You can’t make a Canada permanent resident (PR) card photo online — not with IDPhotoBy, and not with any self-service tool. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires the photo for your PR card to be taken by a commercial photographer or photo studio, and it must be an original photo that hasn’t been altered in any way. Because no application channel accepts a self-made, uploaded, or software-cropped photo, IDPhotoBy does not prepare photos for a Canada PR card.
This page explains the official rule, what to do instead — and a Canada document we can help with online.
The Government of Canada is specific about who takes the photo. For a paper application, IRCC’s official permanent resident photo requirements tell you to:
“Go to a commercial photographer or studio to have your photo taken.”
The requirement list repeats that the photo must be “taken by a commercial photographer” — this is about the origin of the photo, not just its size. The photo also has to stay unaltered: IRCC says “You must provide identical and unaltered photographs” and defines an altered, rejected photo as one “edited or changed in any way, by any means.” Its own examples of an altered photo include “cutting and pasting your image against a white background” and “changing the background, including removing shadows” — which are exactly the operations an online self-service photo tool performs on an upload. That is why a self-made online photo cannot work for this document.
What about applying online? The online channel does let you submit a digital photo — but only one that was itself taken by a commercial photographer: either “a professional digital photo” or “a scanned copy of a printed professional photo.” IRCC is explicit that “We do not accept a photo of a paper photo taken with your digital camera or phone.” A digital submission is not the same as a self-made online photo — there is no channel in which an uploaded, self-service, cropped or background-changed photo is accepted.
For reference, here are IRCC’s official photo requirements for a permanent resident card. A commercial photographer or studio produces a photo to this specification, and Canada publishes two versions depending on how you apply.
| Requirement | Printed photo (paper application) | Digital photo (online application) |
|---|
| Number of photos | 2 identical photos | 1 digital file |
| Size | 50 mm wide × 70 mm high (2 in × 2¾ in) | 715×1000 to 2000×2800 pixels |
| File / print | A professional print from the photographer (home printing is not accepted) | .jpeg or .jpg (the IMM 5445 specification sheet also lists PNG); file size 4 MB or less |
| Head size | Face 31–36 mm from chin to crown | Framed within the pixel dimensions above |
| Background | Plain, untextured and white | Plain white |
| Colour | Colour or black and white | Colour or black and white |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, not smiling | Neutral, mouth closed, not smiling |
| Recency | Taken within the last 12 months | Taken within the last 12 months |
| Who takes it | A commercial photographer or studio | A commercial photographer — a professional digital photo, or a scan of a printed professional photo |
| Studio details | Back of one photo stamped or handwritten with your name and date of birth, the date taken, and the studio’s name and complete address (no stick-on labels) | Studio/photographer name and address, and the date, entered when you upload |
All of the values above are IRCC requirements as published on canada.ca. Note the recency: the PR card photo must be taken within the last 12 months.
To get an accepted Canada PR card photo:
- Go to a commercial photographer or photo studio and ask for a Canada permanent resident card photo.
- For a paper application, you receive 2 identical prints. Ask the photographer to stamp or hand-write, on the back of one, your name and date of birth, the date the photo was taken, and the studio’s name and complete address — IRCC requires this, and stick-on labels are not accepted.
- For an online application, the photographer provides a professional digital file (or a scan of the printed professional photo), and you enter the studio or photographer’s name and address and the photo date when you upload it.
The photographer handles the sizing, printing and any stamp so the photo meets the specification — you just keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed.
IDPhotoBy prepares document photos online only where the issuing authority accepts an uploaded, self-prepared photo. A Canada PR card isn’t one of those — but a Canada visa photo is. If you need a Canadian visitor visa photo, you can prepare it online with IDPhotoBy — free, no payment required.
Prepare a Canada visa photo online →
Requirements can change — check IRCC’s official permanent resident photo requirements on canada.ca before you apply, and treat the official application portal as the final authority.
