Programs exempt from the in-Canada mandatory electronic application (e-application) requirement for temporary residents

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

Foreign nationals who are in Canada as temporary residents and are seeking to extend their temporary resident status or their authorization to work or study must apply by electronic means only, unless otherwise specified.

On June 4, 2019, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) were amended to make an electronic application mandatory for most temporary residence applications made from within Canada. Specifically, section R9.2 provides that the following applications must be made by the electronic means made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose:

an application for an extension of an authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident
an application that is made in Canada for a work or study permit or for renewal of such a permit
an application for the restoration of temporary resident status
an application that is made pursuant to a youth mobility arrangement entered into by Canada

Exceptions — Use of other means

Clients may use means other than the electronic option if they meet one of the following exceptions:

Exceptional circumstances beyond the control of foreign nationals, individuals or entities

Section R9.4 provides for an exception to the mandatory electronic application submission if the Minister determines that

the infrastructure in a country is inadequate or incompatible with the electronic means made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose
a natural disaster, political turmoil or other situation prevents or impedes the use of electronic means or makes using them unreliable

Disability

A foreign national or an individual who, because of a disability, is unable to meet a requirement to make an electronic application may do so by any other means that is made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose, such as the paper application form [R9.5].

At this time, the other means made available is the paper application. Applicants in Canada are not required to specify their disability. Officers should accept the paper application if it is complete.

System restrictions (IRCC Secure Account)

Applicants must use the IRCC Secure Account (referred to as MyAccount or MyCIC Account) to submit their application electronically. Applicants must create a GCKey or use a Sign-In Partner to access their secure account.

The individual secure account requires applicants to go through a question flow to create their personalized document checklist. The question flow is available outside of the IRCC secure account as the Come to Canada tool.

Note: Authorized paid representatives with access to the Authorized Paid Representatives Portal are required to submit applications electronically on behalf of their clients. Since representatives select the documents they wish to upload instead of having a personalized document list provided based on the logic of the question flow, representatives should be able to submit all applications using the Authorized Paid Representatives Portal. Representatives may submit an application on paper under one of the programs in the list below if they are not able to submit the application through the Authorized Paid Representatives Portal.

The Minister has determined that the question flow in the individual secure account is inadequate for specific applicants inside Canada. As a result, these applicants are exempt from the mandatory online application.

The following is a list of the exemptions from the mandatory electronic application process for persons applying inside Canada.

System restrictions – Specific exemption details

Permit category	Program
A70	Open work permit pilot program for permanent residence applicants in the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class (initial work permit). The initial open work permit application is to be submitted with the application package for permanent residence under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada. See I am sponsoring my spouse or partner who is in Canada. Can they work while their application is being processed? for more details. For extensions, if the initial work permit will expire before permanent residence is obtained, the application should be submitted online. This ensures that the applicant receives the interim proof of work letter.
A75	Bridging open work permit applicants in Canada who used Express Entry to submit their permanent residence application and have received an acknowledgment of receipt letter.
C10	Quebec physicians
C21	International Experience Canada (IEC) participants changing the period of participation or employer after their initial work permit is issued.
C43	Post-graduation work permit extensions where the applicant did not receive the full authorized period allowed.
C90 (principal applicant) and C91 (family members)	Work permit applications for in-Canada applicants under the 2 pilots for caregivers: Home Child Care Provider Pilot (HCCPP) Home Support Worker Pilot (HSWP) Must be submitted in conjunction with the permanent residence application. The permanent residence, work permit and family member applications must be submitted on paper in the same envelope. If the permanent residence application is submitted online, the work permit application and application for family members should also be submitted online using the Permanent Residence Portal. The applicant must upload the work permit form under Upload required supporting documentation choose Other as the document type The same steps should be followed if they need to submit work or study permit forms for their family members.
H81	Destitute students
H82	Holders of a temporary resident permit valid for a minimum of 6 months. If a temporary resident permit application is submitted with a work permit application, both applications (IMM 5708 and IMM 5710) need to be submitted on paper together. If the foreign national is already a temporary resident permit holder, they may submit their work permit application online.
LMIA-required	Seafood-processing workers
LMIA-required and LMIA-exempt	Urgent referrals process for work permits or otherwise specified by the Clients Support Centre’s call handling document
S61	Refugee claimants. A foreign national may apply for a work permit by submitting the work permit application [IMM 5710 (PDF, 576 KB)] on paper or applying online if they did not apply via the “Schedule 12” form or the Portal.
S62	Persons under an unenforceable removal order. They can apply online (recommended) using the workaround indicated for the fee issue or on paper.
S62	Failed refugee claimants waiting for removal who need to support themselves. They can apply online (recommended) using the workaround indicated for the fee issue or on paper.
Visitors	Family members of study or work permit holders who are in Canada and applying for an initial study permit.
Visitors	Family members of low-skilled work permit holders as specified in the Public policy, competitiveness and economy instructions.
Visitors	Applicants using one of the following travel documents from a visa-exempt country: alien’s passport for stateless persons other refugee travel document for non-citizens

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