Outside-of-Canada families of Canadian victims of air disasters: After you apply

On this page

• How we process your application
  • Get your fingerprints and photo taken
  • Things that may delay your application
  • Check your application status
  • Keep your information updated
• If we approve your application
• If we refuse your application

How we process your application

We’ll review your application to check that it’s complete. If it’s complete, we’ll send you an acknowledgement of receipt that includes your application number.

We’ll return your application to you if

• it’s incomplete
• fees are missing
• we didn’t receive it by the deadline (on or before August 2, 2023)

If your application is complete, we'll start checking your eligibility. After we confirm you’re eligible for the public policy, we’ll

• ask you for more documents, if needed
• ask you and members of your family to get
  • medical exams
  • criminal and security checks
  • biometrics
• inform the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) (in French only), if you’re planning to live in Quebec, and you’ll be invited to apply for a Certificat de sélection du Quebec (Quebec Selection Certificate - CSQ)

Get your fingerprints and photo taken

You may need to give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) after you apply for a permanent resident visa if

• you have not given biometrics before, or
• it’s been longer than 10 years since you last gave them

We’ll contact you if you need to give biometrics.

Learn more about biometrics.

Things that may delay your application

In some cases, it may take us longer to process your application if

• your family situation is complex (for example, divorce, adoption or unresolved child custody issues)
• our processing office has to contact other offices in Canada or abroad to verify the information in your application
• the contact information on file (address, telephone, email) is outdated and we can’t contact you or a member of your family
• there are criminal or security issues we need to look into or we need to do more background checks

Check your application status

When you get your acknowledgement of receipt letter, you can check the status of your application online.

If you can’t view the status of your application, contact us to report a technical problem.

Keep your information updated

To avoid delays in processing, keep your personal information updated.

• Use our online tool to change your address.
• Use the instructions under the “Updating your contact information or application” section of the guide to tell us of changes in your application, such as
  • marriage or divorce
  • birth or adoption of a child
  • death of an applicant or dependant
  • new contact information

If we approve your application

If we approve your application, we’ll contact you to

• pay your right of permanent residence fee (if you haven’t already)
• confirm information you gave in your application
• make sure all your documents are valid
• confirm if you’re able to financially support yourself and the members of your family in Canada
• get your permanent residence visa

If we refuse your application

We’ll send you a letter and tell you why we refused your application.