The tool made my head smaller than I expected. Is that wrong?

It is set to the document's published band. For China and India in particular the band is lower than the ICAO one most people are used to seeing.

Singapore's band shows a figure but ICA publishes none. Which is it?

ICA publishes no measurement. The band shown for Singapore documents is this site's own composition choice for ICA's 400 × 514 frame, and it is not attributed to ICA on the document pages.

What does "head must be 70–80% of the photo" mean, and how do I measure it?

TL;DR Chin to crown, divided by the photo's full height. Crown means the top of the skull where the hair would be if you had none, not the top of the hair. On a 45 mm photo, 70–80% is 32–36 mm. The band differs by country — China caps at 69%, India at 68.6%, Korea at 78%, Singapore publishes none — and being over the ceiling is refused as readily as being under the floor.

How to measure

Print or view the photo at its final size. Measure from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, hair excluded (France's page says it outright: "hair excluded"; Taiwan's: "the position of the top of the head if there were no hair"). Divide by the photo's height. A 33 mm head on a 45 mm photo is 73%.

Why the ceiling matters as much as the floor

Guides emphasise "fill the frame", and a photo at 82% looks confident. It fails Korea (78%), China (69%), India (68.6%) and, strictly read, ICAO (80%). Automated checkers measure the number; they do not reward confidence. This site sets each document's band from the authority's own figures, and the table below shows them.

Head-height bands, as each authority publishes them

Document	Size	Head in frame (as we compose it)	Background	Max age	Source
Schengen visa	35 × 45 mm	70–80%	plain light-coloured — light grey or white	6 months	home-affairs.ec.europa.eu
China visa	33 × 48 mm	58–69%	white or close to white, no edge frame	6 months	bio.visaforchina.cn
India visa	51 × 51 mm	49–69%	plain light-coloured or white	6 months	indianvisaonline.gov.in
South Korea visa	35 × 45 mm	56–78%	plain, evenly lit and light	6 months	overseas.mofa.go.kr
United States visa	51 × 51 mm	50–69%	plain white or off-white	6 months	travel.state.gov
Thailand visa	35 × 45 mm	66–74%	plain white or off-white	6 months	singapore.thaiembassy.org
Taiwan passport	35 × 45 mm	71–80%	plain white	6 months	www.roc-taiwan.org
Singapore passport	35 × 45 mm	56–78%	pure featureless white	3 months	www.ica.gov.sg

A real case

A visa checker in Singapore rejected a photo made "to ICAO" at 78% for a Chinese visa. The photo was correct for Schengen and wrong for China by nine points. Recropped to 66%, accepted.

Common questions

The tool made my head smaller than I expected. Is that wrong?: It is set to the document's published band. For China and India in particular the band is lower than the ICAO one most people are used to seeing.
Singapore's band shows a figure but ICA publishes none. Which is it?: ICA publishes no measurement. The band shown for Singapore documents is this site's own composition choice for ICA's 400 × 514 frame, and it is not attributed to ICA on the document pages.

Sources

Read on the issuing authority's own pages on the dates shown on each document page:

Schengen visa: home-affairs.ec.europa.eu (read 2026-09-06)
China visa: bio.visaforchina.cn (read 2026-09-06)
India visa: indianvisaonline.gov.in (read 2026-09-06)
South Korea visa: overseas.mofa.go.kr (read 2026-09-06)
Taiwan passport: www.roc-taiwan.org (read 2026-09-06)
France passport: passeport.ants.gouv.fr (read 2026-09-06)

SGfoto is independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by any government or issuing authority — and does not guarantee acceptance. Requirements change; the authority's page is the one that counts. Rebuilt 2026-09-06.