Canada Photo Requirements
Canada does not have one photo requirement. It publishes a different specification for each application, and they disagree on file size, dimensions and format. Renewing a passport online asks for a file between 200 KB and 5 MB; a permanent resident photo sets no minimum size at all. Below is each one separately, taken from the government pages.
Canada does not allow an edited photo
Canada requires a photo taken by a commercial photographer that is not altered in any way, and the passport guidance names photo editing software, filters and AI tools explicitly. Compressing or retouching a Canadian application photo can invalidate it. Use the checker below to confirm your photographer's file already meets the spec — do not edit it to fit.
Requirements by application
These are different requirements, not variations of one. Find the form you are applying with.
Passport — online renewal
Check a photo against this- Dimensions
- 1,200 × 1,800 px minimum, up to 3,000 × 4,500 px
- File size
- 200 KB – 5 MB
- Aspect / orientation
- 3:2, portrait orientation
- Format
- .jpeg or .jpg
This one has a minimum. A file under 200 KB is rejected for being too small, so compressing as hard as possible fails the check.
“be between 200 KB and 5 MB in size”
This is the only Canadian photo spec with a genuine floor, and the wording is "must be", not "approximately". A file under 200 KB is rejected for being too small, so compressing as hard as possible fails the check just as surely as not compressing at all. The framing is also specified: your chin to the crown of your head must be 45–50% of the photo height.
Citizenship — grant and proof of citizenship (online)
Check a photo against this- Dimensions
- 420 × 540 px minimum
- File size
- ≤4 MB
- Aspect / orientation
- Not specified
- Format
- JPG or JPEG, minimal compression
“approximately 240 kB in file size, but no more than 4 MB”
Note "approximately" — 240 KB is a target, not a floor, and this is the figure most often misreported. The 420 × 540 is a PIXEL minimum, and it is widely republished elsewhere as a "420 KB" file size limit. It is not one. IRCC also asks for the photo to be saved straight from the camera with minimal compression, which is the opposite of what a compression tool does.
Permanent resident card
Check a photo against this- Dimensions
- 715 × 1000 px to 2000 × 2800 px
- File size
- ≤4 MB
- Aspect / orientation
- Portrait
- Format
- JPEG or PNG
“file size must 4MB or less”
No minimum file size whatsoever, which makes this the most forgiving Canadian spec on size and the strictest on dimensions — the pixel range is a hard band in both directions. PNG is accepted here, unusually.
Firearms licence (PAL) — online
Check a photo against this- Dimensions
- Not specified
- File size
- 200 KB – 6 MB
- Aspect / orientation
- Portrait
- Format
- JPG or JPEG
This one has a minimum. A file under 200 KB is rejected for being too small, so compressing as hard as possible fails the check.
“not smaller than 200 KB or larger than 6 MB”
A second real 200 KB floor, with a higher 6 MB ceiling than the passport. Included because it is the other Canadian form that rejects a file for being too small.
Where these figures come from
Read from the IRCC citizenship photograph specifications, the permanent resident photo specifications, the passport photo requirements and the firearms licence photo guidance on canada.ca. The citizenship page was last modified 2025-10-27.
Passport applications made in person or by mail, and citizenship renunciation, are print-only at 50 × 70 mm and publish no digital figure.
All 4 of these Canada specifications were read on 2026-08-08, and Canada can revise any of them without announcing the change.
Check your own form before you submit
Every figure here was read from an official government page on the date shown. Governments and exam boards revise Canada photo specifications without announcing the change, and many publish a different specification for each form — so the page for your application is the only authority that counts. Open it, check the numbers there, and if they differ from ours, use theirs: you can type any dimensions and any file size into our tool by hand, so you are never limited to the presets.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many photo requirements does Canada have?
4. Canada sets a separate requirement per application and they differ from each other: Passport, online renewal; Citizenship, grant and proof of citizenship (online); Permanent resident card; Firearms licence (PAL), online. So there is no single "Canada photo size" to look up. Passport, online renewal wants 1,200 × 1,800 px minimum, up to 3,000 × 4,500 px, while Permanent resident card wants 715 × 1000 px to 2000 × 2800 px — submit one where the other is asked for and it comes back rejected, so find your form in the table below before you resize anything.
Canada photo size for Passport: online renewal?
1,200 × 1,800 px minimum, up to 3,000 × 4,500 px, 3:2, portrait orientation. File size: 200 KB – 5 MB. Format: .jpeg or .jpg. This is the only Canadian photo spec with a genuine floor, and the wording is "must be", not "approximately". A file under 200 KB is rejected for being too small, so compressing as hard as possible fails the check just as surely as not compressing at all. The framing is also specified: your chin to the crown of your head must be 45–50% of the photo height.
Canada photo size for Citizenship: grant and proof of citizenship (online)?
420 × 540 px minimum. File size: ≤4 MB. Format: JPG or JPEG, minimal compression. Note "approximately" — 240 KB is a target, not a floor, and this is the figure most often misreported. The 420 × 540 is a PIXEL minimum, and it is widely republished elsewhere as a "420 KB" file size limit. It is not one. IRCC also asks for the photo to be saved straight from the camera with minimal compression, which is the opposite of what a compression tool does.
Canada photo size for Permanent resident card?
715 × 1000 px to 2000 × 2800 px, portrait. File size: ≤4 MB. Format: JPEG or PNG. No minimum file size whatsoever, which makes this the most forgiving Canadian spec on size and the strictest on dimensions — the pixel range is a hard band in both directions. PNG is accepted here, unusually.
Canada photo size for Firearms licence (PAL): online?
Not specified, portrait. File size: 200 KB – 6 MB. Format: JPG or JPEG. A second real 200 KB floor, with a higher 6 MB ceiling than the passport. Included because it is the other Canadian form that rejects a file for being too small.
Can I edit or compress a Canada application photo?
Canada requires a photo taken by a commercial photographer that is not altered in any way, and the passport guidance names photo editing software, filters and AI tools explicitly. Compressing or retouching a Canadian application photo can invalidate it. Use the checker below to confirm your photographer's file already meets the spec — do not edit it to fit.
Other countries
Looking for a size chart across every country instead? See the passport photo comparison.
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