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findmyvisa

Tool · Compress

Compress a PDF to 2 MB or 6 MB — exactly what UK visa portals want.

Generic PDF compressors offer "low / medium / high" settings. We target the actual upload limits the Home Office enforces: 6 MB for UKVCAS biometrics, 2 MB for VFS Global. Browser-only — your file never leaves your device.

Step 1 — Add your PDF

Drag a PDF here

Or browse to choose a file. PDF only. One file at a time.

Browser-only · zero uploads · your file never leaves this device

No. 01 — How this works

Two-stage compression. Sized for visa portals.

  1. 01

    Structural pass first (lossless)

    Many PDFs ship with bloat — unused fonts, duplicated streams, uncompressed metadata. Our first pass re-saves the file with object streams and removes duplicates. This often shaves 5-20% with zero quality loss. If your file already fits the target, we stop here.

  2. 02

    Iterative re-render only if needed

    If the structural pass isn't enough, we render each page to a canvas at progressively lower DPI (200 → 64) and JPEG quality (85% → 45%) until the result fits your target. The output is still a valid PDF and looks identical when uploaded — but text becomes a flat image, no longer searchable.

  3. 03

    All in your browser

    The whole pipeline runs client-side using pdf-lib and pdf.js. We never see your file. There are no logs, no temporary storage, no third-party trackers on this page.

No. 02 — Why portal-aware

Generic compressors don't know about UK visa limits.

UKVCAS (in-country)

Run by Sopra Steria for biometrics in the UK. Per-file upload limit is 6 MB. Files over this size are silently rejected or fail to attach — no error message tells you why.

VFS Global (out-of-country)

Most overseas application centres use VFS Global with a stricter 2 MB per file cap. This is the most common upload failure for first-time applicants from outside the UK.

What we do differently

We compress to exactly these sizes, not "low/medium/high". And because the file never leaves your device, you can compress sensitive evidence — passport scans, bank statements — without trusting a third-party service with them.

No. 03 — Common questions

What people ask before they compress

  1. 01

    Why does the UK visa portal cap PDF uploads at 6 MB?

    UKVCAS, the UK's in-country biometrics service run by Sopra Steria, enforces a 6 MB per file upload limit. The Home Office's overseas application service (run by VFS Global) is even stricter at 2 MB. Both limits exist to keep their systems responsive for caseworkers — there is no flexibility once a file exceeds them.

  2. 02

    What's the difference between the 2, 4, and 6 MB targets?

    Pick the limit your portal enforces. UKVCAS (in-country, biometrics in the UK): 6 MB. VFS Global (out-of-country): 2 MB. The 4 MB option is a safe middle ground if you're not sure or need to upload to a third-party service that doesn't publish a limit.

  3. 03

    Will my text become an image?

    Only if the file needs to shrink a lot. We try a structural-optimisation pass first — that often saves 5-20% without touching content. If the file is still over your target, we re-render each page as a JPEG at progressively lower DPI until it fits. Re-rendered files are still valid PDFs and look identical when uploaded, but the text is no longer selectable.

  4. 04

    Does my file leave my device?

    No. The compressor runs entirely in your browser using pdf-lib and pdf.js. Your file is read into memory, processed, and downloaded back to you. Nothing is uploaded to a server, nothing is logged, and there is no account to create.

  5. 05

    What's the maximum file size I can compress?

    We cap input at 100 MB. Above that, browser memory limits make compression unreliable. If your scan is huge, try lowering your scanner's DPI to 200 or scanning in greyscale before bringing it here.

  6. 06

    How is this different from ilovepdf or Smallpdf?

    Generic compressors don't know about UK visa portal limits — they offer 'low/medium/high' settings that may or may not hit 2 MB or 6 MB. We size the output specifically for UKVCAS and VFS Global, and we don't upload your bank statements or passport scans to a server.

Pairs with

Two more free tools for UK visa applicants

  • Visa Document Bundler

    Merge all your supporting documents into one ordered PDF with a cover sheet — then run it through this compressor.

    Open the bundler →

  • Personalised checklist

    Make sure you haven't missed a document before you submit — four questions, tailored list.

    Build my checklist →