A41 — non-compliance with the Act

You can ask IRCC for your own notes yourself, free. Or we can do it for you: CAIPS Notes, ₹499C$29US$19, GST includedthe total we charge. See what is included.

What does A41 say?

IRCC tells its officers that refusal letters “should refer to the appropriate legislative provision(s)”. So the code on your letter points to a rule in the law. These are its exact words.

You may also see it written as: A41 · A41(a) · 41(a) · section 41 of the IRPA · IRPA 41

What does A41 mean for you?

A41 on its own tells you little. It is a general rule. Officers cite it next to the specific rule you did not meet.

For example, an officer may cite A16(1) with it. A16(1) is the duty to answer truthfully and send the documents asked for.

“Inadmissible” means not allowed to enter or stay in Canada. Your decision note or GCMS notes can name the actual failure. Without them, you are guessing.

What might your notes show?

Every file is different. Your decision note or GCMS notes may record:

• The specific rule the officer says you broke, such as A16(1)
• The dates of any request, visit or stay the officer relied on

IRCC may hold back some lines.

What might the officer write?

An example of the kind of wording, not a real note. Officers write in their own words. The shape follows the rule quoted above. Square brackets stand for details that differ in every file.

Why do officers write A41?

These situations can lead to it. Your notes, or the officer's decision note, may name the one in your case.

• Staying in Canada past the date you were allowed
• Working or studying without the right permit
• Not sending documents the officer asked for (A16(1))
• Not holding a document the regulations require
• Breaking a condition of an earlier permit

What evidence is often missing?

Three gaps that can sit behind A41. They are not ranked: we have no IRCC figures to rank them by.

• A request that was never answered. A16(1) says you must produce the evidence the officer reasonably requires. A request that went to an old email, or to an agent who did not pass it on, counts as unanswered. The notes show the date it was sent and what it asked for.
• A past overstay or unauthorised work, left unexplained. Staying past the date you were allowed, or working or studying without the right permit, can be a failure to comply with the Act. If it is on your record and you say nothing about it, the officer has only the record.
• A document the rules require is missing. Fingerprints, a photo and a medical exam are part of the evidence section 16 lists. Other rules need other papers. Without them the application does not meet the Act's requirements, and A41(a) is the rule the officer cites for that.

What can you fix before you apply again?

Answer the concern the officer actually named. Changing everything else at once can make a file look staged.

• Find the exact rule named in your notes before anything else
• If the problem is in the past, show with papers what has changed since
• Deal with it openly in the new application. Do not hope it goes unnoticed

What does a stronger refile show?

Nothing here promises a result. These are things a file can show that the first one did not.

• The rule named in your notes, answered directly. If it was A16(1), the document that was asked for, and a short explanation of why it did not arrive
• Proof that the email address and the IRCC account on the new file are ones you check yourself
• If the failure was a past overstay or unauthorised work: the dates, honestly stated, and what has changed since
• Every document the rules require for this application, in the file before you submit it
• The earlier refusal declared. A hidden refusal can turn an A41 problem into an A40 one

What could this look like in practice?

How can you see the officer's real reason?

IRCC now sends the officer's decision note with most refusals. That covers most temporary-resident refusals since 29 July 2025. It also covers most permanent-residence refusals since 26 May 2026.

IRCC sends the note with the refusal letter, to you or to your representative. It may remove some parts.

Your GCMS notes can show more. GCMS is IRCC's case system, and the notes are what officers wrote in it. They can include the case history and earlier notes. IRCC may hold back some lines.

You can ask IRCC for your own records yourself. It is free, from anywhere in the world, under Canada's Privacy Act. Since 13 July 2022, that right is “extended to include all individuals outside Canada”. See how to do it yourself.

Or we can file the records request for you: CAIPS Notes, ₹499C$29US$19, GST includedthe total we charge. Already have your notes? We can give you a plain-English written reading for ₹699C$39US$25, GST includedthe total we charge.

General information, not legal advice.Every file is different, and nothing here predicts the result of an application. We are not Canadian lawyers or RCICs. Our licence is from Punjab, India; it is not a Canadian licence. For a misrepresentation finding (A40), speak to a Canadian immigration lawyer or an RCIC first.