Lost your application number? How to get your GCMS notes without it

WhatsApp or call +91 91155 80911, Mon–Sat, 10am–7pm IST.

What are GCMS notes?

IRCC is Canada's immigration department. GCMS notes are the notes its officers keep on your application. Many people still call them CAIPS notes.

You can ask IRCC for these notes, even without your application number.

Where can I find my application number?

Look for it first. IRCC says it is in these places:

• At the top corner of letters IRCC sent you.
• On the acknowledgement of receipt. IRCC sends this letter after you apply.
• In your IRCC online account, if you applied online. Look under “View the applications you submitted” or “Account messages”.

An application number usually has 1 letter and 9 numbers. IRCC gives this example for a work permit: W993830598.

What if an agent applied for me?

Then the letters may be with your agent. IRCC says it sends the refusal letter “to you or your authorized representative”.

Ask your agent for a copy of the refusal letter. The number is at the top of IRCC's letters.

If they cannot help, you can still ask IRCC without the number.

Is the UCI the same as the application number?

No. UCI means unique client identifier. IRCC also calls it your client ID.

It has 8 or 10 digits. It looks like 0000-0000 or 00-0000-0000.

You keep one UCI for all your applications. Each application gets its own application number.

IRCC says the UCI is on letters it sent you. It is also on immigration documents, such as a study or work permit.

Have your UCI? Give it. IRCC's request form has a box for it.

What details help IRCC find my file?

Give as much of this as you can:

• Your full name, spelled as in your passport. Add any other spelling you have used.
• Your date of birth.
• Your passport number. If you applied on an old passport, give that number too.
• What you applied for, such as a visitor visa, study permit or work permit.
• Roughly when you applied, such as the month and year.
• Where you applied from, such as India.
• Your UCI, or any older IRCC number, if you have one.

IRCC's form for requests by mail is called IMM 5563. It asks for your name, date of birth and UCI. It asks for file numbers “as applicable”.

It also asks you to “provide relevant details that may assist IRCC staff in finding it.”

What does the law say?

Canada's Privacy Act gives you the right to see your own records. The Act never mentions an application number.

Section 12(1) of the Act gives you access to two kinds of records:

• Part (a):your information in IRCC's “personal information banks”. A bank is a set of records a department keeps on people.
• Part (b): any other information about you, if you can describe it well enough for IRCC to find it.

The exact words give a right of access to:

“(a) any personal information about the individual contained in a personal information bank; and

(b) any other personal information about the individual under the control of a government institution with respect to which the individual is able to provide sufficiently specific information on the location of the information as to render it reasonably retrievable by the government institution.”

Neither part mentions an application number. Section 13 says how to ask. It does not mention one either.

Who can ask?Anyone, anywhere. Since 13 July 2022, this right covers everyone outside Canada too. IRCC's own page says:

“Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and foreign nationals, regardless of where they are located, can request access to their personal information held by federal government institutions under the Privacy Act.”

“There are no fees involved with the processing of a request under this Act.”

Can I ask IRCC myself, for free?

Yes. You do not need an agent. It costs nothing.

Ask online, or send IRCC's form by mail. In the request, describe your application. Use the list above.

IRCC asks for a consent form (IMM 5744) when you ask on behalf of someone else.

• IRCC's page on how to ask (opens in a new tab)
• Do it yourself or let us do it?

Can you do it for me?

Yes. We have two services for a lost application number. Prices include GST.Prices shown are the total we charge.

Good to know

• We write the records request for you, and file it.
• IRCC has to match your details to a file. If it holds no file for you, you get a full refund.
• IRCC may withhold some lines, and the release shows which section of the law it relied on. If you think something was withheld wrongly, you can complain to the commissioner named in IRCC's reply.
• Pay 50% when you order and 50% after you have seen the filing confirmation. Prices include GST, and we never add a government fee.Pay 50% when you order and 50% after you have seen the filing confirmation. The price shown is the total we charge, and we never add a government fee.

What we need from you

• A photo of your passport's photo page.
• The details in the list above.
• IRCC's consent form (IMM 5744). We fill it in. You sign it by hand, in blue ink. How to sign the consent form

Send photos or PDFs in the WhatsApp chat after you order. No originals, no courier, no office visit.

Found your application number?Then you do not need these services. CAIPS Notes costs ₹799C$49US$29. With the application file, it is ₹1,799C$79US$49. Have only your UCI? Ask us on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab) which service fits.

What if IRCC finds no file?

Then you get a full refund from us.

IRCC's reply can say that no records exist.

If you asked IRCC yourself, you paid nothing.

How long does it take?

Our part: we have no set filing hour for these two services. Finding your file can need extra steps first.

IRCC's part: The law gives IRCC 30 days from receiving a request to reply, and lets it extend that by sending a notice. Nobody can make IRCC reply faster, including us.

100% refund if your notes are not delivered within 75 days of filing.

Still not sure? Ask us

Tell us what you have. We tell you which service fits, or if you need none.

Mon–Sat, 10am–7pm IST. WhatsApp opens with a short message and nothing about you. Nothing is ordered until you pay the link we send.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We are not Canadian immigration consultants or lawyers. Pro Lifeset Overseas Pvt. Ltd. holds a Punjab (India) licence, number 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024. It is not a Canadian licence.