Economic classes: Procedures at the Centralized Intake Office for applications (non-Express Entry)

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs (AIPP) closed on December 31, 2021, with the expiration of the pilot bilateral agreements. Ministerial instructions 23 expired on March 5, 2022. These granted IRCC the authority to continue accepting pilot applications until March 5, 2022 (processing may continue beyond this date, as long as the complete applications were received by March 5, 2022). Any pilot applications received on or after March 6, 2022, should be rejected by the Centralized Intake Office (CIO).

IRCC started accepting permanent residence applications under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) on March 6, 2022.

These instructions apply to non-Express Entry applications, which include

• non-Express Entry Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications
• applications submitted under the start-up business class
• applications submitted under the self-employed persons class
• applications for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs (AIPP)
  • The AIPP closed on December 31, 2021. However, IRCC can continue to process complete AIPP permanent residence applications that were received by March 5, 2022, when the AIPP ministerial instructions expired.
• applications for the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
• applications for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) Program
• applications for the Agri-Food Pilot (AFP) Program
• applications submitted under the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) Public Policies

This section provides guidance on reviewing applications for completeness and putting them into process.

On this page

• Completeness check
• Ministerial instructions
• Putting the application into process
• Processing family members

Completeness check

Applicants are required to submit their complete application, including all mandatory forms, fees, information and supporting documents, online via the Permanent Residence Portal to the Centralized Intake Office (CIO).

Each program is different; please refer to the document checklist to determine whether the applicant must apply online.

Applications are first checked for completeness, according to the document checklist requirements in place at the time the application is received by the CIO.

If the application meets the requirements pursuant to section R10, the CIO

• enters the application information in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
• recovers the processing fee
• sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the applicant

If the application is found to be incomplete (that is, if it does not meet the requirements pursuant to section R10), the CIO returns the incomplete application package, along with the fees, to the applicant and records the action in GCMS. Online applications will be returned by email.

Note: Applications received by mail due to an accommodation are date stamped when received by the CIO and are checked for completeness in due time. The date on which the application is received at the CIO is the lock-in date. Processing offices should not change the “application received” date entered by the CIO at file creation.

The date on which the client submits their application through the online portal is the lock-in date.

See more on the lock-in date for the age of dependent children.

Officers are also encouraged to apply completeness check criteria, as outlined in the document checklists, to ensure that program-specific documents are included. For example, not having been granted a nomination certificate is a program-specific rejection reason for the Provincial Nominee Program. However, missing processing fees is an automatic rejection reason that applies to all economic programs (if no facilitation measures are in place).

Other examples of program-specific documents that could lead to a rejection if not included in an application:

• Quebec skilled worker: missing evidence of a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ). The CSQ must be valid at the time it’s received. The CSQ may or may not have expired after the application is received.
• Start-up visa: missing evidence of a commitment certificate and letter of support. These documents must be valid at the time they are received. If an application is received 6 months or more after the commitment certificate or letter of support has expired, the application should be returned to the applicant with a note asking them to resubmit the application with a valid letter of support or to contact the designated entity to ask them to modify the date on the commitment certificate.
• Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program: missing evidence of recommendation issued by participating community. This document must be valid at the time it is received by IRCC.

There are additional instructions for the completeness check for each of the following:

• provincial nominee class
• start-up business class
• self-employed class
• Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs (AIPP) (Closed on March 5, 2022)
• Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
• Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program
• Agri-Food Pilot Program
• Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot

Provincial nominee class

Part of the completeness check includes verifying that the applicant is listed on the monthly nomination spreadsheet that the CIO receives directly from the province or territory.

Confirmation of provincial nomination

The province or territory sends an encrypted monthly nomination spreadsheet directly to the CIO via Entrust. The spreadsheet includes the details of all the nominations the province or territory has issued each month and is considered confirmation that the nomination certificate has been issued. The CIO must be satisfied that the spreadsheet is from the responsible provincial or territorial government authority (that is, the email address is from the provincial or territorial government department that processes the nominations).

The nomination is considered valid as long as the applicant submits a complete application for permanent residence on or before the expiry date of the nomination. A nomination extension is not required for nominations that expire while an application is being processed.

If a nominee does not apply for permanent residence before their nomination expires, the province or territory may issue an extension to give the nominee additional time to submit their application. Provinces and territories notify IRCC of all extensions through the monthly nomination spreadsheet.

Nominees are issued a nomination approval letter by the nominating province or territory, and the letter must be included in their application for permanent residence.

Note: As of February 1, 2019, provinces may issue nomination approval letters in either electronic or paper format. A copy of this letter remains sufficient for completeness.

Note: In January 2020, the Yukon Government launched the Yukon Community Pilot (YCP). The nomination issued by the Yukon government will be community restrictive instead of employer restrictive. Under this initiative, nominees will be issued an open work permit allowing them to work for up to 3 employers within a specific community, rather than 1 specific employer. This pilot will run for 5 years. Applications will be accepted until June 22, 2025.

See the Yukon Community Pilot (YCP) for more information.

Nominees must also submit a copy of their nomination approval letter if they apply for a labour market impact assessment-exempt work permit for a job offer in the nominating province or territory, or if they apply for a bridging open work permit. For more information, see Foreign workers: Provincial nominees or permanent residence applicants.

Provincial nomination streams

Each province has its own set of criteria and nomination streams and programs. The following list provides the GCMS categories for the various provincial and territorial programs or streams:

• Worker – Job offer
• Worker – No job offer
• Business
• Family support
• Students
• Community support

Lock-in date for age of dependent children of provincial nominees

The lock-in date for the age of a dependent child is the date the applicable provincial or territorial authority receives a complete application for a provincial or territorial nomination from the principal applicant [subsection R25.1(4)].

Start-up business class

Confirmation of commitment certificate and letter of support

The designated entity (DE) emails a commitment certificate directly to IRCC Montréal and sends a letter of support to the applicant, both with a validity of 6 months. The dates on both the commitment certificate and letter of support must be the same.

The applicant must include the letter of support in their application. The commitment certificate will be provided by the DE to IRCC Montréal. The commitment certificate has a validity of 6 months from the date on the commitment certificate. The commitment certificate and letter of support are considered valid as long as the applicant(s) submit a complete application for permanent residence on or before the expiry date of the commitment certificate and letter of support. An extension is not required for a commitment certificate or letter of support that expires while an application is being processed.

If an applicant does not apply for permanent residence before the expiry of their commitment certificate, the designated entity may not issue an extension. The designated entity may issue a new commitment certificate after ensuring that the details of the commitment, including ownership structure, are still accurate.

When IRCC Montréal receives a commitment certificate, they will create a GCMS client note. The intake office must

• review client note to ensure IRCC Montréal received the commitment certificate prior to promotion
• associate all applications with the designated entity
• verify that the application is complete according to the document checklist
• review the client note to ensure a valid commitment certificate and letter of support issued by a designated entity have been received by IRCC Montréal
• enter “SUD-FED” in the category field in GCMS

Changes to the commitment certificate as of April 30, 2024

As of April 30, 2024, upon receipt of the application for permanent residence, the intake office must verify if the commitment certificate unique identifiers match the commitment certificate unique identifiers received by IRCC Montréal. The application(s) must be rejected if the commitment certificate unique identifiers do not match the commitment certificate identifiers received by IRCC Montréal. The numbers will follow this format: DE Type (2 Letters), DE number (5 digits), CC count (2 digits).

For example:

Unique identifier format: DE type + DE Number + Commitment Certificate count

DE type:

• Venture Capital Funds (VC)
• Angel Investor Groups (AI)
• Business Incubators (BI)

For example:

a Venture Capital commitment certificate unique identifier: VC12345-01 or
a Business Incubator commitment certificate unique identifier: BI67890-02.

Cap on the number of new applications to be accepted for processing in a year under the start-up business class

As of April 30, 2024, the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) must ensure that only 10 group applications per designated entity per calendar year are assessed. The cap will be counted using the first entrepreneurial team member application received through PRDI.

Group applications supported by the same commitment certificate will be held at CIO and kept under the DE ORG ID until all applicants of the same business venture have applied. The applications will be reviewed to ensure they meet section R10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) before being transferred to Domestic Network for processing.

Unused cap space can’t be transferred from one designated entity to another, nor can it be carried over to the following year.

Any applications received after the yearly cap is reached will be returned to the applicants with a fee refund and a letter of explanation.

Prioritization of start-up business class

As of April 30, 2024, the CIO must only prioritize applications in the current inventory and new applications associated with

• Canadian venture capital funds
• angel investors groups
• business incubators who
  • have a committed capital or
  • are part of the following designated entities from Canada’s Tech Network (CTN) as per the ministerial instructions
    List of designated entities in CTN:
    • Waterloo Accelerator Centre
    • Genesis Centre
    • Invest Nova Scotia
    • Interactive Niagara Media Cluster o/a Innovate Niagara
    • Innovation Factory
    • North Forge Technology Exchange
    • Platform Calgary
    • The DMZ
    • VIATEC

For further clarity, authorized venture capital funds, angel investor groups and business incubators are those included in the department’s list of authorized designated entities.

Applications received before April 30, 2024

For applications received before April 30 where

• an essential member of the business group does not meet the section R10 completeness check, all applications linked to the same business group must be rejected
  • The CIO must send a rejection letter to all the applicants in the business group and refund the fees.
• a non-essential member of the business group does not meet the section R10 completeness check, the CIO must send a rejection to this member and refund the fees
  • The CIO must then transfer the applications of the remaining members who have passed section R10 to the Domestic Network. In this situation, the essential member of the business, if any, must also have submitted their application and passed section R10.

For more instructions, see When an essential person’s application does not meet section R10 requirements.

Applications received as of April 30, 2024

The instructions for the cap, prioritization and the commitment certificate issued with the unique identifiers above apply to the applications received on or after April 30.

The CIO must be sure to hold all applications from the same commitment certificate until all applications have been received and have met section R10 before transferring them to the Domestic Network for processing. No incomplete group applications must be sent to the Domestic Network.

The following instructions only apply to applications received with a commitment certificate that has a valid unique identifier:

When a group application member, whether essential or non-essential, does not meet section R10, the CIO must send a rejection letter to the entire group and refund the fees. The application will still count against the cap.

Commitment certificates issued on or after April 30 must have a valid unique identifier. Applications received and commitment certificates issued on or after April 30 that do not have a valid unique identifier must be rejected.

Self-employed class

As of April 30, 2024, the CIO is to pause all self-employed persons class intake until December 31, 2026.

If the application contains the form Schedule 6A in an older version than the 2019 version

After adding the form Schedule 6A to the application in GCMS, the officer enters the National Occupation Classification (NOC) code matching the experience mentioned by the applicant in Section 6 of the form. The NOC of the principal applicant must be updated in the “Clients and Parties” tab of the application.

If the application contains the 2019 version of form Schedule 6A or a more recent version

After adding the form IMM 0008E Schedule 6A – Business Immigrants – Self-employed persons (PDF) (728 KB) to the application in GCMS, the officer enters the NOC mentioned by the applicant in Section 6B of the form. The NOC of the principal applicant must be updated in the “Clients and Parties” tab of the application.

Please refrain (when possible) from using general NOC codes, such as “NOC 9914 – New Worker,” as entering accurate information on the occupations of self-employed applicants helps the department gather important data.

Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs (AIPP)

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs (AIPP) closed on December 31, 2021, with the expiration of the pilot bilateral agreements. Ministerial Instructions 23 expired on March 5, 2022. These granted IRCC the authority to continue accepting pilot applications until March 5, 2022 (processing may continue beyond this date, as long as the complete applications were received by March 5, 2022). Any pilot applications received on or after March 6, 2022, should be rejected by the Centralized Intake Office (CIO).

The CIO verifies that the application is complete according to the document checklist.

Part of the completeness check includes verifying that the applicant is listed on the encrypted monthly endorsement spreadsheet that the CIO receives directly from the Atlantic provinces via Entrust.

The endorsement is considered valid as long as the applicant submits a complete application for permanent residence on or before the expiry date of the endorsement. An endorsement extension is not required for endorsements that expire while an application is being processed.

If an applicant does not apply for permanent residence before the expiry of their endorsement, the province may not issue an extension. However, the province may issue a new endorsement.

The applicant must provide evidence that they had temporary resident status at the time of their application if they are in Canada.

Complete applications

If the application meets all the criteria for completeness, the CIO

• enters the application information in the GCMS
• recovers the processing fee
• sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the applicant
• puts the application into processing

The processing fees are no longer refundable.

Incomplete applications

If the application is incomplete (that is, if it does not meet the criteria for completeness), the CIO will

• record the outcome and reasons in the GCMS
• return the incomplete application and processing fees
• inform the applicant

Lock-in date for age of dependent children of endorsed applicants

The lock-in date for the age of a dependent child is the date the applicable provincial authority receives a complete application for a provincial endorsement from the principal applicant. This date can be found on the monthly nomination spreadsheet that the CIO receives directly from the province or territory.

Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)

IRCC started accepting permanent residence applications under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) on March 6, 2022.

The CIO verifies that the application is complete, according to the document checklist.

Part of the completeness check includes verifying that the applicant is listed on the encrypted monthly endorsement spreadsheet that the CIO receives directly from the Atlantic provinces, via Entrust.

The endorsement is considered valid as long as the applicant submits a complete application for permanent residence on or before the expiry date of the endorsement. Once the permanent residence application is in processing, the endorsement certificate can expire, and there is no need to issue a new endorsement certificate.

If an applicant does not apply for permanent residence before the expiry of their endorsement certificate, the applicant must get a new endorsement certificate from the province.

If the applicant is in Canada, they must provide evidence that they had temporary resident status at the time of their application. The applicant must maintain temporary resident status while in Canada.

Complete applications

If the application meets all the criteria for completeness, the CIO

• enters the application information in the GCMS
• recovers the processing fee
• sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the applicant
• puts the application into processing

If the application is deemed complete, the processing fees are no longer refundable.

Incomplete applications

If the application is incomplete (that is, if it does not meet the criteria for completeness), the CIO will

• record the outcome and reasons in the GCMS
• return the incomplete application and processing fees to the applicant along with an explanation

Lock-in date for age of dependent children of endorsed applicants

The lock-in date for the age of a dependent child is the date the applicable provincial authority receives a complete application for a provincial endorsement from the principal applicant. This date can be found on the monthly endorsement spreadsheet that the CIO receives.

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) Program

Update due to COVID-19

As a temporary measure, the designated economic development organization is now able to digitally sign the recommendation form [IMM 0112]. The applicant can include either a copy of the recommendation form with a handwritten signature or a copy of the electronically signed recommendation form with their application.

All other document requirements must be met unless exempted under the COVID-19 special measures.

The CIO verifies that the application is complete, according to the document checklist (IMM 5987) (PDF, 2,750 KB).

Part of the completeness check includes verifying that the applicant is listed on the encrypted monthly community recommendation spreadsheet from the economic development organization issuing the recommendation on behalf of the participating community. Each community recommendation has a unique recommendation number. Each participating community sends the spreadsheet directly to IRCC via Entrust.

The community recommendation (IMM 0112) is valid for 6 months after the date of issuance, is considered valid as long as the applicant submits a complete application for permanent residence on or before the expiry date of the recommendation, and will remain valid until a decision is rendered. If an applicant submits an application for permanent residence with an expired community recommendation, no extension can be issued. The application is deemed incomplete and the applicant must request a new community recommendation from the designated economic development organization of the participating community before re-submitting an application to IRCC.

The applicant must provide evidence that they had temporary resident status at the time of their application if they are in Canada.

Complete applications

If the application meets all the criteria for completeness, the CIO

• enters the application information in the GCMS
• recovers the processing fee
• sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the applicant
• recovers the biometric fee and sends the biometric instruction letter (BIL)
  • If the biometric fee was not paid, the CIO sends the biometric fee payment letter. The BIL will be sent by the processing office once the applicant submits the biometric fee.
• puts the application into processing

The processing fees are no longer refundable.

Note: Permanent residence applicants are required to enroll their biometrics with each application.

Incomplete applications and applications that exceed the cap

If the application is incomplete (that is, if it does not meet the criteria for completeness), or if it is received after the maximum allotment for complete applications for the RNIP Program has been reached, the CIO will

• record the outcome and reasons in the GCMS
• return the incomplete application
• inform the applicant

Lock-in date for age of dependent children of recommended applicants

The lock-in date for the age of a dependent child is the date the applicable designated economic development organization receives a complete application for a community recommendation from the principal applicant. This date can be found on the monthly community recommendation spreadsheet that the CIO receives from each of the selected communities and on the community recommendation form (IMM 0112) given to the applicant as “date application received.”

Agri-Food Pilot (AFP) Program

The CIO verifies that the application is complete, according to the document checklist (IMM 0116).

Annual application limits

A maximum of 2,750 complete applications (from principal applicants) will be accepted into processing each calendar year. Applications must be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Complete applications

If the application meets all the criteria for completeness, the CIO

• enters the application information in the GCMS
• recovers the processing fee
• sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the applicant
• recovers the biometric fee and sends the biometric instruction letter (BIL)
  • If the biometric fee was not paid, the CIO sends the biometric fee payment letter. The BIL will be sent by the processing office once the applicant submits the biometric fee.
• puts the application into processing

The processing fees are no longer refundable.

Note: Permanent residence applicants are required to enroll their biometrics with each application.

Incomplete applications and applications that exceed the cap

If the application is incomplete (that is, if it does not meet the criteria for completeness), or if it is received after the maximum allotment for complete applications in an eligible occupation under the AFP has been reached, the CIO will

• Record the outcome and reasons in the GCMS.
• Return the incomplete application and the processing fees (biometric fees are not refunded).
• Inform the applicant.

Lock-in date for age of dependent children of recommended applicants

The lock-in date for the age of a dependent child is the date a complete application for permanent residence is received at the CIO.

Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP)

The Resettlement Operations Centre (ROC) in Ottawa verifies that the application is complete according to the document checklist IMM 0137 (PDF, 1,065 KB).

If the application includes a loan pre-approval letter to meet the settlement fund requirement, part of the completeness check includes verifying that the applicant is listed on the Windmill Report, which Windmill forwards to IRCC on a monthly basis via Entrust.

Application intake limits

As outlined in the public policy, application intake for phase 2 of EMPP will take place in 2 stages:

• Stage 1, ending June 30, 2022, will cap processing at 150 applications from principal applicants.
• Stage 2, starting July 1, 2022, will cap processing at 350 applications from principal applicants.

Applications must be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications received after the cap is reached will be rejected.

Complete applications

If the application meets all the criteria for completeness, the ROC:

• determines eligibility for EMPP facilitation measures against public policy requirements according to Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP): Determining eligibility against public policy requirements
• puts the application into processing if EMPP public policy requirements are met

Note: Permanent residence applicants are required to enrol their biometrics with each application. 

Applications that are incomplete

If the application is incomplete (that is, if it does not meet the criteria for completeness), ROC-O will

• record the outcome and reasons in the GCMS
• inform the applicant (or authorized rep, if applicable) by email and provide the reasons why the application is being returned
• administratively close the application in the GCMS (cancelled)

Ministerial instructions (MI)

The following table indicates which Ministerial Instructions apply to specific classes and programs:

Putting the application into process

Following a positive completeness check, the CIO will do all of the following:

• Create a file in the GCMS.
• Enter the appropriate code in the “Category” field in the GCMS.
• Cost recover the applicable processing fees and enter confirmation in the GCMS.
• Record the GCMS file number in the paper file (for applications received by mail due to accommodation).
• Send an acknowledgement receipt of the letter to the applicant, informing them that their file has been put into process and, if applicable, transferred to another office.
• Transfer the paper file to the processing office, in accordance with existing file transfer policies (for applications received by mail due to accommodation).
• Transfer the electronic file to the processing office in the GCMS by making that office the primary office for processing.

Processing family members

The CIO receives and triages all paper-based and online applications submitted under the PNP, the start-up business class, the self-employed persons class, the AIPP, the AIP, the RNIP and the AFP. The application is triaged based on established criteria and is transferred to the relevant processing office, where the principal applicant and all family members (inland or overseas) should be processed.