Travel gurus have sounded the alarm over a viral passport trend that could result in airport delays.
While most of us aren’t exactly photogenic in our passport snaps, there’s been a recent surge in people glamming up and participating in well-lit photoshoots to rectify this.
Influencer Amelia Marni recently posted a TikTok video demonstrating just that. In the clip, Amelia is seen all dolled up for her passport photo session, with pals wielding a phone torch to ensure optimal lighting.
Amelia said in the video: “POV: You want a hot passport pic.” She further captioned the post: “We won’t stop at nothin.”
However, other influencers have encountered issues at airports as passport scanners flag their glammed-up shots.
TikToker Beth Gould shared her ordeal, detailing in a recent video how she was “humbled 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,” Beth recounted. Her video has since racked up more than 6.7million views.
One viewer responded: “I go out of my way to get my passport photo taken w/o makeup with day three hair so I look the same as I do after a 10 hour flight haha.” Another pondered: “I wonder how many people this happens to that followed that ‘passport photo/DL photo’ trend of getting suuuuuper made up.”
While there are no explicit regulations regarding makeup in passport photos, Gemma Brown, Head of Product at Travel Republic, advises: “It’s important to remember that the reason for a passport photo is to provide a clear and accurate visual identification of you.”
Gemma elaborated: “Most people do feel embarrassed of their ID images, however, they are a security measure to help prevent fraud, keep borders safe and ensure easy recognition of travellers identity. Therefore, if you overly-enhance your look when taking your photo, you can actually slow down the process of verification checks at the airport because you look too different in person from the photo at hand.
“Minor changes in appearance, such as growing a beard, changing hairstyle, or slight weight fluctuations typically don’t require a new passport. However, the government advises that should your appearance change, for example if you have had major facial reconstruction or plastic surgery altering your core facial features, you will need to apply for a new passport.”
Click to read the UK government’s full list of rules for passport photos.