Problems during your visa application!
“The review isn’t progressing at all… what’s going on?” “I have questions or objections regarding the email I received from the immigration office!”

In these cases, you will want to contact the immigration office.

However, many people may find it difficult, confusing, or nearly impossible to reach them.

Communication from the immigration office is one-way, and there are limited ways for individuals to contact the office. There are situations where applicants struggle, such as when there are mistakes in communication from the immigration office or when the deadline for submitting additional documents is extremely short (e.g., within a week or a few days), leaving them unable to prepare.

In fact, there are instances when the review is complete, but the original visa documents are delayed in reaching the applicant. Sometimes emails from the immigration office are sent to consultants who handled the application years ago. We have also received sudden emails or postal mail about clients we helped years ago but no longer assist with.

While it may be said that “it is inevitable because the immigration office has so many applications” or “it is Canada…”, this is something that affects applicants’ lives, and more thorough checks should be made.

So, how should you contact the Canadian immigration office? Here are four ways to get in touch with the immigration office.

---

There are two types of online inquiry forms.

After submitting your visa application, if you need to submit additional documents, change information, or inquire about a long review process, you can use these forms.

1. Original IRCC Web Form
2. New IRCC Web Form

In our experience, either form can be used, but the second one is newer and more commonly used.

The second form asks you to select what you want to do, then requests information such as your email address, name, date of birth, application number, UCI (Unique Client ID), passport number, and nationality. You can then enter your inquiry or request in the provided text box. Be careful not to use prohibited characters (e.g., # @ & *), as this will cause an error. You can also upload any supporting documents if needed.

Once the form is submitted successfully, an automatic email will be sent to the provided email address. It is common for it to take several weeks or even months to receive a response, and sometimes the reply is not helpful or does not fully address the issue.

---

There is no publicly available general email address for inquiries about visa applications with the immigration office. You can only contact them via email if the immigration office specifically instructs you to do so.

---

You can call the IRCC call center. It is a toll-free number, but it is only available for those residing in Canada. You may have to wait a long time to connect to an operator (not a machine), and it is common for there to be no waiting time at all.

The hours are Monday to Friday, from 8 AM to 4 PM. The phone number is 1-888-242-2100.

Tips based on experience: Don’t give up! Keep calling back multiple times! Initially, you will hear an automated voice message (depending on the situation, it may include updates related to conflicts such as in Ukraine or Afghanistan). Then, you will need to follow the prompts to specify what you are inquiring about.

At the end of the process, you might hear, “Currently, our phone lines are very busy. Please try calling back later,” and it is often not even added to the waiting queue.

If you immediately hang up and call again, repeating the process 7-8 times, you will finally be placed on the waiting list, and they will tell you the estimated wait time. If the wait time is short, you can wait, or if you are calling from a Canadian number, you can request a callback. If you follow the prompts and enter your phone number, an operator will call you back. There was even an instance where an operator called back when I missed the initial call.

---

If your visa or PR application is denied, you can make an ATIP (Access to Information and Privacy) request to obtain information stored in the Canadian government database.

Immigration officers leave notes (referred to as “Officer Notes”) in the GCMS (Global Case Management System) throughout the application process. If you want to know what was recorded regarding your application (especially if the refusal letter was too vague), you can request these notes.

You cannot make an ATIP request from outside Canada, but you can have a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or representative in Canada make the request on your behalf. The cost is $5.

The request typically takes at least 30 days to be processed, and it could take months. Additionally, even if the request is fulfilled, the Government of Canada may redact or selectively release information, so it is not guaranteed to provide useful information.

[Click here for ATIP requests]

---

If you have hired one of our immigration consultants to act as your representative, we can assist with all of the methods mentioned above (1-4). However, if you have not appointed a representative, you may need to handle these matters yourself.

Having a representative for your application is reassuring in case problems arise.

Our “Total Support Service” includes not only assistance with applications but also consultations and support in case of any difficulties. Please feel free to contact us for more details about our services.