Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated a guideline for officers on returning incomplete permanent residence applications.

The following are three reasons for your application rejection:

1. The principal applicant’s signature is missing on forms IMM 0008 – Generic Application Form for Canada and IMM 5476 – Use of a Representative (if applicable). Photocopies of signatures and thumbprints are acceptable. However, electronically typed signatures are not acceptable.
2. Principal applicant and accompanying dependants failed to pay a processing fee.
3. Eligibility documents such as language results, proof of work experience, and proof of education are not provided. Nevertheless, if the applicant is unable to provide these documents, they can include a rationale as to why. In these circumstances, the application can be retained and the documents can be requested. For other supporting documents, if explanations are provided, the file should be retained and the documents should be requested.

The above guideline applies to Non-Express Entry application rejections, including

• Non-Express Entry Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications,
• start-up business class application submissions,
• self-employed persons class application submissions,
• Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP) application submissions,
• Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) Program application submissions,
• Agri-Food Pilot (AFP) Program application submissions.