile, Upload Files, Make Payment, Download the e-Visa.

### What file type and size does the Turkey e-Visa photo upload accept?

JPG, JPEG or PNG, with a maximum file size of 4 MB, according to the upload rules the site's own code enforces. The same code requires the photo to be at least 200 x 200 pixels and rejects smaller images with an error message naming the minimum.

### What does Turkey's e-Visa portal mean by ICAO photo standards?

The upload screen links to an ICAO-standards PDF hosted on evisa.gov.tr. It asks for a biometric photo taken within the last six months, face and hair centred, face height 32 to 36 mm covering 70 to 80% of the photo, neutral expression, and no shadows or reflections.

### What background does the Turkey e-Visa photo need?

The ICAO document the portal links to says the background must be without pattern or shadow: white for people with dark hair, midtone grey for people with fair hair. A plain white wall satisfies the rule for most applicants.

### Can I wear a head covering in a Turkey e-Visa photo?

The portal's ICAO document allows a head covering only when the face is fully visible from the tip of the chin to the forehead, with no shadow on the face, and the covering must be a different colour from the background. Hats and caps are not permitted otherwise.

### Do US or UK citizens need a Turkey e-Visa at all?

Probably not for tourism. The portal's FAQ lists the nationalities eligible for an e-Visa, and the US, UK and most EU states are not on it because they are visa-exempt. The home page runs an eligibility check that will say so before you pay anything.

<Sources items={[
  { label: "Republic of Türkiye Electronic Visa Application System - home page (application steps, eligibility check)", href: "https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/" },
  { label: "evisa.gov.tr - Frequently Asked Questions (eligibility list, passport validity, fees)", href: "https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/faq/" },
  { label: "evisa.gov.tr - ICAO photo standards PDF linked from the profile photo upload", href: "https://www.evisa.gov.tr/docs/ICAO-Standards.pdf" }
]} />