Canada visa photo requirements
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has specific photo requirements for visa, study permit, work permit and permanent residence applications:
- Dimensions: 35×45mm (minimum 420×540px)
- Format: JPG, JPEG or PNG
- File size: 240KB to 4MB
- Head size: 31-36mm from chin to crown
- Background: plain white or light coloured
The IRCC portal accepts files in a fairly wide range, but the 4MB upper limit and the specific dimensions are both enforced.
Why the range matters
Unlike many portals that only specify a maximum, IRCC specifies both a minimum (240KB) and a maximum (4MB). Uploading a file under 240KB will be rejected for being too small. Uploading over 4MB will be rejected for being too large.
A 420×540px JPG at quality 95 fits comfortably inside the range, usually around 300-500KB.
Recommended target
For Canada visa applications, aim for 500KB. It is comfortably inside the 240KB-4MB range, uploads quickly, and preserves the full detail of your photo. There is no advantage to uploading a 3MB file — the portal will accept it but it just wastes bandwidth.
Verification before uploading
Check:
- The photo is at least 420×540px
- The file size is between 240KB and 4MB
- Format is JPG, JPEG or PNG
- Head is 31-36mm from chin to crown
- Background is plain white or light coloured
Privacy for immigration documents
Your Canada visa photo is an identity document. FITLY processes everything locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded to any server. This is the correct way to handle an immigration photo online.