Take control of your immigration destiny: Always keep a copy of your complete immigration file

By Catherine Sas, K.C.
Special to The Post

As immigration lawyers, we see many of our clients repeating mistakes and one of the most common is to not keep a full copy of their complete immigration application history.  It is a common misconception amongst the majority of our clients that their immigration representative keeps copies of all of their immigration records so that they don’t have to. This is a huge mistake and the sad truth is that many immigration representatives don’t keep copies of application materials, particularly electronic forms which are uploaded directly to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Without a complete copy of your entire application including forms, submission letters and all supporting documents, you don’t have a record of what has been prepared and submitted on your behalf. Let’s see why maintaining a copy of all documents prepared and submitted is so vital to your overall immigration profile.

There are several provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that come into play with the issue of historical records. Firstly, there is section 16:

16 (1) A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires.

Then there is the misrepresentation section - section 40:

40 (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation

(a) for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act;

(b) for being or having been sponsored by a person who is determined to be inadmissible for misrepresentation;

(c) on a final determination to vacate a decision to allow their claim for refugee protection or application for protection; or

(d) on ceasing to be a citizen under

(i) paragraph 10(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the coming into force of section 8 of the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in subsection 10(2) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before that coming into force,

(ii) subsection 10(1) of the Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in section 10.2 of that Act, or

(iii) subsection 10.1(3) of the Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in section 10.2 of that Act.

Our immigration clients have often had multiple immigration representatives before they come to see us - some overseas and some from within Canada. In order to avoid a misrepresentation finding - which brings a huge penalty of a five year ban from making any future immigration application to Canada - a new immigration representative needs to be aware of all the things that have been said on their client’s behalf in previous applications. It is simply not feasible for a responsible immigration professional to submit a new application without knowing what has been previously said on a client’s behalf. So when a client is not in possession of a copy/copies of their application(s) the only solution is to apply to IRCC to obtain a copy of the complete immigration file. THIS CAN TAKE MONTHS! Without a full record of your immigration history, you will experience significant delay while your new representative obtains your complete immigration file. For complete list of our blogs on the perils of misrepresentation please see here:

ｷ        Beware of Ghost Consultants and the Promise of Quick Fixes in the Immigration Sphere - September 16, 2025;

ｷ        Surviving a Misrepresentation Finding: Options to Consider ・ August 29, 2023;

ｷ        Choosing an Immigration Professional: Responsibilities and Remedies ・ July 31, 2023;

ｷ        March is Canada Fraud Prevention Month: Be Aware! ・ March 30, 2022;

ｷ        Guilty by Association: You are Judged by the Company you Keep ・ October 6, 2021;

ｷ        Making the Case Against Misrepresentation ・ September 15, 2021;

ｷ        The Perilous Nature of Misrepresentation ・ December 14, 2020.

Digitization has only made this scenario worse. Once upon a time, about 10 to 20 years ago depending upon the kind of application being made, immigration applications were paper applications - we filled in forms and mailed or couriered a paper application with supporting documents to the immigration department to review. (This allowed us to keep a paper record for our clients). In the mid-2000s, IRCC (formerly CIC) started digitizing certain applications that could be uploaded directly to IRCC with the goal of a paperless process where IRCC could store applications and documentation electronically without the need to warehouse tons and tons (literally) of paper. There were plusses and minuses to this new and evolving process. One of these was that once an application was uploaded - it was gone! Unless your representative saved screen shots of the application forms - they disappeared into the electronic “Never-never land” and the only way that they could be retrieved was by filing an Access to Information and Personal Information request (ATIP). It has become more and more necessary to make ATIP requests in order to obtain a client’s immigration application history such that there is a huge backlog and it can take many, many months to obtain this material. This is a serious problem when clients are facing short deadlines and are not in possession of their previous immigration applications.

I was once consulted by a client regarding an immigration problem and I asked them for a copy of their previous application. They brought me their file but it was not complete, specifically it didn’t have the submission letter prepared and submitted by the client’s immigration consultant. (Not all consultants provide submission letters but the client history showed that in this case one had been submitted). The client gave me the name of their former immigration consultant which I contacted to ask for the complete file including the submission letter. The consultant replied to me that she didn’t need to give me a copy of her submission letter as that was her own property as she wrote it herself. I replied by telling her that this was very interesting since my Law Society tells me that as a lawyer, everything that I prepare on my client’s behalf belongs to the client. I recommended that she contact her regulator to see what their view was on this subject. Within a half an hour I had the complete immigration file including the submission letter prepared by the former consultant.  Always remember that according to the regulators of immigration clients - whether for lawyers or consultants - your immigration file material that you have paid for a representative to prepare on your behalf, belongs to you!

A client’s immigration history can span years if not decades. Memories fail. You can’t comply with the requirement of s.16 of IRPA to answer all questions truthfully if you can’t remember what you said in the past. An immigration officer has electronic access to ALL of your former immigration applications and they check for inconsistencies between applications. Many of the clients that meet with us are sent “Procedural Fairness Letters (PFLs)” from immigration officers asking them to explain the reasons for inconsistencies in information provided in different applications with a potential misrepresentation finding in their future. Knowing what you have said in the past is vital to your immigration future. ALWAYS keep a full copy of ALL your immigration applications - they belong to you!

Catherine Sas, K.C. has over 35 years of legal experience. She provides a full range of immigration services and is a leading immigration practitioner (Lexpert, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada). Go to canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email [email protected].