R200(1)(b) — the officer doubted you would leave after working

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 R200(1)(b) 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: R200(1)(b) · 200(1)(b) · paragraph 200(1)(b) of the IRPR · section 200(1)(b) · IRPR 200(1)(b)

What does R200(1)(b) mean for you?

The same leaving-Canada test applies to work permits. A job offer does not change this. The officer must still be satisfied you will leave when the permit ends.

An LMIA is the employer's approval to hire from abroad. Having one does not remove this test either. R200(2) lists a few people the test does not apply to.

Officers look at whether the job fits your career. A big jump in pay or rank can raise questions. So can a job far below your skills.

What might your notes show?

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

• How the officer compared the job with your work history
• What the officer noted about your ties at home

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 R200(1)(b)?

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

• The Canadian job does not match your work history or training
• You left a long-term job at home, with nothing to go back to
• Few ties at home, and close family in Canada
• A job offer that looks arranged, not genuinely recruited

What evidence is often missing?

Three gaps that can sit behind R200(1)(b). They are not ranked: we have no IRCC figures to rank them by.

• The job does not fit the work history. A big jump in pay or rank, or a job far below your skills, makes the officer ask whether the job is the real reason for the move. R200(3)(a) tests whether you can do the work. R200(1)(b) tests whether you will leave. A job that fits your career helps with both.
• Nothing shows what you return to. Resigning before the decision, and selling up, removes every tie the officer could weigh. A job offer in Canada is not a tie at home.
• The hiring has no trail. No advert, no interview, no emails with the employer. The officer sees an offer with no story behind it.

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.

• Show how this job fits the career you are building
• Keep proof of what you return to: leave from your job, a business, land
• Keep a real hiring trail: the job advert, interviews, emails with the employer

What does a stronger refile show?

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

• A line from your past jobs to this one: experience letters whose duties match the offer
• What you return to: leave approved rather than a resignation, a business that continues, property in your name, people who depend on you
• The hiring trail: the advert, the interview emails, the contract, and the LMIA where one was needed
• A short letter on what the Canadian job adds to a career you will carry on at home
• If a spouse or children are in Canada, say so, and show what remains at home

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.