Passport photo background colour: country by country
Which background colour each country accepts for a passport photo: white, light grey or several. Country table and how to avoid an uneven background.
Short answer
There is no single colour. Italy and Spain ask for white; the United States for white or off-white; the United Kingdom for light grey or off-white; Germany for light grey; the Netherlands for light grey, light blue, or white; Belgium for white or light grey; France for light grey or light blue. A photo made for one country can fail in another on the background alone, so check the rule for the document you apply for.
Country by country
| Country | Accepted background |
|---|---|
| Austria | Plain and light, ideally grey (BMI) |
| Belgium | White or light grey |
| Bulgaria | White (not confirmed by us) |
| Czechia | Light grey (not confirmed by us) |
| Denmark | A uniform light colour, for example light blue or light grey |
| Finland | Light grey (not confirmed by us) |
| France | Light grey or light blue |
| Germany | Light grey |
| Hungary | Light grey (not confirmed by us) |
| Italy | White |
| Netherlands | Light grey, light blue, or white |
| Norway | Light grey (not confirmed by us) |
| Poland | White |
| Romania | White (not confirmed by us) |
| Spain | White |
| Sweden | The police take the photo at the passport office |
| Switzerland | Plain, uniform and neutral; fedpol names no colour |
| United Kingdom | Light grey or off-white |
| United States | White or off-white |
“Not confirmed by us” means we have not checked that country's background rule against the official source yet.
What “plain” really means
Almost every spec asks for a plain, even background. A wall that looks fine can still fail on:
- A shadow behind your shoulders. Standing close to the wall throws a faint shadow on it.
- Texture. Wallpaper or paint roller marks make the background uneven.
- A colour shift across the frame. One side of the wall looks bluer or yellower because of a light source next to you.
Where the rules allow it, the reliable fix is digital background replacement: software cuts out the person and puts an even colour behind them. Not every country allows that. Canada and South Korea, for example, do not accept a replaced background.
Take your passport photo with Foto2Pass. We replace the background with the colour your country asks for.
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