Via Photo Studio Montreal

03/14/2018

Springtime in Montreal or at least around the corner. Many people travel in the spring and summer. Time to check if your passport is up to date. You can drive across the American border with a short term left on your passport but if you fly outside of Canada you need at least 6 months left on the expiry date. Via Photo knows the passport photo requirements for any country. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Le printemps à Montréal ou au moins au coin de la rue. Beaucoup de gens voyagent au printemps et en été. Il est temps de vérifier si votre passeport est à jour. Vous pouvez traverser la frontière américaine avec un court terme sur votre passeport, mais si vous voyagez à l'extérieur du Canada, il vous faudra au moins six mois avant la date d'expiration. Via Photo connaît les exigences de photo de passeport pour n'importe quel pays.

05/27/2016

Application for Refugee Protection

Yesterday a young man came in needing photos for his application.
Many times when new immigrants come for photos they are unclear of what they need or what the application form is called. Sometimes they ask for passport photos when they actually need citizenship photos. In this case he did ask for passport size photos as that size was asked for on the form.

It is very important to tell the photographer what form your are filling out so that the right photo is made. I know it might be confusing for new immigrants especially if they don't speak French or English. We are here to help you move the process along and to make sure you walk out with photos with the right dimensions.So help us help you by identifying what your need.

Welcome to Canada. The best country in the world to live in.

click here for the refugee protection form,

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5746ETOC.asp

05/26/2016

La carte nationale d’identité sécurisée (CNIS)
French NAtional Identity Card

La carte nationale d’identité est un document officiel qui permet à tout citoyen de justifier de son identité et de sa nationalité française (lorsque sa durée de validité n’est pas expirée depuis plus de deux ans). Elle n’est pas obligatoire et elle est gratuite (sauf en cas de perte ou vol de la précédente carte).

Yesterday one of our clients came in for this. As security issues become a concern for many countries some are asking their citizens to carry a Government issued ID card. Via Photo can provide you with the image size needed for that card.

If you are a French citizen residing in Montreal and would like to apply or renew your card click here;
http://www.consulfrance-montreal.org/Carte-nationale-d-identite-1975

05/25/2016

Permanent Resident Card

At the beginning of this year the Canadian government changed the size of the photo needed for the Permanent Residence card.
It is now the same size of a photo required for the Canadian passport 50mmx70mm. The old size was 35x45. The application process takes months. Many people who submitted their application last fall are now getting them returned as the size has changed and now is incorrect. For all of our customers we gladly redo them at no charge. For the unlucky ones who had them done elsewhere they will have to pay again. This is one reason not to have your photos done at the pharmacies. This is a topic for another blog.
This link will get to the the site for the specification of the photo,

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/pr-card/apply-photos.asp

05/20/2016

Guatemalan Passport photo

Guatemala seem to be one of so few countries who are not so particular about their requirements for a passport photo. My customer today wanted one but after looking at some sites it was not clear if they wanted one or two photos or what the size is.

This link to the Guatemalan embassy in Ottawa will explain the not so clear photo requirements;
http://www.canada.minex.gob.gt/Home/Visor_Pagina.aspx…

When they ask for a normal passport size they mean a US passport not a Canadian. Canadians are 50mmx70mm and US is 2"x2" or 50mmx50mm.
I would recommend two photos instead of one as it is better to be safe than sorry. Nothing is worse then finding out at the embassy or consulate that you have the wrong size or number of photos.

http://www.canada.minex.gob.gt/Home/Visor_Pagina.aspx?PaginaID=86

05/20/2016

Why do i have to look like a criminal for my passport photo?

Up until a few years ago you were allowed to smile for a passport photo. For good or for bad, the world has move on and now we have Facial Recognition Software that can recognize people from surveillance cameras and CCT devices.

This may seem irrelevant to you but to the police and security sector it is an effective way of finding people. For example, if a child has been kidnapped and is in a bus station or train station or an airport,the cameras will detect the child in a sea of other faces. Likewise, criminals can be found, runaways can be spotted and lost people can be rescued.

What has all this got to do with you? The system works best if there are no smiles on the faces of the people being scanned by the software. If your passport photo is one of you with a big grin on your face then the process of elimination takes longer. In the end it is for your benefit. You are safer with this new system.

If you relax, do not scowl or frown, the photo for your passport won’t be all that bad. And remember, the only person who looks at your passport photo is a border guard or customs officer and when was the last time you saw one of these officials smile?

05/20/2016

Barbados,
Montreal is home to many from the Caribbean community.
Frequently we take photos for passports from Barbados,Jamaica St Lucia and Grenada. Today we took a photo for a Barbados passport. It is similar in size to a US passport, i.e 5cmx5cm with a head and shoulder shot.
Here is the link to the web site for the photo requirements for the Barbados passport with photo specification, application forms and passport fees;
http://www.immigration.gov.bb/pages/passport.aspx


There is a very good on-line magazine " Montreal community Contact" of interest to the Caribbean community.

http://montrealcommunitycontact.com/topics/…/caribbean-news/

05/20/2016

Going to China?

The photo for a Chinese visa is a unique size. It is 33mm wide & 48mm high. This means that none of the standard photo sizes for Canadian or American Identification will do.

A Chinese visa photo only requires one photo.

At Via Photo Studio we sell single I.D. photos and price them accordingly.

For example, the Quebec health insurance card requires only one photo and we charge $9.00 (tx incl) for a single picture. There is no point having an extra copy of this photo as the size is unique and therefore unusable for anything else.

If you are intending to visit Viet Nam on the same trip you will need two photos 40mmx60mm. Almost the same size as the Chinese visa but not quite.

Our pricing policy accommodates this eventuality by using a sliding scale. The first two photos are $15.00(tx incl) and then $2.50 per photo after that.

The most important thing to remember is tell the photographer exactly what you need the photographs for. In this modern world every millimeter counts when it comes to identification photographs.

Please, be specific .

05/20/2016

The confusing world of Russian passport and visa photos.

Depending where you live, you will need somewhere between 4 and six photos. Not only will the quantity vary, so will the size.

It is advisable to contact the consulate or embassy and secure the documents, including the photo specifications before you go to the photographer’s studio.

The internet is rife with a bewildering set of websites that seem to contradict each other when it comes to requirements for passport or visa photos. Sir Winston Churchill described Russia as a mystery wrapped in an enigma.We can only assume that he applied for a Russian visitors visa.

http://www.rusembassy.ca/node/61

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTSBEFORE PRINTING AND FILLING OUT THE FORMThe applications which do not meet the requirements will be returned without processing immediately.