COVA — China’s online visa application — is fussier about the photo file than any other portal we build for, and its upload errors rarely say what is wrong. Often there is no error at all: the click just does nothing. In practice the causes rank in a clear order; work through them and the file goes through.
Fix it automatically — see the result free See your finished photo free · download it for $16.99at CVS; ours is $9 · refunded if the government rejects it
Updated August 7, 2026
Why this happens
Which message are you seeing?
The classic silent failure: the file is outside what the portal accepts — 40–120 KB, as JPEG — and COVA declines it without saying so. Fix the file first; a silent failure is almost never your connection.
The page comes back as if nothing was ever attached. Same causes as the silent click: format, dimensions 354×472 to 420×560 pixels, or the file-size window. Rebuild the file to spec and attach it in a fresh session.
The fix
We build the file to the published spec — background replaced, head at 58.4–68.7% of the photo's height, exported as 354×472 to 420×560 JPEG · 40–120 KB · pure white background — with every measurement shown to you free before you pay.
Fix it automatically →If it keeps failing
Retry in a fresh session first — the portal’s documented false rejections extend to the upload itself, and resubmitting the same compliant file often goes through.
If it keeps refusing, bring a compliant printed photo to your visa-center appointment — the standard fallback when the online upload will not accept a compliant file.
The numbers
Every figure below is transcribed from the official source linked at the bottom of this page — the same numbers our checks measure against:
| Photo size | 354×472 to 420×560 pixels |
|---|---|
| File size | 40–120 KB |
| Format | JPEG |
| Head height | 58.4–68.7% of the photo's height |
| Eye height | at least 54% up from the bottom of the photo |
| Head tilt | 20° or less |
| Background | Plain white |
Pass here, rejected there? Instant refund.
Tap the refund link in your receipt, tell us it was rejected — refunded on the spot. No screenshots, no forms, no waiting.
30 DAYS FROM PURCHASE · NO PROOF UPLOADS · A DRUGSTORE COUNTER CHARGES $15–25 AND GUARANTEES NOTHING
Questions
A JPEG sized 354×472 to 420×560 pixels, with the file inside 40–120 KB. Composition: head at 58.4–68.7% of the photo's height, eyes at least 54% up from the bottom of the photo, tilt 20° or less. Background: Plain white.
iPhones shoot HEIC by default, and the portal wants JPEG. Sharing or emailing the photo usually converts it on the way out; then crop to 354×472 to 420×560 pixels and land the file inside 40–120 KB.
The spec sets a floor as well as a cap — 40–120 KB — because a file compressed too hard loses the detail the check needs. If your export lands under the floor, raise the quality setting until it climbs back inside the window.
Work the causes in order: file inside 40–120 KB, shape 354×472 to 420×560 pixels, format JPEG. If the file measures right, retry in a fresh session — the portal has documented false rejections, and resubmitting often goes through.
A different moment of the same process: this page is the upload refusing to take your file at all; the check failure is COVA measuring your photo and rejecting it. The fixes overlap, and both end with a file built to the published spec.
Open the refund link in your receipt and tell us it was rejected — the money goes back to your card on the spot, no screenshots, no forms. Covers thirty days from purchase.