Rules compared across countries
Can you wear jewellery or makeup in a passport photo?
Most guidance never raises the subject, and the sites that do treat it as grooming advice. It is not advice everywhere. Three authorities write removal as an instruction — one of them names makeup and the tika specifically — while one writes the opposite and allows earrings outright, with the condition attached to what they do rather than to wearing them. Below is what each authority actually writes.
Silence is the common case here, and silence is not permission — it means the counter decides. Where an authority does write a rule, it is usually stricter than the advice sites suggest.
Not allowed — 3 countries
🇳🇵 Nepal — The only authority we read that names makeup, and the only one that names the tika. It is written as something you will have to do at the counter, not as advice.
“during your biometrics, you will have to remove a.) jewelry on your face neck, ears, b.) makeup, c.) tika (bindi). Your hair must also be tied so that your ears are visible.”
🇵🇭 Philippines — Earrings and hair accessories sit under one heading, and the ban on earrings is stated separately from the general instruction to remove them.
“These accessories should be removed prior to photo capturing... The wearing of earrings is not allowed.”
🇮🇩 Indonesia — Facial accessories are refused and piercings are the example given, alongside coloured contact lenses. Earrings are not named, and neither is makeup. The head office publishes no photo specification at all — this is a regional immigration office spelling out what the counter checks.
“Tidak memakai aksesoris wajah seperti piercing (tindik) dan lensa kontak warna — no facial accessories such as piercings, and no coloured contact lenses”
Allowed, with conditions — 1 country
🇰🇷 South Korea — Earrings and piercings are allowed. The condition is attached to what they do — reflect light, or hide the outline of the face — not to wearing them.
“귀걸이, 피어싱 등의 장신구를 착용하는 경우 빛이 반사되거나 얼굴 윤곽을 가리는 사진은 제출 불가함”
Only part of it is written down — 2 countries
🇯🇵 Japan — The one cosmetic item named is eyelash extensions, and only where they — or their shadow — reach the area around the eyes. Jewellery is not addressed at all.
Hair, a mask, glasses, false eyelashes or eyelash extensions — or their shadow — intruding into the area around the eyes — our English rendering of the Japanese original, which we could not retrieve to quote directly
🇪🇸 Spain — The word “ornament” does appear, but every example the document gives sits on the head, and the clause is bounded by whether identification is prevented. Earrings, necklaces and makeup are not addressed.
“Con la cabeza descubierta* y sin cualquier otra prenda u ornamento (sombreo, gorro, etc.) que impida la identificación de la persona.”
Countries where we found no rule
These authorities publish photo requirements but say nothing about this topic in the pages we checked. We leave that blank rather than guessing.
Questions people actually ask
Which countries make you remove jewellery for a passport photo?
Of the authorities we checked, Nepal, the Philippines and Indonesia. Nepal writes it as part of the biometric appointment, the Philippines bans earrings by name, and Indonesia refuses facial accessories such as piercings.
Can you wear makeup in a passport photo?
Only one authority we read says anything at all. Nepal instructs applicants to remove makeup at the biometric appointment, alongside jewellery and the tika. Japan names eyelash extensions, but only where they intrude on the area around the eyes. Everywhere else the guidance is silent, which leaves the judgement to the counter rather than granting permission.
Are earrings ever allowed?
South Korea allows them in writing, and it is the only authority we read that starts from permission. Earrings and piercings may be worn; the photo is refused only if they reflect light or hide the outline of the face.
What about a tika or bindi?
Nepal is the only authority we found that names it. Its embassy guidance lists the tika among the things you will have to remove for the biometric photo, in the same sentence as jewellery and makeup. No commercial photo-requirements site we checked carries that line, which is why a Nepali applicant can follow ordinary advice and still be turned away.
If my country says nothing, does that mean jewellery is fine?
No. It means the rule is not published, so the person at the counter applies their own judgement — and in most of these countries that person is also the one taking the photo. The safe reading of silence is that anything reflective or face-covering is a risk, but that is a practical judgement and we do not present it as a published rule.
Check your own photo
The tool measures head height against the figure on that country's own page. It cannot judge jewellery or makeup — no tool can — but it settles the part that is measurable.
Open the photo tool →