Passport Health Passports and Visas
Do you need a passport or visa?
Call or email us
Back toPassport Health Logo
Start Your Application!
VISAS|PASSPORTS|FIND A TRAVEL CLINIC
  • Home
  • Visas
      • Overview
        • Do I Need a Visa?
        • Visa FAQs
      • Top Visa Destinations
        • Learn more about the travel visa requirements for top destinations:

          • Afghanistan Visa
          • Algeria Visa
          • Angola Visa
          • Australia Visa
          • Azerbaijan Visa
          • Bahrain Visa
          • Bangladesh Visa
          • Belarus Visa
          • Benin Visa
          • Bhutan Visa
          • Bolivia Visa
          • Brazil Visa
          • Burkina Faso Visa
          • Burundi Visa
          • Cambodia Visa
          • Cameroon Visa
          • Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) Visa
          • Central African Republic Visa
          • Chad Visa
          • China Visa
          • Cote d’Ivoire Visa
          • Cuba Visa
          • Democratic Republic of the Congo Visa
          • Djibouti Visa
          • Dominican Republic Visa
          • East Timor (Timor-Leste) Visa
          • Egypt Visa
          • Eritrea Visa
          • Ethiopia Visa
          • Gabon Visa
          • Gambia Visa
          • Ghana Visa
          • Guinea Visa
          • Guinea-Bissau Visa
          • Hong Kong Visa
          • India Visa
          • Indonesia Visa
          • Iran Visa
          • Iraq Visa
          • Jordan Visa
          • Kazakhstan Visa
          • Kenya Visa
          • Kuwait Visa
          • Kyrgyzstan Visa
          • Laos Visa
          • Lebanon Visa
          • Liberia Visa
          • Libya Visa
          • Macau Visa
          • Madagascar Visa
          • Malawi Visa
          • Mali Visa
          • Mauritania Visa
          • Mozambique Visa
          • Myanmar (Burma) Visa
          • Namibia Visa
          • Nauru Visa
          • Nepal Visa
          • Niger Visa
          • Nigeria Visa
          • North Korea Visa
          • Oman Visa
          • Pakistan Visa
          • Papua New Guinea Visa
          • Paraguay Visa
          • Peru Visa
          • Philippines Visa
          • Qatar Visa
          • Republic of the Congo Visa
          • Russia Visa
          • Rwanda Visa
          • Sao Tome & Principe Visa
          • Saudi Arabia Visa
          • Sierra Leone Visa
          • Somalia Visa
          • South Africa Visa
          • South Sudan Visa
          • Sri Lanka Visa
          • Sudan Visa
          • Suriname Visa
          • Syria Visa
          • Tajikistan Visa
          • Tanzania Visa
          • Thailand Visa
          • Tibet Visa
          • Togo Visa
          • Tonga Visa
          • Turkey Visa
          • Turkmenistan Visa
          • Uganda Visa
          • United Arab Emirates Visa
          • Uzbekistan Visa
          • Venezuela Visa
          • Vietnam Visa
          • Yemen Visa
          • Zambia Visa
          • Zimbabwe Visa
    • Close
  • Passports
    • Overview
      • Child’s Passport
      • Damaged Passport
      • Expedited Passport
      • First Time Passport
      • Lost or Stolen Passport
      • Renewed Passport
      • Second Passport
      • Passport FAQs
    • Close
  • About
    • Overview
      • Corporate Overview
      • Passports and Visas for Group Travel
      • Contact us
    • Close
  • Blog

Passports and Visas service is temporarily suspended

Due to COVID-19 and the health of our employees, we will not be accepting new applicants at this time.

Should You Smile in a Passport Photo?

A smile in your passport photo could prevent identity theft.

There are many hoops to jump through when getting a passport. While it may not take up much room in the booklet, the passport photo is a very specific key to the document.

There are even some meticulous requirements that go into a passport photo, but what about smiling? Can a happy expression in that picture somehow make the passport safer?

Many question if a smile in the photo looks appropriate. But, in the past, a slight smile was recommended. For safety reasons, a full-blown smile may be even better. Today a normal smile with teeth can help prevent fraud, as long the photo doesn’t show silly or unnatural expressions.

To help you decide whether a smile is appropriate on your passport, there are a few guidelines to follow on your facial expression. For example, you need to face the camera directly with your entire face visible. It’s also key to not cover your face with hair or clothing.

A new study conducted at the University of York said that a smile in your passport photo can help combat identity fraud.

Researchers at the University of York looked into facial expressions and how they change how a person is identified. Results found that some had a harder time identifying a person with a neutral facial expression. What did make identifying easier was a smile in the photo. Even when looking at the same person, participants could determine who they were if the photo showed a smile.

Final results showed people are much easier to identify when smiling.

Dr. Mila Mileva worked on that study as a part of the university’s Department of Psychology. She noted in The Independent that it can often be difficult to match the photo of a person to its real-life counterpart. But, even though it’s a tall task, we rely on positive photo identification in our everyday lives. Dr. Mileva added that requiring smiling in photos could improve identification and fight identity fraud.

While you can’t crack an unnatural smile in your passport photo, there is still a misconception among the public that you can’t smile at all.

Though a smile won’t prevent your passport from being stolen (nor can it keep people from doing something fraudulent with it), it will still help reduce any chances of stealing your identify by posing as you.

So, the next time you take a passport photo, you might want to consider cracking a smile. Doing so can help keep your identity safe.

Do you have any other questions about passport needs? Passport Health can help! Give us a call at or try any of our other passport and visa services.

Written for Passport Health by Jerry Olsen. He has over 15 years of combined experience as a writer and editor in Salt Lake City. Jerry’s writing topics range from health care, travel, life science to medical technology and technical writing.

 

Need a Travel Visa or Passport?

We can help! Let us make the process hassle-free!
Passport Icon

Email us or call today!

Expert Passport Processing

Our team of experts makes sure your passport application is:
  • check markComplete
  • check markAccurate
  • check markHand delivered
  • check markProcessed Quickly
Contact us to get started

Does Your Destination Require a Visa?

Choose your destination to find out!
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Passport FAQs
  • Visa FAQs
  • Group Travel Solutions
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap
Speak with a Passport
and Visa Expert
1-844-366-VISA
Please call or E-mail Us
Connect With Us
Passport Health on Facebook
Passport Health on Twitter
Passport Health on YouTube
Passport Health on Instagram
Passport Health on Linked In
Passport Health Feed

Passport Health is an Outlier business Copyright © 2023