Check your actual IRCC account’s ceiling, then choose a lower available Maximum size, such as 2 MB for a 4 MB field. Inspect the saved passport or licence scan. Compress supporting scans, while retaining original interactive or digitally signed application forms.
Match the file to the Canadian request
For IRCC’s single-file fields, uploading the back after the front replaces the first file: combine required card sides before submitting. This tool combines one card and its reverse, not several independent application documents.
For private sharing, ask whether the organisation needs a retained copy at all. The federal Privacy Commissioner questions taking sensitive document copies merely to confirm identity or income. Provincial rules can be stricter; do not treat an optional sharing copy as a requirement.
Which limit are you aiming for?
IRCC sets a per-file limit for each of its online accounts:
| IRCC account | Limit per file |
|---|---|
| IRCC secure account | 4 MB |
| IRCC Portal | 5 MB |
| Permanent Residence Portal | 4 MB |
| Online citizenship application | 4 MB |
IRCC warns that some applications allow as little as 2 MB, and other recipients set their own, so read the upload screen. The Maximum size slider steps through 100, 150, 200, 300 and 500 KB, then 1, 2 and 5 MB, or no limit; pick the step at or under the form’s number, which for a 4 MB field is 2 MB. Here 1 MB means 1,000,000 bytes.
Shrinking a scan
- Choose the photo, scan or PDF: JPG, PNG, HEIC or PDF, up to 25 MB. A PDF contributes its first ten pages.
- Add the back of a licence, PR card or health card if the form wants both sides.
- The tool crops away the background and straightens the card; IRCC also suggests cropping empty space. If it missed, choose Adjust under the preview and drag the corners onto the card. Rotate a sideways card upright.
- Set Maximum size and Format. PDF keeps both sides in one file, as an IRCC field that takes a single file needs; JPG saves one image per side.
- Watch the copy size update, download, and zoom in on the fine print.
How the size comes down
The compressor lowers JPEG quality first and reduces resolution only when quality alone cannot reach the target. If even the smallest version is too big, it says so and shows the size it reached. Location and camera data are removed, and the file you picked stays as it was.
Its PDF holds a picture of each page, so selectable text, form fields and digital signatures do not survive. Upload a filled-in IRCC form as it is, and compress only the scans that support it.
Is it still readable?
A file that fits but cannot be read gets your application nowhere. On a passport, the number and both machine-readable lines must be legible; on a licence, the number, the expiry date and the back. If anything blurs, try the next step up, crop tighter or rescan.
For both sides on one Letter page, start with Photo to PDF and bring the result back here. Watermark names a recipient, and Hide details covers a number.
Your file never leaves the browser
The page reads the file, encodes the copy and hands it to your downloads (Files, then Downloads, on an iPhone). Nothing is sent to a server, and once loaded the page works offline.
Finish the requested attachment
Prepare the PDF, reduce the scan, label the recipient or hide unnecessary details for the agreed sharing task. Inspect the final saved file.
Compression questions
My IRCC account allows 4 MB. Which setting should I choose?
Choose 2 MB, the largest step under 4 MB. If the passport page still looks sharp at 1 MB, the smaller file uploads faster, but readability matters more than size.
Can both sides of my licence go into one compressed file?
Yes. Add the back and choose PDF, and both sides go into a single file. A JPG export saves one image per side instead.
Does the compressor upload my passport?
No. The file is processed in your browser on your own device and is not sent anywhere.
Why can’t I select the text in the compressed PDF?
The compressor saves each page as an image to reach the size you chose, so text that was selectable becomes part of the picture. Keep the original when you need its text, form fields or signature.
