Travel history, immigration history and credibility
The new application conflicts with information IRCC already holds
This touches how believable the file looks overall. Address it directly rather than hoping it is overlooked.
What this means
Employment, marital status, family members, travel history, income or other material facts differ from a previous Canadian application without explanation.
Why it matters to the officer
Immigration applications are not isolated files. Unexplained contradictions can reduce credibility and may raise misrepresentation concerns, depending on materiality; an innocent intention is not always a defence under the legal test.
What the officer compares
Prior forms and supporting documents, GCMS/decision notes, current declarations and chronology.
How to strengthen a new application
Review the previous file before reapplying. Where facts legitimately changed, state when and why. Correct previous errors transparently instead of silently replacing them.
Common mistakes
Changing a job start date to make employment look longer; omitting a previous common-law relationship; different travel history in different forms.
- Changing a job start date to make employment look longer
- omitting a previous common-law relationship
- different travel history in different forms
Illustrative exampleA genuine salary increase is easy to explain; a completely different employer history with no explanation is harder.
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?
