In-Canada families of Canadian victims of recent air disasters – Pathway to permanent residence: After you apply

On this page

• How we process your application
  • Get your fingerprints and photo taken
  • Things that may delay your application
  • Track and update your application
• If we approve your application
• If we refuse your application

How we process your application

We’ll review your application and check that it’s complete. If it’s complete, we’ll send you an acknowledgement of receipt that includes the 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 May 11, 2022)

If your application is complete, we'll start checking your eligibility. If you meet the basic eligibility requirements, and you have a refugee claim or appeal in process at the IRB, we'll advise the IRB that you've applied and ask that your application be put on hold.

After we confirm your eligibility for the public policy, we’ll

• ask you to give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics), if needed

• ask you for more documents, if needed
• ask you and members of your family to get
  • medical exams
  • criminal and security checks
• set up an interview, if needed
• inform the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration du Québec (MIFI), if you’re planning to live in Quebec, and you’ll be invited to apply for a Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ)

Once we confirm that you meet all the eligibility criteria, your removal order, if there is one, will be stayed until we make a final decision on your application.

Get your fingerprints and photo taken

You may need to give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) after you apply for permanent residence 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 child-custody issues are unresolved)
• 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• the contact information on file (address, telephone, email) is outdated, and we can’t contact you or a member of your family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

Track and update your application

You can use a courier service that needs a delivery signature to find out when we get your application package. This lets you confirm delivery and track your package until it gets to us.

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, you may contact us to report technical problems.

To avoid delays in processing, keep your personal information up to date:

• Use our online tool to change your address.
• Use the instructions under the section “Updating your contact information or application” 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 about next steps, including

• paying your right of permanent residence fee (if you haven’t already)
• meeting an immigration officer to
  • 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
  • receive your Confirmation of Permanent Residence
    • This is a document confirming you’ve been approved to become a Canadian permanent resident.
  • confirm your Canadian mailing address, so we can mail you your permanent resident card (PR card)

If we refuse your application

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