Your IRCC immigration file, obtained through Canada’s official Access to Information and Privacy process.
GCMS notes are the records Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) holds on a Canadian visa, study permit, work permit or permanent residence application. They are obtained from IRCC through an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request. FACTS assists with preparing and submitting that request and following it up until IRCC responds.
GCMS (Global Case Management System) notes are the internal records IRCC keeps on your Canadian immigration or visa file. Obtained through an ATIP request, they reveal the officer’s notes, your file’s current stage, any documents flagged as missing, and the reasoning behind a delay or refusal — information that is not visible in your online account.
FACTS Transcripts & Verification Inc. assists with the administrative side of an ATIP request: establishing which Act applies, preparing IRCC’s forms, submitting through official channels, and following the request up. FACTS is not IRCC and is not a Canadian government body. It is not a licensed Canadian immigration consultant, a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, or a lawyer, and it does not provide Canadian immigration advice or representation. The response, its timing and its contents are decided by IRCC.
Official sources: IRCC — requests under the Privacy Act · IRCC — requests under the Access to Information Act · IRCC — consent form IMM 5744 · ATIP Online Request portal
How an ATIP request to IRCC generally proceeds. Timing and outcome are decided by IRCC.
Establish which Act applies — the Privacy Act for your own immigration file, the Access to Information Act for records that are not your own personal information.
Prepare the request with enough detail for IRCC to identify the file, together with consent form IMM 5744 for each person aged 16 or over whose information is on it.
Submit through IRCC’s official ATIP channels — the ATIP Online Request portal, or by post to the ATIP Division in Ottawa.
IRCC responds. The statutory period is 30 calendar days and can be extended; in practice IRCC often takes longer. We follow the request up until it is answered.
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GCMS (Global Case Management System) notes are the internal records maintained by IRCC on every Canadian visa or PR application. They reveal officer remarks, document checks, and reasons for refusal or delay.
If your Canadian visa, study permit, work permit, or PR is delayed or refused, GCMS notes help you understand the exact reason and fix it before reapplying or filing a reconsideration request.
For your own immigration file this is a request under the Privacy Act, and since 13 July 2022 the right of access under that Act has been extended to all individuals outside Canada. If you are in India asking for your own IRCC records, you can file the request yourself, and you do not need a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to do it for you. The restriction that requires a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person or corporation currently in Canada applies to the separate Access to Information Act, which covers records that are not your own personal information. Where a request is made on another person’s behalf, IRCC requires signed consent form IMM 5744 for each individual aged 16 or over whose information is on the file.
Both Acts require IRCC to respond within 30 calendar days of receiving the request. That period can be extended, and IRCC must tell you within the first 30 days if it is extending it and by how long. Actual times are frequently longer: the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada reported that, for requests closed in 2023–2024, IRCC took an average of 90 days to respond. We cannot commit to a delivery date, because the response time is IRCC’s and not ours.
IRCC’s own published description of the Global Case Management System lists the personal information it holds as including client identification such as name, gender, date of birth and country of birth, address information and history, educational information, criminality, and medical and travel history. What is actually released varies from file to file, and IRCC may withhold or redact material under the exemptions in the governing Act. We cannot tell you in advance exactly what your file will contain.
GCMS notes by themselves do not reverse a refusal, but they reveal the exact weakness in your file. With this information you can address the issue and reapply or request reconsideration with strong supporting evidence.
There are two different official fees and which one applies depends on the Act. A request under the Privacy Act — which is what a request for your own immigration file is — carries no government fee at all. A request under the Access to Information Act carries a $5 CAD application fee, set by the Access to Information Regulations. Anything FACTS charges is a separate service fee for preparing, submitting and following up the request, and is quoted to you before any work begins.
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