Canadian Visa Photo Requirements (2026)

Canadian visa photos are 35×45mm with a plain white or light-coloured background and a neutral expression. Unlike passport photos, non-tinted prescription glasses are permitted as long as your eyes remain clearly visible — and IRCC even accepts black-and-white photos for visa applications. They’re uploaded digitally through the IRCC online application, so no physical print or photographer’s stamp is required. This makes the visa photo workflow much simpler than the passport workflow, and our $1 tool covers the whole process end-to-end.

Full Specifications

Size and Dimensions

Canadian visa photos are 35mm wide × 45mm tall — the same format as European passport photos and most international visa photos. This is smaller than Canadian passport photos (50×70mm), so don’t reuse a passport photo file.

Your face — from the bottom of the chin to the top of the crown (excluding hair that floats above your skull) — must be 31mm to 36mm in the printed equivalent. At standard 300dpi resolution this works out to roughly 365–425 pixels for the face height in a 414×531 pixel image.

Background

Plain white or light-coloured with no patterns, shadows, or textures. The background must be uniformly lit — no darker patches, no shadows behind your head. Stand at least half a metre from the wall when capturing the original photo to avoid casting shadows.

Our tool’s automatic background replacement handles most cases — even if your original photo has a non-white wall, the output will have the pure white background IRCC requires.

Expression and Pose

IRCC requires a neutral expression — mouth closed, no teeth visible. Eyes open, looking directly at the camera. Head straight, no tilt, no turn.

Glasses, Headwear, and Accessories

Glasses — Non-Tinted Prescription Allowed

Unlike passport photos (where glasses are banned entirely since 2017), Canadian visa photos do allow non-tinted prescription glasses — provided your eyes are clearly visible and the frames don’t cover any part of your eyes. This is one of the few cases where IRCC’s visa rules are more permissive than passport rules.

Sunglasses and tinted lenses are not allowed, even for visas. If your prescription lenses are photochromic (tinting in light), take the photo indoors so the lenses appear clear.

If your frames partially cover your eyes (heavy bottom rims, thick temples blocking the eye line), remove them for the photo even if they’re prescription. The compliance test is whether your eyes are clearly visible.

Religious and Medical Headwear

Religious head coverings (hijab, turban, kippah) are allowed if your full face from chin to forehead is visible. The covering must not cast shadows on your face.

Medical headwear is allowed with documentation explaining the medical reason.

Beauty Filters

IRCC’s photo screening flags excessively retouched skin, unnaturally smoothed features, and digitally altered backgrounds. Use the default phone camera, not Instagram, Snapchat, or beauty apps.

Digital Upload to IRCC

Canadian visa photos are uploaded as part of the online application at canada.ca. The IRCC system accepts:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, JPEG2000, TIFF, or PNG
• File size: 240KB to 4MB
• Recommended dimensions: 414×531 pixels at 300dpi (matches 35×45mm)

Our tool outputs JPEG files at 300dpi that fit within these limits. After downloading the file from our tool, upload it directly to your IRCC online application — no extra processing needed.

Which Visa Types Need This Photo?

The 35×45mm photo applies to:

• Visitor visa (Temporary Resident Visa / TRV) — for tourism, business, family visits
• Study permit — for international students
• Work permit — including working holiday visas
• Super visa — for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens / PRs
• Most family-class permanent residence applications

The 35×45mm photo does NOT apply to:

• eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization) — visa-exempt travellers, no photo required
• Adult passport applications — uses the 50×70mm format with photographer stamp
• PR card / Citizenship applications — uses the 50×70mm passport format

How to Tell If You Need a Visa or an eTA

If you’re a citizen of one of these countries, you need an eTA (no photo, $7 CAD): UK, EU member states, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Israel, and several others. US citizens don’t need either when arriving by air with a passport.

If you’re a citizen of a country not on the visa-exempt list (most South American, African, Asian countries except those listed above), you need a TRV (visa) with the 35×45mm photo upload covered in this guide.

The complete list and tools to check your situation: Find out if you need a visa — canada.ca.

Cost Comparison

For visa photos specifically, online services are usually the cheapest path — no need for a printed photo, no photographer stamp required. Our tool produces the same compliant 35×45mm digital file as competitors at the lowest price.

For the application process itself (visa fees, processing times, where to apply), refer to canada.ca for your specific visa type. For our complete Canadian guide collection, see the Canadian guides hub.