Scan visa pages and entry stamps from your passport

Applications for new visas frequently ask for evidence of old ones: previous visas, entry/exit stamps, residence permits glued into the booklet. These pages are busier and fainter than the data page — ink stamps at odd angles over security patterns.

Page-by-page method

1. Open the passport to the requested page; hold it flat (a soft clip on the unscanned side helps).
2. Photograph the full spread when both pages carry stamps, or press one page flat for a single-page shot.
3. Scan in ToPDF. Note: the automatic “keep the data page” behaviour only triggers when a machine-readable zone proves a data page — ordinary stamp spreads are kept whole, which is what you want here.
4. One PDF for the whole set: data page first, then visa/stamp pages in booklet order via Add page.

Making faint stamps readable

• Entry stamps are often under-inked. Strong, even light and a steady shot preserve what's there; enhancement lifts pale ink noticeably.
• Photograph stamped pages individually rather than four-to-a-shot — resolution per stamp is what legibility comes down to.
• If a date within a stamp is the critical item and it's borderline, add a close-up shot of just that stamp as an extra page.

Frequently asked questions

Officers want “all used pages”. How do I keep track?

Go cover to cover in order, photographing every page with any mark. The thumbnail strip’s numbering mirrors the booklet, making it easy to spot a missed page.

Can I scan a visa sticker at an angle to dodge its hologram?

A small tilt is fine and often necessary; perspective correction squares it afterwards. Keep the whole sticker inside the frame, including its number.