Compress a PDF for a visa application
Get under the portal's limit without making your documents unreadable — and without handing your passport scan to a stranger's server.
The compressor is on the front page. Set your target and go — nothing is uploaded.
Open the compressorWhy this one deserves care
Most compression tasks are low stakes: if the output is a bit soft, you try again. A visa application is not that. A document that passes the upload check but cannot be read may be rejected weeks later, and by then you may have lost an appointment slot, a filing window, or the fee.
So the goal here is not the smallest possible file. It is the largest file that still fits, which is exactly what the compressor returns — it searches for the highest quality that lands under your target rather than stopping at the first result that fits.
A safe order of operations
- Find the actual limit. It is usually printed beside the upload control, not in the guidance PDF.
- Check whether colour is required. Many authorities require colour scans of photo identity documents. If so, do not convert to greyscale — reduce resolution instead.
- Remove pages you were not asked for with the page remover. Fewer pages means far less compression pressure on the ones that matter.
- Compress to the stated limit, not below it. Extra headroom buys you nothing and costs legibility.
- Read the output at 100% zoom before submitting — every digit of the passport number, the dates, the signature, any stamp.
What tends to fail
| Element | Degrades at | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Machine-readable zone | First | Often read automatically; errors reject the file |
| Handwritten signature | Early | Compared against other documents |
| Official stamps and seals | Early | Fine detail is the point of them |
| Printed body text | Late | Survives well down to about 150 DPI |
Common questions
What size do visa portals usually require?
Most sit between 100 KB and 500 KB per document, though a few allow 1 MB or more. The limit is nearly always stated next to the upload button rather than in the guidance notes, so check there first.
Will compression make my passport scan unacceptable?
It can, and this is the real risk. Verification staff and automated checks both need to read the machine-readable zone and any security features. Compress conservatively, then open the result and read every character yourself before submitting.
Colour or greyscale for identity documents?
Check the instructions. Many authorities specifically require colour for passports and photo IDs because colour is part of the verification. Where colour is required, do not convert to greyscale just to save space - reduce resolution instead.
Why was my document rejected even though the size was correct?
Size is only one of several checks. Portals also commonly enforce file type, page dimensions, a maximum number of pages, and filenames without spaces or non-English characters. Legibility is judged separately and by a human.
Is my passport scan uploaded to your server?
No. It never leaves your device. That is the entire reason this tool runs in the browser - a passport scan is exactly the kind of document you should not be uploading to a stranger to shrink.