What will my GCMS notes show on my Express Entry file if it has not been decided?

For an application still in process, the notes show what has been recorded so far: whether eligibility has been assessed, and whether it passed; the recorded status of criminality and security screening as separate lines, where ircc releases them; whether medicals were received, and their validity dates; which office or unit currently holds the file; officer remarks on anything unusual — a name match, a document request, an inconsistency; whether correspondence was sent to you that you never received. Your GCMS notes are a snapshot of what was recorded on your file at the time IRCC processed your request — not a live tracker. They will not give you a decision date. What they can show, subject to what IRCC withholds, is which stage your file reached, which checks are recorded as outstanding, and whether anything was asked of you that you never answered.

Does requesting my notes slow down or annoy IRCC?

No. A request for your own records is handled by IRCC's access to information and privacy (ATIP) unit, which is separate from the officers deciding your application. Requesting your own file is a legal right and it does not affect processing of the application itself.

Is it really free, and can I do it from outside Canada?

Yes to both. Under the Privacy Act there is no fee to request your own personal information, and since July 2022 any person anywhere in the world can file directly, in their own name, with no representative in Canada required.

What should I do before assuming my file is stuck?

Check the current published processing time for your exact stream on IRCC's tool — Express Entry targets differ by category; Confirm your medicals are still valid; expired medicals stall a file silently; Check your junk/spam folder and your representative's inbox for an unanswered request; Verify the email and address on your profile are the ones you actually use.

Permanent residence

Express Entry permanent residence (FSW, CEC, FST)

AOR received, then months of silence. Your notes can show which checks are recorded as complete, and which are not.

Still in process · General information, not advice on your case.

You have not been refusedA quiet file is not a bad file. Most of this page is about finding out which stage your application actually reached, because the online account shows very little.

Why Express Entry files go quiet

An Express Entry file moves through separate streams that do not update your online account at the same time — eligibility (R10 / A11 completeness and points), then criminality, then security screening, plus medicals.

Security screening in particular is done by partner agencies, not by the IRCC officer handling your file. When it sits with a partner agency, your officer genuinely cannot speed it up and your account will show nothing new for months.

Portal status often shows only a broad stage. It does not tell you which underlying check is incomplete — but the file entries do.

Check these before assuming it is stuck

A long wait is not always a stalled wait. Rule these out first: several are things applicants miss.

Check the current published processing time for your exact stream on IRCC's tool — Express Entry targets differ by category
Confirm your medicals are still valid; expired medicals stall a file silently
Check your junk/spam folder and your representative's inbox for an unanswered request
Verify the email and address on your profile are the ones you actually use

IRCC publishes live processing times, and they change often: check the current time for Express Entry permanent residence (opens in a new tab). We do not quote a number here, because any number we printed would soon be out of date.

What your GCMS notes can show on your Express Entry file

You do not have to be refused to request your file. An application that is still in process has notes too, and for a file that has gone silent they are often the clearest way to see what has happened.

Whether eligibility has been assessed, and whether it passed
The recorded status of criminality and security screening as separate lines, where IRCC releases them
Whether medicals were received, and their validity dates
Which office or unit currently holds the file
Officer remarks on anything unusual — a name match, a document request, an inconsistency
Whether correspondence was sent to you that you never received

The limitsYour GCMS notes are a snapshot of what was recorded on your file at the time IRCC processed your request — not a live tracker. They will not give you a decision date. What they can show, subject to what IRCC withholds, is which stage your file reached, which checks are recorded as outstanding, and whether anything was asked of you that you never answered.

Signals that something is genuinely wrong

If your notes show any of these, the delay has a cause you can act on rather than simply wait out.

An unanswered request for additional documents recorded weeks ago
Eligibility passed but the file sitting with no movement on security for an unusually long period
A note about a possible name or identity match requiring further review
Correspondence marked sent that you never received

Check the last kind first, because it is the one you can fix today: IRCC asked for something and never got a reply, for example because the request went to an agent’s email or to an address you no longer use. The file can then sit, waiting on you.

Officer decision notes

You may already have the officer’s reasons

IRCC now sends the officer's decision note with most refusals: temporary-resident applications refused since 29 July 2025 (visitor visas, super and transit visas, visitor records, study and work permits and their extensions) and permanent-residence applications refused since 26 May 2026. It does not send them for eTAs, temporary resident permits or humanitarian and compassionate applications.

How to check: Go through the refusal documents IRCC sent to you or to your representative, including those in your IRCC account. Look for a note written by the officer explaining why the application was refused, separate from the standard refusal letter.

A decision note gives the final officer's reasons. A records request can also return the case history, earlier notes and documents on your file, subject to what IRCC withholds.

Thinking of Federal Court review? IRCC says to state in your application that you have not received the reasons for refusal, even if you received a decision note.

Source: IRCC, “Officer decision notes” (opens in a new tab), checked 23 September 2026.

The escalation ladder, in order

Step 1, Free: Check it is genuinely late
IRCC's processing-times tool is the figure that matters, and it changes often. A file inside the posted estimate is queued, not stuck. Confirm you are outside it before spending money on anything.
Step 2, Free: Send a case-specific enquiry
IRCC's web form is the official channel for a question about a specific file. Ask one specific question and give your application number, so the reply can answer it rather than restate the processing time.
Step 3, Free: Ask a Canadian MP's office
Only if you have a sponsor, spouse or family member in Canada who can approach their own MP: constituency offices act for people in their riding. Their staff cannot change a decision, but they can ask IRCC a question for you.
Step 4, Free yourself: Request your own file
Under the Privacy Act, free, from anywhere. Your GCMS notes can show what has been recorded, when the file last moved, and whether anyone is waiting on something from you, subject to what IRCC withholds. If you would rather not do it yourself, we can make a records request for you.
Step 5, Lawyer needed: Legal remedies
Where a delay is genuinely unreasonable, the Federal Court can be asked to order IRCC to decide (mandamus). That is work for a Canadian immigration lawyer, not for us: we are not a law firm, and our licence is a Punjab (India) licence, not a Canadian one.

IRCC’s case-specific enquiry web form (opens in a new tab) is free. More on each step: when an application goes quiet.

Questions about Express Entry delays

Why has my Express Entry application gone quiet?
An Express Entry file moves through separate streams that do not update your online account at the same time — eligibility (R10 / A11 completeness and points), then criminality, then security screening, plus medicals. Security screening in particular is done by partner agencies, not by the IRCC officer handling your file. When it sits with a partner agency, your officer genuinely cannot speed it up and your account will show nothing new for months. Portal status often shows only a broad stage. It does not tell you which underlying check is incomplete — but the file entries do.
What will my GCMS notes show on my Express Entry file if it has not been decided?
For an application still in process, the notes show what has been recorded so far: whether eligibility has been assessed, and whether it passed; the recorded status of criminality and security screening as separate lines, where ircc releases them; whether medicals were received, and their validity dates; which office or unit currently holds the file; officer remarks on anything unusual — a name match, a document request, an inconsistency; whether correspondence was sent to you that you never received. Your GCMS notes are a snapshot of what was recorded on your file at the time IRCC processed your request — not a live tracker. They will not give you a decision date. What they can show, subject to what IRCC withholds, is which stage your file reached, which checks are recorded as outstanding, and whether anything was asked of you that you never answered.
Does requesting my notes slow down or annoy IRCC?
No. A request for your own records is handled by IRCC's access to information and privacy (ATIP) unit, which is separate from the officers deciding your application. Requesting your own file is a legal right and it does not affect processing of the application itself.
Is it really free, and can I do it from outside Canada?
Yes to both. Under the Privacy Act there is no fee to request your own personal information, and since July 2022 any person anywhere in the world can file directly, in their own name, with no representative in Canada required.
Will the notes tell me when I will get a decision?
No, and anyone promising that is not telling you the truth. The notes will not contain a decision date. They can show which stage your file reached, which checks are recorded as outstanding, and whether IRCC asked you for something you never answered, which is often the real reason a file has stopped moving.
What should I do before assuming my file is stuck?
Check the current published processing time for your exact stream on IRCC's tool — Express Entry targets differ by category; Confirm your medicals are still valid; expired medicals stall a file silently; Check your junk/spam folder and your representative's inbox for an unanswered request; Verify the email and address on your profile are the ones you actually use.

See what your file says

Your Express Entry file has a written record. We can make a records request for you, and read the notes with you when they come back. You can also request it yourself, free, under the Privacy Act.
Have us request it for you Do it yourself or let us do it?

Nothing is ordered until you pay the link we send. We never add a government fee.