Canadian immigration refusal letters will now come with officers’ notes

Overdue and hopefully will reduce need for time consuming ATIP requests. But to be seen in terms of how informative these notes will be and the degree they satisfy applicants (IRCC also has the largest number of court proceedings):

The Immigration Department has started to include officers’ notes in refusal letters to failed immigration applicants, who have long complained of insufficient information about the reasons they’re refused.

The change is a response to the soaring immigration applications and refusals, which have led to a significant growth in the number of access-to-information requests over the years, clogging up the Access to Information and Privacy system, as it was the only way applicants and counsel could obtain their case notes. 

“As part of our ongoing efforts to improve our services, on July 29, 2025, we started proactively providing officer decision notes along with refusal letters for certain applications,” the department says on its website.

“These notes come from the officer who made the final decision on the application. This change makes it easier for clients to get their personal information on their application. This supports our commitment to delivering our services with greater transparency.”

The change will cover applications for extensions for temporary resident visas (excluding electronic travel authorizations and temporary resident permits), visitor records, study permits and work permits.

The department said that over time, more application types will be added to the list. However, as of now, those who applied using the new version of the department’s online portal won’t benefit from the move. 

“We may decide to exclude certain portions of the notes on a case-by-case basis due to security, privacy or other concerns,” said the department notice.

According to an Information Commissioner of Canada report to the Parliament last year, 78 per cent of federal access-to-information requests were directed to the Immigration Department in 2022-2023, with eight per cent going to the Canada Border Services Agency. The rest were for all other federal government institutions.  

Source: Canadian immigration refusal letters will now come with officers’ notes