Security screening for immigration and citizenship applications
Three federal bodies work together to do immigration and citizenship screenings:
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
- Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)
CSIS and CBSA provide security advice to IRCC to make sure applicants are not a threat to national security. They do not make decisions on applications. IRCC will make a decision on your application if you’re applying for:
- citizenship
- permanent residence
- refugee status from outside Canada
- a visitor visa
- an eTA
- a study permit
- a work permit
- a temporary residence permit
If you’re applying for refugee status inside Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Board will make a decision on your application.
Find out the status of a security screening
Under the Privacy Act, you have the right to access personal information about yourself held by government institutions. You may request records from CSIS relating to your immigration or citizenship security screening by making an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request.
Making an ATIP request does not get you a faster processing time. You may also be able to check the status of your application online.