Tips on communicating with Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada

If you have questions or concerns and wish to speak to an Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) agent directly you have some options.

Agents do not have access to more information about your case status or processing time than you can access online.

The information on this page may change.

The immigration information on this page has been reviewed by Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs) in compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations. However, this is not a legal document and information may change without notice. Readers should always refer to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the most up-to-date information.

Last updated June 2024

Before contacting IRCC

By IRCC’s Web Form

Enter your case-specific enquiry using the online web form. Please note that this option takes time, you may have to wait more than a week for a response.

There are different webforms based on what you would like to do. There is a webform to check your application status; change or update your contact information; add a document to your application; withdraw or cancel your application, and more.

If you have an application in progress, take care in selecting the country or territory where you submitted your application, after you indicate in the webform what you applied for and what type of application you submitted. Your enquiry will be sent to the relevant office.

Be sure to fill out all applicable fields and provide a clear explanation in the ‘Tell us about your request’ section. After you click ‘next’, you will have an opportunity to upload documents, if necessary.

Note: If you have an application in progress, there is no guarantee that the information will be seen by the officer who will assess your application.

If your question is about a technical error:

  • Describe the information you were looking for
  • The nature of the problems
  • Send 2 screenshots of:
    • The page you are attempting to access
    • The error message that you receive

By phone

Call the IRCC Call Centre (1-888-242-2100), from within Canada only, Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm local time (except for statutory holidays).

Prepare to wait on hold for some time as this is a very busy phone number. Try calling early in the morning. You may need to try calling 4 – 5 times in a row very quickly to get on hold to speak with someone. Have your Universal Client Identifier (UCI) number handy (found near the top right side of your study permit) and listen to each of the prompts.

For your records, write down the date and time you called, the agent’s name, and the exact information they provide. Ask the agent if they can email the information they provided. If you have submitted an immigration application, note that the agent you speak with is different from the officer who will review your application and make the final decision.