Ask yourself:

Does this place have proper professional lighting?

Does the person waiting on me have professional photo experience?

Are they familiar with the country in question’s requirements?

If the answer to either is even a “I’m not sure”,  you are taking a chance that the government can reject your photo.

Rumor is that sometimes “bureaucracy” will look for anything turn a photo down, for a variety of mystical reasons.  So don’t actually give them a reason to reject your photo.

A “true” photographer will go over the instructions from the specific government in questions, and following those rules carefully.  Which sometimes involves using metric and reading another language.   (For the record, English is our only fluent language.  So if your form is in a different language, you’ll need to have it translated for us).

These country-specific photos are a hassle to do.  So most pro photographers cannot be bothered with doing them.  And that’s why we have to charge what we do.