Mum's anger after baby's spiky hair leads to passport rejection
By JAYA NARAIN
20th March 2007
When you are only four months old you can be forgiven the odd bad hair day.
But apparently not if you are having a passport photograph taken.
Kate Lurie thought the photographic assistant was joking when he pointed to her daughter Eden's three-inch hair in the portrait and said: "It's too spiky."
Wrong: Eden Lurie, four months, with her natural ‘Mohican’ hairstyle. Right (below): Eden with her computerised haircut
She was even more amazed when the child was given a 'virtual haircut' on a computer to trim her flyaway hair.
Eden had fallen foul of the strict regulations brought in by the Identity and Passport Service for the new biometric passports.
Thousands of pictures have been rejected by the service because they do not meet the guidelines.
The tough criteria demand that hair and eyes are clearly defined in the pictures and that the face makes up at least 65 per cent of the photo.
Unfortunately, Eden's vertical hairstyle meant a large proportion of the photo was taken up by her Mohican-style locks.
Mother-of-two Mrs Lurie, 33, said: "When I was told Eden's hair was too long, I just couldn't believe it.
"I know passport photos have to be a certain size, but this is ridiculous."
Changes may be made to photos on computers to meet the regulations but no alterations to the face are permitted.
Mrs Lurie, a court clerk, took Eden to get her first passport photo taken at Prestwich Pharmacy in Manchester.
Margaret Matwiejew, photo team leader at the shop, said: "The Passport Office has gone over the top with its requirements.
"Too many people have their photos rejected because they don't measure up. We have people coming in who have been to photo booths many times and have still not managed to get what they want, so we fit their faces into a frame on the computer.
"We do not alter the face in any way, but the rules say the whole head has to be in the photo and 65 to 75 per cent of the photo has to be the face."
An Identity and Passport Service spokesman said the criteria for photos were deliberately strict to help security and fight fraud and forgery.
He added: "We appreciate how difficult it is to get good pictures of children, so we allow under- fives to have their mouth open and their eyes facing away from the camera."
dailymail.co.uk
By JAYA NARAIN
20th March 2007
When you are only four months old you can be forgiven the odd bad hair day.
But apparently not if you are having a passport photograph taken.
Kate Lurie thought the photographic assistant was joking when he pointed to her daughter Eden's three-inch hair in the portrait and said: "It's too spiky."
Wrong: Eden Lurie, four months, with her natural ‘Mohican’ hairstyle. Right (below): Eden with her computerised haircut
She was even more amazed when the child was given a 'virtual haircut' on a computer to trim her flyaway hair.
Eden had fallen foul of the strict regulations brought in by the Identity and Passport Service for the new biometric passports.
Thousands of pictures have been rejected by the service because they do not meet the guidelines.
The tough criteria demand that hair and eyes are clearly defined in the pictures and that the face makes up at least 65 per cent of the photo.
Unfortunately, Eden's vertical hairstyle meant a large proportion of the photo was taken up by her Mohican-style locks.
Mother-of-two Mrs Lurie, 33, said: "When I was told Eden's hair was too long, I just couldn't believe it.
"I know passport photos have to be a certain size, but this is ridiculous."
Changes may be made to photos on computers to meet the regulations but no alterations to the face are permitted.
Mrs Lurie, a court clerk, took Eden to get her first passport photo taken at Prestwich Pharmacy in Manchester.
Margaret Matwiejew, photo team leader at the shop, said: "The Passport Office has gone over the top with its requirements.
"Too many people have their photos rejected because they don't measure up. We have people coming in who have been to photo booths many times and have still not managed to get what they want, so we fit their faces into a frame on the computer.
"We do not alter the face in any way, but the rules say the whole head has to be in the photo and 65 to 75 per cent of the photo has to be the face."
An Identity and Passport Service spokesman said the criteria for photos were deliberately strict to help security and fight fraud and forgery.
He added: "We appreciate how difficult it is to get good pictures of children, so we allow under- fives to have their mouth open and their eyes facing away from the camera."
dailymail.co.uk
