New Zealand visa photo size and document upload rules

The photo file has a minimum as well as a maximum size and a fixed 3:4 shape, and each document must be one PDF. What the official pages say, and how to meet them.

By Deftfile · Last checked: October 31, 2026 (the official pages show no update date) · Drafted with AI and checked against the Immigration New Zealand pages linked below.

Rules change — check the official page before you apply. Deftfile is not part of Immigration New Zealand or the New Zealand Government, and cannot tell you whether a photo or document will be accepted.

The exact rules

Photo for an online application or NZeTA

From Acceptable photos for a visa or NZeTA, except the pixels, which come from Fixing errors when uploading a photo.

File type: JPG or JPEG.
File size: Between 512 KB and 3.14 MB.
Shape: Portrait, 3:4 aspect ratio.
Pixels: Between 900 × 1200 and 2250 × 3000.
Age: Taken within the last 6 months.
Editing: Natural and unaltered. No filters, beautification or AI editing, and no changes to colour, brightness, contrast or sharpness.
Face and background: Face covers 70% to 80% of the image, centred, looking straight at the camera. Plain, neutral background with no shadows.

Documents

From File formats for uploading documents and photos.

File type: All documents must be PDFs. All images must be JPG or JPEG.
Pages: One document, one file: a 4-page bank statement is one PDF.
Refused: Password-protected files and compressed files.
Size limit: Not stated on this page.

Where the official pages disagree

The photo page says 512 KB to 3.14 MB; the error-message page says “between 500 KB and 3 MB”; the photo page also tells professional photographers “less than 10 MB”. A file between 525 KB and 3,000 KB (525,000 to 3,000,000 bytes) fits the first two, whether a KB is 1,000 or 1,024 bytes. That range is our arithmetic, not an Immigration New Zealand figure.

Why a phone photo is often refused

Too many pixels. A 12-megapixel phone photo is usually 3024 × 4032. That is 3:4, but above 2250 × 3000, even when its file size is in range.
HEIC instead of JPG. iPhones often save HEIC, which is not on the list.
Too small. A screenshot or an already-shrunk copy can fall under 900 × 1200 pixels or under 512 KB. Take a new photo rather than enlarging it.
Edited. Filters, beautification, AI touch-ups and cutting yourself onto a plain background are all banned. The page asks you to turn off automatic phone filters first.

From phone photo to upload, step by step

Take it properly. Have someone else take it, with you 0.5 metres from a plain background and the photographer 1.5 metres away, as the photo page suggests. Use the camera's 3:4 photo mode.
Make it a JPG. Convert a HEIC file with HEIC to JPG.
Resize only if it is too big. If the JPG is already within 512 KB to 3.14 MB and 900 × 1200 to 2250 × 3000 pixels, upload it as it is. The error page warns: “make sure you do not reduce its quality by choosing options that reduce or limit the file size.” Our tool limits the file size, so use it only when the photo is over 3.14 MB or over 2250 × 3000 pixels: open compress an image with the NZ settings (3,000 KB, 2100 × 2800 pixels, Crop). 2100 × 2800 is 3:4 and safely inside the pixel range. The tool adds no filters or colour changes, and does not check your face. If the original is smaller than 2100 × 2800, the tool would enlarge it, which adds no detail; we think that risks the “sufficient resolution” error, so take a new photo instead. Crop trims a landscape photo heavily: from 4032 × 3024 it keeps 2268 × 3024, about 56%.
Check the size it shows. The tool has no minimum and reports “fits” even under 512 KB. In our test with five made-up 3024 × 4032 portraits, results ranged from about 79 KB to about 2,013 KB, and two were under 525 KB. Our tool cannot make a file larger. Immigration New Zealand suggests a new photo with adjusted camera settings, or a professional photographer.

Documents as one PDF each

To join several PDFs into one document, use merge PDFs with No limit, since this page sets no size. For photographed papers, use images to PDF, again with No limit; that PDF can be large, and the documents page links a guide to reducing PDF size, so if one is refused for size, set a KB limit. The merge tool refuses PDFs with a password, so save an unprotected copy in your PDF reader first. Upload the PDF itself, not a ZIP. We read “compressed files” as archives like ZIP, not PDFs that were made smaller; the page does not define the term.

Questions

Does resizing count as editing?

The error-message page tells you to resize a photo that is too big or too small, but also warns against saving options that reduce or limit file size. Our reading: shrink a photo only when it is over the limits, never one that already fits, and otherwise leave it as the camera took it.

Can I use a selfie?

The photo page says selfies are only allowed when you apply for an NZeTA in the mobile app.

Is my photo sent to Deftfile?

No. Our tools run inside your browser, so your photo and documents stay on your device.

Limits of this guide

This page covers file rules read on October 31, 2026. These pages have moved address before and show no update date. Our size test used made-up portraits, not real faces, so your result may differ. Only Immigration New Zealand decides whether a photo meets its standards.