Does "taken within 3 months" mean the file date or the day the picture was taken?

The day it was taken. Authorities cannot check either reliably; they check whether you look like it. Do not submit one that is older than the limit even if nothing has changed.

I used the same photo for my passport last year. Can I reuse it for a visa?

Not for Japan or Korea, which refuse a photo used on a previous document. Elsewhere, only if it is inside the age limit — usually it will not be.

How recent does a passport or visa photo have to be?

TL;DR Usually 6 months; Singapore, Myanmar and Mexico want less. ICA says 3 months for its passport and IC. Myanmar's eVisa says 3. Mexico's visa carries a 30-day figure. Almost everything else on this site is 6 months, and the UK visa is the strict outlier at 1. The rule is about your appearance matching, so a photo that still looks like you but is dated past the limit is still refused.

Why the limit exists

The checker compares the photo to the person at the counter or the camera at the border. A limit in months is the authority's proxy for "still looks like you". That is also why Korea and Japan add a second rule — the photo must not be one already used on a previous passport or ID — a fresh-looking reuse defeats the purpose.

How this site handles it

Each document's maximum age is shown on its page and in the table below, and the photo you upload should have been taken inside that window. The tool cannot make an old photo new; it can only format what you give it.

A spread of maximum ages, from strictest to usual

Document	Size	Head in frame (as we compose it)	Background	Max age	Source
Singapore passport	35 × 45 mm	56–78%	pure featureless white	3 months	www.ica.gov.sg
Myanmar visa	38 × 46 mm	60–80%	plain white	3 months	evisa.moip.gov.mm
Mexico visa	26 × 32 mm	60–80%	plain white	1 months	embamex.sre.gob.mx
United Kingdom visa	35 × 45 mm	70–80%	cream or light grey	1 months	www.gov.uk
Japan visa	35 × 45 mm	66–74%	plain white	6 months	visa.vfsglobal.com
China visa	33 × 48 mm	58–69%	white or close to white, no edge frame	6 months	bio.visaforchina.cn
Schengen visa	35 × 45 mm	70–80%	plain light-coloured — light grey or white	6 months	home-affairs.ec.europa.eu
India visa	51 × 51 mm	49–69%	plain light-coloured or white	6 months	indianvisaonline.gov.in

A real case

A traveller's Japan visa photo was five months old — inside the limit — but it was the same one on her passport, issued the year before. Refused on the reuse rule, not the age.

Common questions

Does "taken within 3 months" mean the file date or the day the picture was taken?: The day it was taken. Authorities cannot check either reliably; they check whether you look like it. Do not submit one that is older than the limit even if nothing has changed.
I used the same photo for my passport last year. Can I reuse it for a visa?: Not for Japan or Korea, which refuse a photo used on a previous document. Elsewhere, only if it is inside the age limit — usually it will not be.

Sources

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

Singapore passport: www.ica.gov.sg (read 2026-09-06)
Myanmar visa: evisa.moip.gov.mm (read 2026-09-06)
Mexico visa: embamex.sre.gob.mx (read 2026-09-06)
United Kingdom visa: www.gov.uk
Japan visa: visa.vfsglobal.com (read 2026-09-06)
South Korea visa: overseas.mofa.go.kr (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.