Government-LicensedLicence849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024Valid till 22/07/2029
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Reason 5 of 50 · Purpose, itinerary and trip credibility

Travel dates conflict across forms and supporting documents

Classified asCredibility / internal-consistency issue

YOUR FILEVISA OFFICERassesses5
Evidence weakness — fixableThis is not a statutory bar. It affects whether the officer is satisfied, and better evidence can change that.

What this actually means

Different dates appear in the application form, cover letter, leave letter, invitation, flight reservation or hotel bookings.

Why it matters to the officer

Officers assess the application as a whole. Contradictory dates can make the purpose, duration and truthfulness of the plan less reliable even if each document is individually genuine.

IRPR 179 — WHAT THE OFFICER MUST BE SATISFIED OFYou applied in the correct wayYou will LEAVE by the end of your stayYou hold a valid travel documentYou are not inadmissibleMost visitor refusals turn on the second line — s. 179(b).

What the officer compares

Start/end dates, length of stay, leave period, event dates, accommodation dates and sponsor commitments.

THE OFFICER CROSS-CHECKSStart/end dateslength of stayleave periodevent datesaccommodation datessponsor commitments

Weak file vs strong file

The same situation, presented two ways. The right-hand column is what a reapplication needs to look like.

WHAT WEAKENS ITWHAT STRENGTHENS ITEditing only the cover letterafter travel dates changeCreate a pre-submission chronologyand reconcile every date. If ausing old hotel confirmationsmismatching the employer leaveperiod

How to strengthen a reapplication

Create a pre-submission chronology and reconcile every date. If a booking changed after a letter was issued, explain the update rather than leaving conflicting versions unexplained.

Common mistakes

Editing only the cover letter after travel dates change; using old hotel confirmations; mismatching the employer leave period.

Illustrative example

Form says 1-15 October, employer approves 1-10 October, and hotel runs 5-22 October. The officer cannot tell which plan is real.

Before you reapply

THE ONLY SEQUENCE THAT WORKS1Read the notesFind the real reason2Fix that one thi…Not everything at on…3Prove it with do…Evidence, not claims4Then reapplyAnswering the object…

You cannot fix a reason you have not read. Your GCMS notes contain the officer's own words about your file, and requesting them is free we publish every step.

Scope note. IRCC 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). Source references for this entry: [S4], [S10]. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Questions people ask about this refusal

Different dates appear in the application form, cover letter, leave letter, invitation, flight reservation or hotel bookings.

Officers assess the application as a whole. Contradictory dates can make the purpose, duration and truthfulness of the plan less reliable even if each document is individually genuine.

Start/end dates, length of stay, leave period, event dates, accommodation dates and sponsor commitments.

Create a pre-submission chronology and reconcile every date. If a booking changed after a letter was issued, explain the update rather than leaving conflicting versions unexplained.

Editing only the cover letter after travel dates change; using old hotel confirmations; mismatching the employer leave period.

No. IRCC states that refiling the same information will likely not change the decision. A reapplication has to answer the specific concern the officer recorded — which is why you should read your GCMS notes first and find out exactly what that concern was.

Not sure this is why you were refused?

Most refusals cite more than one concern, and only one of them is usually decisive. Your GCMS notes say which. Get them free, or send them to us and we will tell you exactly what to fix.

More in “Purpose, itinerary and trip credibility

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