Sample
What does a GCMS notes sample look like?
Four pages of a made-up release, marked up so you can see where the refusal reason, the decision date and the withheld lines sit. Every real file is different.
Short answer
A GCMS notes release is a printout from IRCC's case system. It can show an application summary, a dated case history, the officer's notes with the refusal reasons, eligibility and admissibility results, correspondence, and lines IRCC withheld. The four pages below are a made-up sample, not a real file, and every real release differs.
The sample, page by page
Illustration, not a real file. Every name, number, date and office on these pages is invented, and the identifiers fail the real formats on purpose. Layout, length and content vary from file to file, and IRCC may withhold parts.
Page 1Application summary and case history
- Marker 1: The application summary: the file's identifiers (here deliberately fake ones), the category, the office and the decision recorded on it.
- Marker 2: The case history: a dated log of steps on the file, from the day it was received to the letter going out.
- Marker 3: This dated row is when the decision was made. On a real file, look for the equivalent dated entry; layouts differ.
Page 2Officer's notes (the refusal reasons)
- Marker 1: The officer's notes: dated entries, each attributed to the officer or system that wrote it.
- Marker 2: This is where the refusal reason is. The officer sets out what was weighed: ties at home, funds, employment, travel history and the purpose of the visit. See what are CAIPS/GCMS notes.
- Marker 3: This line shows the officer's R179(b) finding: not satisfied the applicant would leave Canada at the end of the stay. What R179(b) means.
Page 3Eligibility and admissibility assessment
- Marker 1: The eligibility assessment: each factor the officer reviewed and the result recorded against it.
- Marker 2: The R179(b) row: the same finding as in the notes, recorded as a result.
- Marker 3: The admissibility assessment: security, criminality and medical, each marked passed, not required or with a result recorded.
Page 4Correspondence log and withheld lines
- Marker 1: The correspondence log: the letters IRCC sent and received on the file, with dates.
- Marker 2: Notes continued from page 2: later system entries and remarks.
- Marker 3: These black blocks are lines IRCC withheld. IRCC must name the section of the law it relied on for anything it withholds (Privacy Act s.16(1); Access to Information Act s.10(1)); the “s.XX” here is a placeholder.
4 pages, watermarked “SAMPLE — fictional data” on every page.
Also worth knowing
Why no real sample?
This page used to show two releases from real files, with personal details blacked out. We have taken them down while we confirm consent and review the redaction.
Until that is done, the sample here is made up from start to finish. Nothing on this page comes from a real person's file. If you want to know what IRCC does with a request and how long it takes, see how to apply.
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