Canada Immigration: Make These Mistakes And Your Application Will Be Rejected

Two cases when Canada immigration applications through economic streams are rejected as incomplete are revealed in guidance issued by the federal government.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) publishes all guidance to intake office staff as a courtesy and ensure openness.

During COVID-19, new measures to allow applications to be held were brought in, as candidates struggled to gather the necessary documents and Canada visa offices all over the world were closed.

While immigration officers can do what they can to keep applications open in many circumstances, particularly if candidates explain why certain documents are missing, there are two situations where applications are rejected outright:

Applicant’s signature is missing on
1. IMM 0008 – Generic Application Form for Canada, and
2. IMM 5476 – Use of a Representative.
Processing fees are missing for the principal applicant and accompanying dependants.

A third situation also exists where an application can be rejected outright, where documents such as language results, proof of work experience, and proof of education are not provided and an explanation is not offered.

If the candidate explains why the documents are missing, “the application can be retained and the documents can be requested,” the guidance states.

Applications for the economic class can still be rejected for reasons specific to the individual program being applied for. Immigration officers will conduct a completeness check before the merits of application are considered.

“For example, not having been granted a nomination certificate is a program-specific rejection reason for the Provincial Nominee Program,” the guidance states.

“However, missing processing fees is an automatic rejection reason that applies to all economic programs.”

Colin Singer

Colin Singer is an international acclaimed Canadian immigration lawyer and founder of immigration.ca featured on Wikipedia. Colin Singer is also founding director of the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration Resource Center (CCIRC) Inc. He served as an Associate Editor of ‘Immigration Law Reporter’, the pre-eminent immigration law publication in Canada. He previously served as an executive member of the Canadian Bar Association’s Quebec and National Immigration Law Sections and is currently a member of the Canadian Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Colin has twice appeared as an expert witness before Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. He is frequently recognized as a recommended authority at national conferences sponsored by government and non-government organizations on matters affecting Canada’s immigration and human resource industries. Since 2009, Colin has been a Governor of the Quebec Bar Foundation a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of the profession, and became a lifetime member in 2018.