Can you wear glasses in a passport or visa photo? Rules by country (2026)

Not allowed (medical exceptions only where stated)

US passport: "Take off any eyeglasses, sunglasses, or tinted glasses." If you cannot remove them for medical reasons, include a signed note from your doctor with your application.

US visa (DS-160): "Eyeglasses are no longer allowed in new visa photos, except in rare circumstances when eyeglasses cannot be removed for medical reasons", for example after recent eye surgery. A medical statement signed by a medical professional must be provided, and the frames, glare or shadows must not cover the eyes.

Australian passport: "You must not wear glasses in a passport photo unless you can't remove them for medical reasons." Vision impairment alone is not an acceptable reason. For Australian visas, glasses should also be removed unless they cannot be for medical reasons.

Nigerian passport: "Eyeglasses are no longer allowed in Passport photo."

India e-Visa: the photo should show the full face, front view, eyes open and "without spectacles".

Vietnam e-Visa: "no glasses".

Avoid unless you have to: UK

UK passport, visa and ETA photos: "Do not wear glasses in your photo unless you have to." If you must, they cannot be sunglasses or tinted, and your eyes cannot be covered by the frames or by glare, reflection or shadow.

Allowed if your eyes are clearly visible

Canada visa: "You may wear non-tinted prescription glasses as long as your eyes are clearly visible." The frame must not cover any part of your eyes, and sunglasses are not accepted.

New Zealand passport and NZeTA: prescription glasses are allowed if the lenses are clear and not tinted, the frames are not thick enough to cover your face, and there is no glare.

Schengen visa: if you wear glasses, the photo must show your eyes clearly, with no dark tinted lenses and no flash reflection on the lenses.

India OCI: avoid glare with a slight upward or downward tilt of the head; no tinted or dark glasses. (The India e-Visa is stricter: no spectacles at all.)

China visa: the embassy's rejected examples include frames that are too heavy, frames covering the eyes, reflection on the lenses and tinted lenses.

Thailand e-Visa: each eye must be visible and free from reflection or glare, and not covered by sunglasses, tinted glasses or frames.

Tanzania e-Visa: "If the applicant regularly wears eye glasses he/she is allowed to take a photo with his glasses on."

If you keep your glasses on

Check the rule for your exact document, not just the country: India's e-Visa and OCI differ, and so do US passports and visas.

Use clear, untinted lenses and thin frames that sit below your eyebrows and above your lower eyelids.

Face a window instead of using a ceiling light or flash, and tilt your head very slightly down if the lenses reflect.

Where a medical exception applies (US passport, US visa, Australia), keep the signed medical statement ready; a photo checker cannot decide that for you.

pixtidy checks in your browser that both eyes are open and visible and that the light is even, for free and without uploading the photo. It does not judge whether a medical exception applies.