The following lists some of the refusal reasons that Express Entry candidates already got in the past. We advise you greatly to make sure that you do not make the same mistakes.

  • Passport Scan Missing/incomplete. You need to upload the biographical page and any pages with stamps, markings, entry/exit stamps or visas. Check here for the supporting documents you need.
 
  • Work experience description & duties do not match those of the NOC code. The title can be different than the NOC code one(s) but the description & duties of the NOC code must be reflected in the Employment Reference Letter. Find out more about how to find your NOC and download an Employment Reference Letter sample here.
 
  • Not uploading Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). The ECA, as well as copies of your degree(s) and/or academic transcripts, have to be uploaded, even if Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does not ask for them on the upload page.
 
  • Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) missing. All Express Entry applicants will need to upload at least one police certificate, in case they never left their home country for more than 6 months since the age of 18. Check the police certificate section here to understand what you need. You need to provide police certificates for all your family members, spouse and children of 18 years or older.
 
  • PCC not scanned in colour. This is specifically asked, the PCC must be scanned in colour. Even if the PCC is in black and white, you should scan it in colour. You should always scan documents in colour.
 
  • PCC issued before leaving the country. You have to apply for your PCC only after leaving that country, even if it’s only one day before your departure (even though it is the date of issuance that matters, you should not request it before leaving, even if it’s the day before you leave). And do not return to the country between the date you were issued the PCC and the date of submission of your application with your documents.
 
  • Failure to upload the correct Police Clearance Certificate (PCC). For each country, IRCC has its own specifications to the right PCC. Some countries deliver different types of PCC, and sometimes IRCC needs two types of PCCs. You must always read the instructions really carefully before submitting your application. You can find your country’s PCC here. Below are some examples of countries with recurrent problems:
    • If you lived in the UK and received a “caution”. If the PCC states “no live traces”, this implies that ACRO have a file with more details that do not show on the PCC. This situation needs additional disclosure by contacting ACRO directly to resolve the issue. “No traces” is what you want to see on your PCC.
    • If you lived in Australia, you are required to upload (i) the Traffic History if you were resident of Queensland and/or (ii) the Full Licence History Search if you were a resident of Victoria. Do not forget to take at look at the special notes and considerations at the bottom the country’s PCC page. 
    • If you lived in New Zealand, you have to upload a Consent to Disclosure of Information Form instead of the PCC. You can find it here. IRCC will take care of requesting it from New Zealand authorities.
    • You did not upload the Brazilian Federal State PCC. State police PCC are not accepted.
 
 
  • Submitting expired or soon-to-be expired LMIA (Labor Market Impact Assessment).   
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  • Not having a few words explicitly written (Permanent, Full time, Non-seasonal) on job offers. Ask your employer to explicitly state these words if they can.
 
  • Submitting internet copies of bank statements that are not printed with the letterhead of the bank. You should check our settlement funds page here for more information on the right documents to submit.
 
  • Not uploading the French or French translation. Documents not in French or English have to be translated by a certified translator and sometimes IRCC may request an affidavit of the translator. It is better to ask the translator to do the Affidavit. To be on the safe side, there are tons of Canadian translation companies that are specialized in Canadian immigration (Docsbase for example, one of the cheapest).
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  • Uploading only the translation and not the foreign-language document. Uploading the translation alone does not mean you do not have to upload the foreign-language document.
 
  • The case of distance-learning degrees. An immigration officer might refuse you the additional 15 or 30 points for a Canadian education credential if he/she deems that less than 50% of the education was via distance learning. This can cause to make your CRS score below the CRS cut-off of your draw.