Forms, documents and procedural compliance
Passport or travel-document problems
Not a statutory bar. It affects whether the officer is satisfied, and better evidence can change that.
What this means
The passport/travel document is expired, has insufficient validity, is not acceptable for the purpose, or the submitted copy does not include the required identity and visa/stamp pages.
Why it matters to the officer
IRPR 179 requires an acceptable passport or other document that can be used to enter the issuing country or another country. IRCC currently recommends a passport/travel document valid for at least six months from the planned travel date for visitor-visa applications.
What the officer compares
Validity, identity page, damaged pages, name consistency, prior visas/stamps and whether the document is accepted by Canada.
How to strengthen a new application
Renew before applying where appropriate; provide clear colour copies of the required pages; explain legal name differences with supporting documents.
- Renew before applying where appropriate
- provide clear colour copies of the required pages
- explain legal name differences with supporting documents
Common mistakes
Applying with a passport about to expire while expecting a long-validity visa; cropped identity page; omitting old passport with relevant travel history.
- Applying with a passport about to expire while expecting a long-validity visa
- cropped identity page
- omitting old passport with relevant travel history
Illustrative exampleEven if the visa could technically be issued, passport validity may limit the usefulness/validity of the visa and should be planned carefully.
Before you apply again
IRCC now sends the officer’s decision note with most temporary-resident refusals since 29 July 2025, so check what came with your refusal first. The decision note or GCMS notes guide explains the difference, and the decoder explains the codes in them.
Scope noteIRCC does not publish an official ranked list of refusal reasons. This is a research-based classification of the legal grounds and evidence weaknesses that recur in real refusals. A weak itinerary or a new job is not itself a statutory ground — it affects whether the officer is satisfied under IRPR 179(b). This page is general information, not legal advice.
Where this comes from
Drawn from the Government of Canada’s published law and guidance. Check us against these pages:
Questions about this refusal
Not sure this is why you were refused?
Check first whether IRCC sent you the officer’s decision note with the refusal. For the fuller record, we can request your GCMS notes for you, or you can request them yourself, free, subject to what IRCC withholds.
Have us request them for youDo it yourself or let us do it?
