Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will no longer be automatically extending deadlines for submitting the required supporting documentation as many applicants can now provide the supporting documents needed for IRCC to process their application.

However, IRCC will continue to provide deadline extensions to clients who are still unable to provide required documentation due to COVID‑19 disruptions.

Over the coming months, IRCC officers will contact citizenship, permanent residence and temporary residence applicants, on a case-by-case basis, to request that they provide supporting documents or a reasonable explanation of how a COVID‑19-related disruption prevents them from obtaining this information.

If applicants need to provide supporting documentation for their incomplete application

1. Check the last email or letter received from IRCC to confirm what documents you need to provide.
2. Applicants will receive another request from IRCC in the coming weeks or months and will have 30 days from the date you receive this new request to submit the supporting documents.
   • If you need to provide fingerprints and photos (biometrics), book an appointment with your local VAC or ASC as soon as possible.
3. After the 30‑day deadline, an IRCC officer will make a decision on your application, where possible.
   • For citizenship applicants, if IRCC does not receive the required documents after 30 days without an explanation, they may stop processing and consider it abandoned, or they may make a final decision if they have enough informationz

If applicants are still affected by a COVID‑19 restriction or disruption

IRCC officers will be as flexible as possible.

• Applicants must provide a reasonable explanation of how they are affected by a COVID‑19 disruption within 30 days from the date they receive an IRCC’s request. Examples of a reasonable explanation include
  • the temporary closure of the VAC or ASC in your region, which prevents you from providing your fingerprints and photo (biometrics);
  • a regional or city-wide pandemic lockdown that prevents applicants from obtaining supporting documents, such as a police certificate, or undergoing a medical examination.
• If a request of applicants for an extension
  • is reasonable, based on the explanation provided, IRCC will extend your deadline for an additional 30 days;
  • isn’t reasonable, IRCC will make a decision on your application, where possible, based on the information we have on file, which could result in your application being refused.
• IRCC will inform applicants of their decision as soon as they have one.
• If IRCC does not hear from applicants by the 30‑day deadline, IRCC will make a decision on the application, where possible, based on the information they have on file.
• If IRCC determines that a large number of clients is affected by a pandemic lockdown or a service-related disruption, such as a temporary closure of a VAC or ASC, they will not contact applicants to request the supporting documents until the situation is resolved.