logo
en | $ USD

Explore

Settings

Select Your Language

Select Your Currency

  • AED United Arab Emirates Dirham
  • AFN Afghan Afghani
  • ALL Albanian Lek
  • AMD Armenian Dram
  • ANG Netherlands Antillean Guilder
  • AOA Angolan Kwanza
  • ARS Argentine Peso
  • AUD Australian Dollar
  • AWG Aruban Florin
  • AZN Azerbaijani Manat
  • BAM Bosnia-Herzegovina Convertible Mark
  • BBD Barbadian Dollar
  • BDT Bangladeshi Taka
  • BGN Bulgarian Lev
  • BIF Burundian Franc
  • BMD Bermudan Dollar
  • BND Brunei Dollar
  • BOB Bolivian Boliviano
  • BRL Brazilian Real
  • BSD Bahamian Dollar
  • BWP Botswanan Pula
  • BZD Belize Dollar
  • CAD Canadian Dollar
  • CDF Congolese Franc
  • CHF Swiss Franc
  • CLP Chilean Peso
  • CNY Chinese Yuan
  • COP Colombian Peso
  • CRC Costa Rican Colón
  • CVE Cape Verdean Escudo
  • CZK Czech Republic Koruna
  • DJF Djiboutian Franc
  • DKK Danish Krone
  • DOP Dominican Peso
  • DZD Algerian Dinar
  • EGP Egyptian Pound
  • ETB Ethiopian Birr
  • EUR Euro
  • FJD Fijian Dollar
  • FKP Falkland Islands Pound
  • GBP British Pound Sterling
  • GEL Georgian Lari
  • GIP Gibraltar Pound
  • GMD Gambian Dalasi
  • GNF Guinean Franc
  • GTQ Guatemalan Quetzal
  • GYD Guyanaese Dollar
  • HKD Hong Kong Dollar
  • HNL Honduran Lempira
  • HTG Haitian Gourde
  • HUF Hungarian Forint
  • IDR Indonesian Rupiah
  • ILS Israeli New Sheqel
  • INR Indian Rupee
  • ISK Icelandic Króna
  • JMD Jamaican Dollar
  • JPY Japanese Yen
  • KES Kenyan Shilling
  • KGS Kyrgystani Som
  • KHR Cambodian Riel
  • KMF Comorian Franc
  • KRW South Korean Won
  • KYD Cayman Islands Dollar
  • KZT Kazakhstani Tenge
  • LAK Laotian Kip
  • LBP Lebanese Pound
  • LKR Sri Lankan Rupee
  • LRD Liberian Dollar
  • LSL Lesotho Loti
  • MAD Moroccan Dirham
  • MDL Moldovan Leu
  • MGA Malagasy Ariary
  • MKD Macedonian Denar
  • MNT Mongolian Tugrik
  • MOP Macanese Pataca
  • MUR Mauritian Rupee
  • MVR Maldivian Rufiyaa
  • MWK Malawian Kwacha
  • MXN Mexican Peso
  • MYR Malaysian Ringgit
  • MZN Mozambican Metical
  • NAD Namibian Dollar
  • NGN Nigerian Naira
  • NIO Nicaraguan Córdoba
  • NOK Norwegian Krone
  • NPR Nepalese Rupee
  • NZD New Zealand Dollar
  • OMR Omani Rial
  • PAB Panamanian Balboa
  • PEN Peruvian Nuevo Sol
  • PGK Papua New Guinean Kina
  • PHP Philippine Peso
  • PKR Pakistani Rupee
  • PLN Polish Zloty
  • PYG Paraguayan Guarani
  • QAR Qatari Rial
  • RON Romanian Leu
  • RSD Serbian Dinar
  • RUB Russian Ruble
  • RWF Rwandan Franc
  • SAR Saudi Riyal
  • SBD Solomon Islands Dollar
  • SCR Seychellois Rupee
  • SEK Swedish Krona
  • SGD Singapore Dollar
  • SHP Saint Helena Pound
  • SLL Sierra Leonean Leone
  • SOS Somali Shilling
  • SRD Surinamese Dollar
  • SVC Salvadoran Colón
  • SZL Swazi Lilangeni
  • THB Thai Baht
  • TJS Tajikistani Somoni
  • TOP Tongan Pa anga
  • TRY Turkish Lira
  • TTD Trinidad and Tobago Dollar
  • TWD New Taiwan Dollar
  • TZS Tanzanian Shilling
  • UAH Ukrainian Hryvnia
  • UGX Ugandan Shilling
  • USD United States Dollar
  • UYU Uruguayan Peso
  • UZS Uzbekistan Som
  • VND Vietnamese Dong
  • VUV Vanuatu Vatu
  • WST Samoan Tala
  • XAF CFA Franc BEAC
  • XCD East Caribbean Dollar
  • XOF CFA Franc BCEAO
  • XPF CFP Franc
  • YER Yemeni Rial
  • ZAR South African Rand
  • ZMW Zambian Kwacha
Should You Smile in Your Passport Photo?
iVisa
4 min read
Updated on Jan 06, 2024

Have you ever taken a look at your passport photo and thought, "I don't look very happy in this"? Maybe you even felt some dissatisfaction with your dour look. If so, you aren't alone. As a matter of fact, there have been others who've made an effort to change the way we think about smiling in our passport photos. A smile can brighten someone's day, lift your mood, and communicate a lot, all without words — but would we all be happier if we took the time to smile in our passport photos?

One Frenchman thought so; in fact, he sued the French government to attempt to make his point. His thought? If people smile more in their official photos, it will create an atmosphere of happiness across the country. Unfortunately, after several years of litigation, a French court issued a final ruling confirming that smiles are not permissible on passport photographs.

However, we were curious about the idea behind this quest to make a nation happier. We decided to look at how often rejections for photos occurred in each country and assigned this metric a number from 1 to 10 which we call the Smile Factor. The higher the number, the more likely a country is to allow smiles in its photos.

Next, we looked at the World Happiness Report and compared each country's score with our Smile Factor. The results were surprising — not only was there no correlation between happiness and smiling in photos, but happier nations reject smiling photos more frequently! For example, Australia is a country with a very high happiness score. Its Smile Factor was just 1, though. Meanwhile, the Philippines scored near the bottom of the Happiness Report's list but has a smile factor of 8. Clearly, there's no real difference here.

Just because you aren't always allowed to smile doesn't mean you can't take a gratifying passport photo, though. A few simple tricks can make your photos look much better! Those with long hair should tie it back if possible; in all cases, check yourself in a mirror to keep your hair in proportion across both sides. Makeup can lessen the shininess of your skin, and standing in the line of a good light source can help to create a pleasing image of your face. Finally, find a neutral expression that you like. Not only will this practically ensure approval no matter whose passport you're applying for, but it will complement the rest of your efforts to look good.

Don't be afraid to take practice photos! Whether you're snapping selfies with your smartphone or practicing online, these pics let you see what your passport photo could resemble. From there, making your real picture look the way you want is simple. Even though smiling in passports won't boost an entire country's mood, a little common courtesy still goes a long way no matter where you are on the globe. The best moment to share a smile is when you hand your passport and its perfect picture to a customs agent for approval.

Fill me in

Share this in your site

Do you want to share this with your readers? Copy and paste the following code in your website!

<a href="https://www.mypassportphotos.com/travel-blog/should-you-smile-in-your-passport-photo"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/5w9Faaa.jpg" alt="Do Happy Countries Smile More" width="540px" /></a>

Further Reading

Disclaimer
  • iVisa is NOT affiliated with any government agency. This site does not provide legal advice and we are not a law firm. None of our customer service representatives are lawyers and they also do not provide legal advice. We are a private, internet-based travel and immigration consultancy provider dedicated to helping individuals travel around the world. You may apply by yourself directly on the various government websites. For government source information, please visit our product pages.
Intercom Chat