Intake: Applications received on or after January 1, 2015, for permanent resident programs subject to Express Entry
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
Applications for permanent residence
Express Entry candidates who are invited to apply for the federal skilled worker class (FSWC), the federal skilled trades class (FSTC), the Canadian experience class (CEC) or the provincial nominee class (PNC) are required to submit their application for permanent residence electronically [R12.01(1)].
When a candidate is issued an invitation to apply (ITA), a functionality allowing them to submit an electronic application for permanent residence (e-APR) automatically appears in their online account. The e-APR is a dynamic form that asks the applicant questions based on the information provided in their profile (e.g., if the applicant declared a spouse, the system prompts the applicant with questions about the spouse).
The system automatically pre-populates the e-APR with the information from the candidate’s Express Entry profile. Applicants only need to verify that the information is correct and amend it as necessary. Since much of the application information is already captured, applicants will only have to answer questions related to family composition and admissibility.
Supporting documents
When submitting their e-APR, applicants must provide supporting documentation to substantiate the information provided in their Express Entry profile (on the basis of which they were invited to apply) and their e-APR.
If a candidate submits an e-APR but cannot substantiate the information upon which they were issued an ITA, the candidate’s application will be refused on section A11.2. Misrepresentation [A40] will also be considered, as warranted. The penalty for willful misrepresentation is a five-year ban on applying to Canada.
Applicants who have multiple applications in process
Processing offices may encounter applicants who submitted an APR prior to the launch of Express Entry (before January 1, 2015) and also submitted an e-APR through the Express Entry system (on or after January 1, 2015).
Foreign nationals may apply for multiple immigration programs at once, as long as they have paid the required cost recovery fees for each program to which they have applied. For example, a foreign national could apply under the CEC if invited to do so through Express Entry, and could also apply under the caring for children class outside of the Express Entry system.
Once permanent resident status is granted, any other pending APRs should be administratively withdrawn and the applicant notified.
Lock-in date for age
When an applicant submits their e-APR in their account, the system records in GCMS the date the application was received. The system then automatically issues an acknowledgement of receipt letter to the applicant through their account.
For the FSWC, the FSTC and the CEC, the age of the principal applicant, their spouse or common-law partner and their dependent children (as applicable) is locked in on the date that IRCC receives the e-APR.
For the PNC, the age of a dependent child is locked in on the date the province or territory (PT) receives a complete application for provincial nomination. Since the system automatically sets the lock-in date to the date when the e-APR was received by IRCC, processing offices must manually revise a PNC application’s lock-in date when they encounter a dependant whose age or fees would otherwise be affected.
For information about the age of principal applicants as it relates to their eligibility, see the Exemption to section A11.2: candidates whose birthday occurs after they receive an ITA section.
Instructions for updating a PNC lock-in date in GCMS
To find the date when the PT originally received the PNC application, select the following in GCMS:
- EE Eligibility;
- PNC Details;
- PT Nomination App Rec’d Date.
Copy the date identified in this field, into the Lock-in Date field (the Lock-in Date field can be edited).
Once the Lock-in Date field has been updated, processing offices should determine the appropriate cost recovery fees for the dependant(s). The processing offices must then request the appropriate fees from the applicant or refund fees, as applicable.
If, for any reason, the date the PT received the PNC application is not listed in the PT Nomination App Rec’d Date field, processing offices may use the date recorded in the nomination spreadsheet PTs sent each month to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (to the Centralized Intake Office in Sydney) or the confirmation of nomination letter that PTs provide to nominees. (Offices must request this letter from applicants, as applicants are not required to upload a copy as part of their complete application.)
Full procedures
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