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Guides · Last checked 27 September 2026

ImmiAccount upload rules: file size, formats and PDFs

When you lodge a partner visa online, every document goes through ImmiAccount's attachment screen, and it rejects files for reasons that aren't always obvious. These are the technical rules, in plain English.

The short version
  • Each file must be 5 MB or smaller.
  • Only certain file types are accepted. iPhone photos (HEIC) aren't one of them.
  • No password-protected PDFs, and no zip files.
  • Put a multi-page document into one PDF, not one file per page.
  • Keep filenames simple: letters, numbers, dashes and underscores.

File size: 5 MB per file

Every attachment is checked on its own, and anything over 5 MB is refused. Phone photos and scanned multi-page documents are the usual culprits. A modern phone photo can be several megabytes by itself.

If a file is too big, shrink it rather than splitting it at random: resize photos, scan at a lower resolution, or save scans in greyscale if colour doesn't matter. If a PDF is still too large, split it into clearly labelled parts, such as Bank_statements_part_1 and Bank_statements_part_2.

Accepted file types

Home Affairs lists these extensions: bmp, dcm, doc, docx, dot, gif, jpg, pdf, png, ppt, pptx, rtf, txt, xls and xlsx. In practice, most relationship evidence ends up as PDF or JPG.

iPhone photos are the common trap. iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and HEIC isn't on the list. Convert them to JPG before uploading, or change the camera setting going forward: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible.

PDFs

  • No encrypted or password-protected PDFs. Bank statements downloaded from online banking are sometimes protected. Save or print them to a new, unprotected PDF first.
  • Flatten fillable forms. PDFs with fillable form fields are widely reported to be rejected. Printing the completed form to PDF produces a flat copy.
  • One document, one PDF. A twelve-page lease should be one PDF, not twelve images.

No zip or compressed files

ImmiAccount won't accept compressed archives. If you were planning to zip a folder of photos, combine them into a PDF instead.

Filenames

Home Affairs doesn't publish a strict rule, but uploads are widely reported to fail when filenames contain spaces, accents or symbols. Sticking to letters, numbers, dashes and underscores avoids the problem, for example Joint_lease_2025.pdf rather than Joint lease (final!).pdf.

How many files you can attach

There's a limit on the number of attachments, and it depends on the application type. For partner visas it's commonly reported as 100 per applicant. Your application shows how many you've used, and that count is the one to trust.

A quick check before you upload

  1. Is every file 5 MB or under?
  2. Is it an accepted type, and are the photos JPG, not HEIC?
  3. Are the PDFs unlocked and flat?
  4. Is each multi-page document a single PDF?
  5. Are the filenames plain and descriptive?

Almost Home handles these rules for you.

You and your partner add evidence as it happens. Photos are converted to JPG, PDFs are checked and flattened, and each category exports as files sized for ImmiAccount.

Start your record

This guide covers the technical rules for attaching files. It isn't migration advice, and it doesn't cover what evidence to submit. The instructions in your own ImmiAccount application are authoritative. See the Home Affairs attachment help page.