To think the Passport Office is discriminatory

[cheapskatemum]

Against people with frizzy hair? They've rejected my photo because the outline of my head isn't distinct! To make it thus, I would have to lard it with product such that the photo wouldn't look like me, certainly not like me after a long flight in aeroplane air, which surely defeats the object?

It's hardly discrimination. Anything that disguises the features of your head and/or face has no place on a passport photo. Considering the threat of terrorism, I'm rather pleased that the passport office rejected your photo. I'd rather people had to make their hair neat than get blown up.

It was a joke snatched or "lighthearted"

A friend of mine had his refused because he had his eyes partly closed... he's from Hong Kong!

I had to have an emergency one done a few years back in the passport office and didn't have any hair ties, after they refused two pictures a very kind man stuck his hand in the booth to hold my hair back. You can just see a tiny bit of his arm.

Sigh DD is mixed - half Jamaican

She has very big hair

If the outline of her hair is to be visible her face would be tiny

So it looks like a black background - they rejected it!

I have a skin condition with really obvious light and dark patches which still show up through make-up.

My passport photos were rejected because of my skin's colour was inconsistent.

Over various applications for all three kids, we had one rejected for being blonde, one queried for having his mouth open and terrified eyes everywhere but the camera (accepted after we explained about the autism), and one returned because his features were 'obscured' - by the whacking great black-eyed bruise he'd given himself by running into a table.

Mine was rejected because my pale hazel eyes were too light. The photography place I went to darkened the next photo. I now look like I have been looking into Time

Thanks all for sharing and giving me the best belly laughs so far this year - I know, plenty of time for many more. Snatched I agree that anything that makes life more difficult for terrorists is a good thing, but this thread shows that people are looking less like themselves in passport photos now. Surely that makes it easier for terrorists to go around undetected, if immigration officials are getting used to people looking nothing like their passport photos?

Vivienne - I really want to know what someone looking into Time looks like :o

I'd like to know what looking into Time looks like too!

I have to renew mine and will miss my old photo, was 25, looked good if I do say so myself. I bloody should've done with the effort I put into my appearance then. Cba now. Knackered serial killer look it is.
On the relative thing, was entertaining DNiece1 aged 2 by letting her go through my bag and on seeing said passport photo said 'Mummy!' My sister and I don't look particularly alike, in reality.

I have naturally frizzy hair too and always straighten my hair before having passport photos taken as I'd been warned it might be a problem!

I need to renew my passport this month, at least you can take your own photos via iphone/iPad to submit online, at least that should lead to no more wasted £5 a go photos!

Getting mine done last year was fun...

I'm a thick glasses and full fringe kinda girl, so I had to pin my fringe back and show off my fivehead. OK, not ideal, but manageable.

THEN I had to take my glasses off. Without them I am legally blind and the glare from light is distorted too much that I involuntarily squint. If I try to override the squint my eyes start watering uncontrollably.

So, I got rejected for having my eyes closed. Explaining about the legal blindness and squinting, the clerk said we could try with my glasses on because it would be allowed in the case of legal blindness, but my lenses were far too thick. So we ended up taking one with me with red, watering eyes and forehead wrinkles where I am trying to fight to keep my eyes open. I really look like a strung out junkie - seriously like one of those 'this is what drugs does to you' mugshots - specifically the bottom middle pic.

This is now in my passport which will follow me for the next 9 years!

I suppose it should follow that I look like a tired old rocker now - my last passport saw 10 years of me with pink Suzi Quatro hair and heavy eyeliner.

I think when the immigration folks are comparing the RL you to your passport photo they have been trained to look at your facial features that are not easily altered compared to hair, glasses, makeup etc. Things like the length from your hairline to your chin, compared to the width of your face. The width of your mouth compared to your nose & eyes. The angle from the outer edge of your eye to the edge of your mouth, the shape and colour of your eyes, that sort of thing.

Shoot I've kind of missed the lighthearted point of the thread haven't I!!!

I had a childhood passport when i was about 10 with wild curly frizzy hair, ran out ages ago so got a new one in 2013. I was never going to get it done with my hair tied back and i have massively round moon face and would look majorly embarrassing. I straightened my hair and i had a few barely visible spots but put foundation on anyway. Needless to say because its a dead on photo and not taken at my usual more flattering angle i have a snowman head with no neck, and the harsh lighting caused my spots to look a fetching shade of bright red. You can tell it's me, but it's a very unflattering version of me.

This reminds me of the fun we had (not!) trying to sort out 2 year old DS's passport.

He didn't want his picture taken he wanted to take through a basket. And then decided to give this fabulous smiles instead of just looking ahead.

And that's after barely finding someone to countersign the fucking thing!

I'm having mine done in my home country again- you just go to an office, a kindly clerk takes your photo and then you go pick up your passport 2 weeks later.

I flew into Shannon airport in Ireland.
The immigration official just waved me through.
I asked " don't you want to look at my passport?"
He replied " To be sure, you're looking fine today..." !

They use your passport photo for your driving licence as well, consequently Ds is 12 in his provisional licence photo

Got passports for whole family last year (£300!). Ds Did Not Want. Eventually lovely chemist lady managed to snap him mid-scream and printed his and dd's photos. Manager came to check and said how old is he? And of course he'd just turned 6 so had to have proper neutral facial expression and so back to the camera...
An hour later we got a shot of him looking about to kill someone, but meets the rules.

Took to Check&Send at the post office and guy said my photo didn't look like the previous one! Manager had a good look at them and me and confirmed it was fine, I was just 10 years older and now had children, so blame them!

V relieved to get passports back. Also next time I'll find a countersignatory who doesn't have a double barreled surname of 35 letters. Or a finer pen!

DS' first photo was rejected because there was too much light on one side.

My passport photo looks nothing like me as I missed the bit where it said it must be a recent photo. I was too tight to pay for new photos and found some old ones in a kitchen drawer. They were accepted fine. My passport photo was taken when I was 21, I'm in my 40s! .

I had mine once rejected because my frizzy curly hair took up too much space and there wasn't enough white background visible

I now have my hair in a bun on passport pics even though I never do otherwise.

I don't hold my head straight, due to a (very minor) medical condition. It's barely noticeable in real life, but provides hours of fun when getting passport photos. What feels upright to me is in fact tilted to the right slightly. Straight up feels to me like my left ear is in my shoulder.

And I have a fringe and glasses. Or not, in my photos! Consequently, I look nothing like me.