IRCC Upload Limits: Photo Size and 4 MB Documents

From the IRCC Help Centre (checked on 10 October 2026). The maximum file size depends on which portal you apply through:

• IRCC secure account: 4 MB per file.
• IRCC Portal and the new IRCC Portal: 5 MB per file.
• Permanent Residence Portal, online citizenship application and Asylum portal: 4 MB per file.
• You can only upload 1 file per field. If you upload several files to the same field, only the last one is saved.

From the canada.ca page on photo specifications for the PR card (checked on 10 October 2026). Other IRCC applications can have different photo instructions, so follow the ones shown in your application.

• Between 715 x 1000 and 2000 x 2800 pixels.
• 4 MB or less, in .jpeg or .jpg format.
• Colour or black and white, plain untextured white background.
• Taken no more than 12 months before you apply, original and not altered in any way. Cutting your image and pasting it onto a white background counts as altering; use the cropping tool in the application to position the photo.

IRCC's own advice is to combine documents into one file and save images at a low resolution, 150 DPI or less, to stay under the limit. In practice:

1. 1

   Capture each page

   Scan or photograph every page flat and in good light. Convert iPhone HEIC photos with HEIC to JPG.

2. 2

   Shrink the page images

   Open Compress Image, choose Target size and enter 300 KB per page. At that size a full page photo stays readable, and ten pages still fit under 4 MB.

3. 3

   Combine into one PDF

   Turn the pages into a single PDF, in order, with JPG to PDF. If some pages are already PDFs, join everything with Merge PDF.

4. 4

   Check the final size

   Make sure the PDF is under 4 MB, or 5 MB on the IRCC Portal. If it is over, compress the page images a little more and combine them again.

Because IRCC treats any editing outside its application as altering, including cropping and background changes, do not run the photo through editing tools. Take it against a plain white background, keep the original file, and use the photo editor inside the application to position and crop it. If your phone saves HEIC, converting it with HEIC to JPG only changes the file format. If you are unsure whether a photo will pass, a photo studio familiar with IRCC specifications is the safest option.