Visa Document Scan and Upload

When you apply for a UK visa through the self-upload service, you send your own evidence — passports, birth certificates, bank statements, employer letters — as files. GOV.UK sets out how to scan or photograph each one, what file type to save, how to name it, and the one deadline you cannot miss. This guide follows that guidance. Based on GOV.UK guidance last updated 1 November 2022.

Who uses the self-upload service

You use self-upload if you scan your identity document with the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app. You cannot use it if your fingerprints and photograph are taken at a visa application centre (VAC) or a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point — there you upload through the commercial partner’s website instead, or pay for an Added Value Service to hand your documents over at the appointment.

Work out what to upload first

The list is not fixed. It is usually on the visa guide for the visa you are applying for, and the application form carries its own document checklist. The form asks you to upload specific evidence based on the answers you gave earlier — for example a copy of your passport or birth certificate — and the guidance warns that you may have to upload the same evidence more than once.

Scan or photograph: one rule covers both

You can either scan your document or take a photo of it. In both cases the full document must be visible on the scan or photo. An edge cropped off is a defect, not a style choice.

If you photograph the document

You can use a smartphone camera or a digital camera. Three conditions are published:

• the area you are in is well lit;
• the document is in focus on your camera screen;
• the flash is off if you are photographing a reflective document — the guidance gives a laminated passport page as the example.

Save the photo as PNG, JPG or JPEG. Most smartphones and digital cameras already save in one of those file types.

If you scan the document

Follow the scanner manufacturer’s instructions, and make sure the document is flat against the surface of the scanner and that nothing is covering the information on it. A scan may be saved as PDF, PNG, JPG or JPEG — PDF is the extra format a scan gets and a photo does not.

Name the file, then move it to the right device

Give the file a descriptive name; the guidance’s own example is ‘bank statement 2019’. If you photograph on the phone you are also applying on, you can usually upload straight from it. Otherwise you move the file across — emailing it to yourself, using a cable, or Bluetooth from a phone, or reading the camera’s memory card on a computer. A scanner connected to the device you are applying on uploads directly; a scanner on another device means moving the file first.

Uploading, and the submit deadline

You upload at the evidence section of the form: choose ‘upload evidence’ next to the item you want to add, then ‘choose file’. A successful upload appears under the ‘Files added’ heading, and you repeat this for each kind of evidence. Then the hard rule: check your evidence and make any changes before you submit, because you cannot upload any other evidence after you submit.

Originals, and documents that are not in English

Two further rules apply to the material itself. Wherever possible, digital images should be taken of original documents, not copies. And a document that is not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by a full translation that can be independently verified by the Home Office.

What GOV.UK does not publish

The self-upload guidance gives no maximum file size and no resolution in dots per inch for an individual upload. That is not published, so not asserted here. Treat any specific megabyte or DPI cap you see quoted for this service as unverified until you can find it on GOV.UK itself.

Related guides

Photographing a document is close to photographing a person, so the phone camera settings guide covers getting light and focus right on a phone. For the file itself, see digital file requirements and image metadata. Scan documents with the document scanner, run them through document photo preflight, and if a form turns your file down see rejected — next steps and online check override. The UK visa documents checklist covers what to gather, and the passport photo checker covers photos of people.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: GOV.UK, “Uploading evidence as part of your visa application” (gov.uk/guidance/uploading-evidence-as-part-of-your-visa-application), last updated 1 November 2022; GOV.UK, “Visiting the UK: guide to supporting documents” (gov.uk/government/publications/visitor-visa-guide-to-supporting-documents), both retrieved 2026-09-28. Rules change, so confirm the current guidance before you apply.