Hi everyone,
just a quick question. I hope someone can help.
I'm applying for a replacement UK passport and need to have photos taken to the strict UK specifications (35mm by 45mm etc). I can't immediately find a photo booth in Geneva that will take these. Does anyone know if there's a booth that does? Alternatively, does anyone know a photo place in town that is familiar with the UK specs?
Many thanks
Simon
Don't know if this will help but I was at the US Embassy a few days ago and there was a mom who brought in pics for her kids but they were CH size so obviously no good for the US. Not a big deal though because they could get new ones taken right there. So, is it an option for you to go to the Embassy to take care of the replacement passport and get the pics done there? Just a tough. Good luck!
Many thanks BearBadger. Only thing is the UK embassy is in Bern, so a long way to travel!
There are huge problems with the uk passport service at the moment, so there'll be a delay getting it back if you post it off. You can go to the embassy in Berne and get a free stamp to extend your passport for a year if your passport is expiring soon and you'll need to travel within the next few months.
I renewed my passport in February this year and used one of the booths at Geneva main train station. The standard ID card format seems to meet UK specifications and I got my new passport without a problem. Luckily I missed the delays.
Won't work with the UK embassy I'm afraid.
One option is to go to a professional photographer and take the UK specs with you so they know what to do. We did that and it didn't cost too much - from memory maybe 3x the photo booth price and certainly less than travelling to Bern in any event!
Weird. We’ve never had any problems getting photos for British passports out of the ordinary photo booths. It’s the US that insists, or did, on having photos only taken by professional photographers.
Maybe try the photo booth at the main train station? It might have different formats.
It is exactly the same format as a standard Swiss ID photo so I don't understand the fuss.
Any photo booth here will give you a correct photo and in fact I renewed my British passport a month ago using one without any issues.
You can print your own passport pictures in any required size using this website:
https://www.epassportphoto.com
Obviously, you need to make sure the photo fulfills all biometric requirements. The site will ask you to 'like' it on facebook but there is a teeny weeny 'no thanks' option that you can choose.
I've used pictures created with this site for German and US passports without any issues.
A classic YMMV. I know several people that had trouble, particularly in the earlier days of biometric passports when I guess they might have been pickier about the photos. Know others who had no trouble with photo booth photos.
I renewed my UK passport a few weeks ago. They rejected the photos taken at the booth in Basel SBB (said my face was too low - I tried taking another set, really raising the stool but the computer inside simply lowered my face back down again) so I cycled over to Germany and took them at a shop there (much cheaper than doing it at a shop in Basel).
I think I was just unlucky. Also, despite the scare stories the turnaround was only 5 weeks with at least one week wasted whilst I re-took and posted a new set of photos.
Guess it depends on your luck. The OH had to get a new biometic passport when they first came in as he had to travel to the US for work on the day the system went live. The photos we provided were deemed too old so they sent us down the road to the nearest photo booth a couple of blocks down from the Geneva British consulate. Pics were fine and luckily they got permission to issue the new passport before they closed that evening.
Always used to take them myself, against a white wall and just manipulate the image size on the computer, before printing.
A couple of trial and error prints on normal paper, to check size and head placement, then when all is A-OK, print out on photo paper.
Thanks everyone! Very helpful indeed. I think the best bet may be just to go to a professional photographer. At least then there's minimum risk.
In Basel there are a couple of camera shops where they do passport photos - and they have manual listing all the requirements from different countries. Presumably similar exists in Geneva.