Apparently people are taking glamor shots for their passport photos, staging the lighting and trying to make themselves look “hot.” This is… not a good idea. That won’t look like you when you get off of a 12 hour overnight flight.
Some of the folks trying this are finding out. TikToker Beth Gould landed in Taiwan: “The machine said my passport photo didn’t look like me, so I had to go to the desk and get my identification verified.”
- People may be embarrassed by their passport photos or their drivers license photos, but you’re showing them to people you shouldn’t be trying to impress with your looks?
- And you’re worried about the photo you show them when you’re standing right in front of them so if you care about your looks in that moment maybe freshen up in the lavatory before going through immigration?
@ameliamarni we won’t stop at nothin #passport #passportphoto #passportmakeup #funny @RileyMinford ♬ Just A Girl – No Doubt
@bethgould_ Humbled in Taiwan but also in my Alisha Marie era ✈️️ #passport #passportphoto #passportmakeup #passportphototrend #passportdenied #taiwan #taipei #badpassportphoto ♬ original sound – bethgould
One woman last fall was “pulled into a room” and “interrogated” in Turkey because she didn’t look like her passport photo. She’d had Botox and other treatments and ended up interrogated by six members of law enforcement.
@joanneprophet That time i got interegated by 6 members of passport control
Here’s a woman that almost got barred from her flight because of the glamor shot in her passport.
@alishamarie ive never been SO HUMBLED IN MY LIFE #passportphoto #passport #traveltiktok #grwm ♬ original sound – alishamarie
I just had to update my daughter’s passport. For five years it was a photo of a baby. It looked nothing like her, but we never had a problem. It never even occurred to me that we ought to update it, since baby (and children’s) passports are valid for five years and of course children grow and change in appearance more quickly than that.
Several readers, though, have shared stories with me about their appearance not matching their passport.
- One had their photo taken at their City Hall’s passport office, and received their passport back with “the entire upper portion of my head, beginning in the middle of my forehead…just a “whitewash,” i.e., with absolutely NO detail of the rest of my head.” He had the passport replaced.
- Another reader offered that their daughter’s appearance “changed so much between ages 16 and 21 that she was twice detained when re-entering the U.S.”
One of those experiences was a 3-hour, grueling interrogation as to why she was entering the US on a US passport–and she is a US citizen, born and raised in Key West!
Her sun-bleached hair, tan, and round face of a young teen in no way matched the dark-haired, slender-faced young woman of 21.
It seems like this becomes less of an issue with biometrics. Photos already weren’t always helpful because Americans might often look alike to passport officers in other parts of the world, and vice versa. Plus, people gain and lose weight all the time. Thanks, Ozempic!
Growing or shaving off a beard can also present problems at immigration.
I’m the opposite of photogenic. My dating profile gets no matches. But I’m very hot IRL which is how I’m a rainmaker at my firm, how I can seduce even married women. Nobody has ever rejected my passport or any other form of ID for not looking like me, however.
Any stupid fad that requires the most minimal interest or attention to Tik Tok is one I’ll miss out on, so your diligent reporting is helpful. The goal in passing through passport control is to be as boring and unnoticed as possible. My passport phito fits the bill
Requirements vary by country.
US passport applications require that the subject not wear glasses. Smiling is ok.
Canadian passport applications ban any photo that is not professionally taken. The photography studio’s name MUST be on the back of the photo as well as the date the photo was taken. Smiling is prohibited. 2″ x 2″ size often found in the US is banned. It must be 2″ x 2 3/4″. On the other hand, glasses may be worn.
Canada likes to ban things. The world is lucky that the Canadian flag is not two red bars on the side and a swastika, instead of a maple leaf.
Lost 100 lbs between the time my passport photo was taken and a trip to Israel. Their biometrics sent me to secondary. Took about 30 minutes to convince the Immigration Agent I easwho I said I was. And this was for health reasons, not because I wanted to be “hot for Tiktok”.
Moral of the story – take a picture for your passport, and a different one for social media.
If there weren’t already enough discriminatory outcomes with facial recognition technology adversely impacting some demographic groups more than others, perhaps the botoxed with fake lips and overdose makeup look are making it worse for more.
Had 2 months between haircuts and a beard trim while staying in the Dominican Republic and the exit computer couldn’t handle that. Fortunately an immigration officer had more sense. But part of the issue is people not always taking their passports seriously, such as loading them with silly souvenir stamps which may cause issues too.
I grew a beard a year or so after my last new passport which still has a few years left to expiration. It’s never been an issue, but a couple of times I’ve been told by security or immigration that “they don’t like when you do this.”
People are trash.
I have never had a problem with my passport photo not looking reasonably like me. My senior year high school yearbook photo was crap by the crap photographer they used and the committee refused to use instead a professionally done photo taken within a week of it. My driver’s license photos look reasonably like me but none are great photos. I have to replace my passport by early 2026 as it is expiring. I have decided to replace it in the summer of 2025 at the US Embassy in Cambodia as the process is easy and quick. I will do it before my latest year long visa expires so the new one goes in the new passport. Traveling on a passport that is less than 6 months from expiring can be problematic because some countries won’t accept it and the airlines can enforce the same at anywhere in a journey.
I only ever rejected one set of passport photos (taken at the local pharmacy) as it was of shifty taxi driver composition and quality. Got a new set done by a professional walk-in photography studio for not much more money which I was happy with.
Another point some people should be aware of in most countries where 10 year passport validity is the norm, is that normal aging over that decade should be taken account, as well as changing hairstyles/colour, and various body changes, e.g. weight loss/gain and other cosmetic procedures.
I just renewed my passport earlier this year, and I’m 90 lbs lighter than I was for the old photo. I’m annoyed that not ONCE was I stopped and told I don’t look like my picture! On a less vain note, I’m with DaveS – unremarkable is the way to be when crossing borders.
@glenn t I’ve always used AAA in the US. Always top quality at a fair price.
These shallow women go to extra effort to take a “hot” photo for their passport so they won’t be embarrassed about how they look yet will wear crappy sweats or have taken no effort in personal appearance on a plane so they look crappy IRL. Sounds about right for Tik Tok.
I’ve had mine taken at AAA with no issues as well, they’re free if you have a plus membership.
Though one thing I had to make sure was they were taking the correct size/placement for the country’s passport you’re submitting for since I don’t think they get too many of those requests.
They were really precise measuring my photo with a ruler at the Japan Consulate General and would have been rejected if AAA just went ahead and used a US passport size.
When you are dumb enough to go to TikTok influencers for advice on how to take passport photos ….
Surely all young women are not as dumb as these.