Short answer: This message appears after you upload your portrait. The portal compares your face with the photo on your passport page and shows a match percentage. It is a warning, not a refusal, and the form lets you continue. Whether you should continue depends on where your portrait came from: a fresh photo taken today is usually fine even with a low match, while a photo cropped from your passport, an ID card or a printout should be retaken before you pay.
Nothing is decided yet. The warning is an automatic check. A real officer reviews your application after you pay, and the final decision is theirs.
What the message actually says
The full text usually reads: “Portrait photo was captured from another source. Your application may be rejected. Please upload another photo. Match is 55%” (the number changes). The wording is confusing. In practice it means the face-matching check found your portrait and your passport photo less similar than it expected, or it suspects the portrait was copied from a document instead of taken as a new photo.
Vietnam Immigration has not published how the score is calculated or what number counts as a pass. Anyone quoting an “official minimum percentage” is guessing.
Three photo messages that are often mixed up
| Message | When you see it | What it means | Can you continue? |
|---|---|---|---|
| “File has script tag, please try again” | During upload | The file itself was refused by the upload filter | No, the file is not accepted. Fix the file |
| “Portrait photo was captured from another source” + Match % | Right after upload | Face check warning: low similarity or a copied photo | Yes, the form lets you continue |
| “Portrait photograph incorrect (do not use passport photograph)” | By email, after review | The officer refused the portrait | No. The application must be done again |
Submit or retake? Check your situation
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You used the photo from your passport, or cropped it from the passport scan | Retake. This is the one case that is refused almost every time. The portrait must be a separate, new photo. |
| The portrait is a photo of a printed picture, a screen, an old visa or an ID card | Retake. Copies of copies are exactly what the check is looking for. |
| Fresh photo taken this week, but your passport photo is 5 to 10 years old | Usually fine to continue. A lower match is normal when you have aged, changed hair or lost or gained weight. Travellers regularly report approvals with matches between about 40% and 60%. |
| Child or teenager whose passport photo was taken years ago | Usually fine to continue with a fresh photo. Children change fast, so a low match is expected. |
| You wear glasses now but not in the passport photo, or you have a new beard | Retake without glasses, which is the rule anyway. A beard you have now is fine: the portrait should show how you look today. |
| Very low match (single digits or teens) with a fresh photo | Check the passport scan, not just the portrait. A blurry, dark or glare-covered passport page makes the comparison fail. Rescan it sharp and flat, then upload both again. |
If you are unsure, retaking costs you five minutes. A refusal costs you a new application and a second government fee.
How to take a portrait that matches well
- Use a plain, light wall and stand about half a metre in front of it, so there is no shadow behind your head.
- Face a window in daylight. Even light on both sides of the face helps the match more than anything else. Avoid overhead lamps and flash.
- Ask someone else to take it with the phone’s back camera, held at eye level, about 1 to 1.5 metres away. Front-camera selfies distort the face at close range.
- Look straight at the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed, both ears and the whole face visible. No glasses, no hat, hair away from the eyes.
- Turn off beauty mode, filters and portrait blur. Smoothing and AI touch-ups change your face and lower the score.
- Crop to head and top of shoulders and save as a JPG of about 1 MB. If the upload then fails with “script tag”, follow this fix.
Never edit your face to look more like the passport photo. The portrait has to be a true, current picture of you.
Already paid with the warning showing?
You cannot swap the photo on a submitted application. Most applications with a fresh photo and a modest match are simply approved, so the usual step is to wait and check the status with your registration code.
If the result is a refusal because of the portrait, you need a new application with a new photo, and the government fee from the first one is not refunded. What to do next is covered in eVisa rejected: what to do.
If your flight is close, don’t gamble on a second attempt. Send us your passport page and a new photo. We check the portrait against the passport before anything is submitted, and you pay only after that check.
Not sure your photo will pass?
Send us your passport page and portrait. We check the match and every detail before submitting, and you pay only after we have checked everything.
Start application Ask on WhatsAppQuick answers
What match percentage do I need?
No official number exists. The portal shows a score but Vietnam Immigration does not publish a pass mark. Travellers report approvals well below 60% when the portrait is a genuine new photo.
Will the warning alone get my eVisa refused?
Not by itself, in the cases travellers report. Refusals linked to the portrait usually come from using the passport photo or a copied picture. The officer makes the final call.
Can I use a photo from a photo studio?
Yes, if it is recent and you upload the digital file. Do not photograph or scan a printed copy of it.
Why did the same photo give a different percentage the second time?
The score depends on both files. A new passport scan, a different crop or a re-saved file can move the number. Focus on a sharp passport page and an evenly lit portrait rather than the exact figure.
Do I need a new photo for each family member?
Yes. Each person, including babies, needs their own application, portrait and passport scan. See eVisa for children.
This guide is general information. Vietnam visa rules and processing times change — always check the current requirements. evisavietnamexpress.com is a private visa assistance service, not the official government portal.