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It depends on what kind of application you submitted and how you applied. You may have more than 1 option.
Your processing time starts the day Citizenship and Immigration Canada receives your complete application and ends when they make a decision on it.
Processing times depends on the kind of application you submitted and how you applied.
Applying by mail, online, or in-person may also have an impact on the processing times.
On March 31, 2022, IRCC updated the processing times tool to more accurately show how long it may take to process your application.
Please click here to check the processing times for your application type
Most permanent residence and citizenship services now show processing times that are updated every week, based on data from the previous 6 months.
Processing times for temporary residence applications were already updated weekly, based on data from the past 8 or 16 weeks.
Some forms need you to use version 11.0.09 of Acrobat Reader to fill it out.
IRCC forms that need to be validated using the “validate” button at the bottom of the form use special encoding. You need a computer with Adobe Reader 10 or higher to use them.
If you have problems opening a PDF on our website, try the following:
For PC Users:
For Mac Users:
You can get a free copy of Adobe Reader from the Adobe website. It is available for Windows, Mac and Android devices.
You need a valid permanent resident (PR) card to return to Canada by plane, train, bus or boat.
If you know your card will expire when you’re travelling, renew it before you leave. You can only renew your card in Canada. The CIC doesn't send PR cards to non-Canadian addresses and they don’t allow third parties to get them for you.
If you’re outside Canada and don’t have a valid PR card, you need a permanent resident travel document (PRTD) to return to Canada. You can only apply for a PRTD from outside Canada. If you try to return to Canada without a PR card or PRTD, you may not be able to take your flight, train, bus or boat to Canada.
If you leave Canada without a valid PR card, you must apply for a PRTD to re-enter Canada. It might take longer than normal to process your PRTD application. This could delay your return to Canada.
No. Marrying a Canadian citizen doesn’t give you citizenship.
If you want to become a Canadian citizen, you must follow the same steps as everyone else. There isn’t a special process for spouses of Canadian citizens.
You must meet several requirements to apply for citizenship. You must be physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the 5 years right before the date you applied.
This includes time as a
Your Canadian spouse can sponsor you to become a permanent resident if you
You may apply for citizenship if you
Your child is likely a Canadian citizen if at least 1 parent (legal parent at birth or biological parent):
Naturalization is the grant of citizenship and the formal process by which a person who isn’t a Canadian citizen can become a Canadian citizen.
The person must usually
To find out for sure, apply for a citizenship certificate for your child.
Your child is not automatically a Canadian citizen if they’re an adopted child born outside Canada.
To become a Canadian citizen, you must
Depending on your situation, there may be additional requirements.
Click here to see if you're eligible for Canadian citizenship
Your application package is complete once you:
If you forget to send a document and/or pay the fees that apply
Anyone who plans to visit Canada must apply from outside of Canada before they travel. Currently, the rules have been relaxed for the year 2023 to allow applicants to apply from within Canada as well.
What your friend or family member needs depends on:
Before applying, find out what document(s) they need.
If you need a visitor visa, Lightning Immigration can provide your family member or friend with a letter of invitation in support of their visa application. A letter of invitation can help, but it does not guarantee the person will get a visa.
The term criminally admissible describes people who are not allowed to enter or stay in Canada because they have committed or been convicted of a crime. That crime may have occurred in or outside Canada.
The term medically inadmissible for excessive demand reasons means you won’t be allowed to enter or stay in Canada because your health condition might cause an excessive demand on health or social services.
This can mean:
Normally you cannot enter or stay in Canada if you are inadmissible. However, there are ways of overcoming your criminal inadmissibility.
If you are inadmissible, you may become admissible again if you:
You may also be offered a temporary resident permit if:
Visits considered justified could include family emergencies or business conferences. Pleasure trips are normally not considered justified in the circumstances.
To consider your admissibility to Canada, Canadian officials assess your crime according to Canadian laws. They look at the nature of the offence, how long ago the act took place and whether any sentences were imposed. A misdemeanour offence in the United States is not automatically considered an equivalent offence in Canada. The final decision about your admissibility rests with the immigration or border services officer.
This is a complex task as it involves comparing Canadian and foreign laws. While there are many pieces of Canadian legislation containing criminal offences, the vast majority can be found in the Criminal Code or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
The definition of criminality, when dealing with applicants who may be inadmissible, can be found in section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Yes, as long as you are not inadmissible for any other reason. When a court in any country decides that you are not guilty of committing a crime, you are not criminally inadmissible for that crime and you can likely enter and stay in Canada.
It depends on the situation. If you received a Canadian record suspension or pardon (as it was formerly called), you are no longer inadmissible because of that conviction and can likely enter Canada.
If you received a pardon or discharge from another country, check with the IRCC office closest to you for more information.
If you’ve been convicted of driving while impaired, you may be inadmissible to Canada for serious criminality. This means that you generally can’t enter Canada. If that’s the case, there are options for you to enter Canada temporarily, or to become admissible again.
A temporary resident permit (TRP) could allow you to enter Canada temporarily as long as reason for your visit is reasonably justified, for example, due to a family emergency. However, even with a TRP, there’s no guarantee you’ll be allowed to enter or stay in Canada.
There is a way you may be able to become admissible to Canada again. If you’re no longer inadmissible, you could enter Canada without having to get a TRP every time you want to come back. This is called criminal rehabilitation.
You can apply for criminal rehabilitation if:
No. If your trial is still underway, you are criminally inadmissible at this time and likely cannot enter Canada.
No. If you want to come to Canada, you must apply for individual rehabilitation at least five years after your parole ends.
Your common-law partner:
When at least one partner chooses to end the relationship, the partnership is considered to be over. You will need to give proof of your common-law relationship.
Items that can be used as proof of a common-law relationship include:
If your application is complex, it may take us longer than normal processing times to process your application.
Your application may be more complex if:
You can bring family members with you to Canada if they were processed for permanent residence as your dependents.
This includes:
The family members that can’t come with you include:
Your dependents can’t arrive in Canada before you. They must arrive with you or after you. You may be able to sponsor them after you immigrate to Canada.
If you are already in Canada, you can sponsor your spouse, partner or child to live in Canada with you if you’re a:
To find out if you have enough income to be eligible, what is considered is:
You must meet the income requirement for each of the 3 tax years before the year you apply (for those living outside of Quebec).
These income sources will count toward your total income (as long as they’re reported on your NOA):
If you don’t have paper copies of your Notice of Assessments, you can view and print your tax returns using the CRA’s My Account online service. The easiest way to prove your income is to give us permission to get your NOAs directly from the CRA.
There are a few reasons why you may not be able to see your case status in the Client Application Status (CAS) tool.
1) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not yet started processing your application
Your status will only show once IRCC starts processing your application. There’s a delay between the date they receive your application and the date they open and process it.
2) The tool doesn't support your application type
The CAS tool can’t see all application types. You may need to check your status a different way.
If you applied
Use the application status tracker if you applied
3) IRCC removed your application from the tool
After IRCC makes a decision, they eventually remove your application from the CAS tool.
The length of time depends on the type of application.
4) You entered the wrong personal information.
Make sure the information you enter matches your passport or identity documents.
5) There is a temporary technical issue
You won’t be able to access online services if there’s system maintenance.
6) You're using a web browser that the CAS tool does not support.
Try using
7) You're not the sponsor or principal applicant on the file.
For sponsorship applications, you can only check the application status for your part of the application.
If you’re a sponsor and want to check the status of the person you’re sponsoring, you must first request access to their information.
8) The information was changed on your sponsorship application.
If you were able to see the status of your sponsorship application but no longer can, find out why.
9) You appealed a decision on your sponsorship application.
Because the appeal process is complex, CAS doesn’t show the status of an appeal for a refused family class application. This is true whether the appeal was filed by the sponsor or by the person being sponsored. The sponsor will get a letter about the status of the appeal.