How to Scan a Residence Permit with Your iPhone
Use ID Card mode, put the card on a dark surface with light coming from the side, and capture the front and back as two pages of a single PDF. Landlords, banks, and employers almost always need the reverse, which carries the permit type, conditions, and validity dates. Capture and text recognition run on your iPhone, so the card is not uploaded to a server.
Tools used: Crop & perspective fixRotateBrightness & contrastOCR text recognitionPDF conversion
Step by step
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Use ID Card mode
Residence permits are issued in the same credit-card format as a driving licence, so document mode will tend to overlook them and detect the desk edge instead. ID Card mode targets the smaller rectangle and crops to it automatically.
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Beat the holographic overlay
These cards carry heavy optical security — holographic laminate, kinegrams, and sometimes a transparent window — all of which flare under direct light. Shoot beside a window or a lamp placed to one side, and tilt the card a few degrees until the flare moves off the photo, the card number, and the expiry date.
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Capture the reverse as a second page
The back usually carries the permit category, employment or study conditions, the issuing authority, and the validity period — often the exact fields the recipient is checking. Flip and shoot in the same session so both sides land in one file.
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Verify the dates and the number
Zoom in on the preview and read the permit number and the expiry date against the card. These are usually set in a condensed font on top of a security pattern, which is the hardest combination for both the camera and for OCR to get right.
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Export a colour PDF
Use Crop & perspective fix to trim the surrounding surface and Rotate if the back was shot sideways, then export both sides as a single colour PDF. Colour matters here — the security tints and the photo are part of what makes the copy usable.
Frequently asked
- Do I need to scan both sides of a residence permit?
- Yes, in nearly every case. The front carries the photo and name; the back carries the permit type, conditions, and expiry that determine whether you may work, study, or rent. Send both as one PDF unless the recipient explicitly asks for just the front.
- Can the app read the machine-readable zone on the back?
- OCR can often pick up the chevron-separated lines, but treat the output as a draft and check it against the card. A machine-readable zone sitting on a holographic laminate is one of the least reliable OCR cases there is.
- What if the card has a transparent window or a chip?
- A transparent window will show whatever is behind the card, so put it on a plain dark surface rather than a patterned one — a busy background showing through looks like damage. The chip contact pad simply reflects; tilt the card so the reflection is off to one side.
- Is a scan of my residence permit accepted for a rental or a bank account?
- Often for an initial application, but many banks and government offices still require you to present the physical card in person for verification. This varies by country and institution — confirm with the specific office before relying on the PDF.
- Does the app send the card image anywhere?
- No. Capture and text recognition happen on the device using Apple's built-in frameworks, and document images are not uploaded to a server. Exporting to PDF or JPG is free with no watermark and needs no account.
Last updated 2026-07-28