Estonia residence permit card photo guide

Photo requirements

The photo size, format, and background conditions for the application.

• The official regulation requires a digital colour photo of at least 1300 x 1600 pixels ("vähemalt 1300 pikslit lai ja 1600 pikslit kõrge" — a minimum only; no upper pixel limit is stated).
• The file must be in .jpg / .jpeg format between 1 MB to 5 MB, as required by the regulation.
• The official PPA page requires the photo to be unedited; scanned photographs and screenshots of a screen are not allowed. The background should be light and of a single colour without extraneous objects or patterns (no specific colour is named).
• A photo taken by yourself must not be older than 6 months at the time of applying (regulation § 2(4), matching the PPA page).
• Regulation § 5(2) requires the head and shoulders to be visible, with the face (bottom of the jaw to the lower forehead, right ear to left ear) clearly visible with minimal shadows (the PPA page adds a front view, looking at the camera, a neutral expression, eyes open and mouth closed). No numeric face geometry (mm or occupancy) is stated.
• The tool output follows the official minimum (1300×1600 px) and guarantees only the 5 MB cap. The 1 MB lower bound required by the official rule is not guaranteed for the generated file; if the output is smaller than 1 MB, verify the requirement on the application side yourself.