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IRCC document upload

PDF4 MB or less

Most IRCC accounts take files up to 4 MB, and the IRCC Portal up to 5 MB. A PDF under 4 MB uploads to any of them. Multi-page scans are usually far bigger.

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Getting an IRCC document under 4 MB

IRCC sets the limit per account: 4 MB for the IRCC secure account, the Permanent Residence Portal, the online citizenship application and the asylum portal, and 5 MB for the IRCC Portal. Aiming under 4 MB means the same file works wherever you upload it.

Each upload field takes one file, so a document with several pages, such as a passport or a set of bank statements, has to be a single PDF. Scanned at full quality that is often 10 to 30 MB. Here the scan's resolution is lowered step by step and the first step that fits is kept, so text stays as sharp as 4 MB allows.

Tips

  • Combine all the pages into one PDF first. If you upload several files to one field, IRCC keeps only the last one.
  • Scanning at 150 to 300 DPI is plenty; higher only makes a bigger file to shrink.
  • Some IRCC forms set a lower limit, as low as 2 MB. If the upload page states one, choose that size instead.
  • This page is for documents. IRCC photos must be the photographer's original file, not altered in any way, so upload those as they are.

Requirements from the IRCC Help Centre's file size limits, checked 26 September 2026. Forms change their rules, so check the form itself if something is rejected.

Questions

Is the IRCC 4 MB limit per file or for the whole application?

Per file. IRCC lists its limits as a size per file for each account type, 4 MB for most and 5 MB for the IRCC Portal. A 30-page PDF and a one-page PDF have the same limit, so a long multi-page document is the one most likely to need compressing.

My Word document is too big for IRCC. What should I do?

IRCC suggests removing unnecessary images, then saving as a PDF with the Minimum size option under Optimize for in Word. If that PDF is still over the limit, compress it here to bring it under 4 MB.

Will compressing my IRCC PDF make the text hard to read?

Text typed into the PDF is kept as text and stays sharp. Scanned pages are images, and their resolution is lowered step by step until the file fits. IRCC itself suggests saving images at 96 or 150 DPI to cut file size, so a lower resolution for scans is what it expects.

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