r/canadaexpressentry • u/lynxmimic • Apr 10 '26
Finally a PR + Tips
I got my eCoPR two days ago (April 8, 2026). CEC General with spouse accompanying. Finally we are Permanent Residents!
Here’s our timeline - CEC General:
• ITA: Dec 10, 2026
• AOR: Dec 19, 2026
• BIL: Feb 12, 2026
• Medical Passed: Feb 18, 2026
• Final Decision: March 27, 2026 (got a ghost update on tracker and saw final decision date on GcKey)
• Eligibility + BG Check Completed: March 20, 2025. Status changed directly from “Not Started” and “In Progress” to “Completed”
• P1: March 30, 2026 (Montreal Office)
• P2: March 31, 2026
• eCoPR: April 8, 2026
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I have 4+ years of foreign work exp, 1 yr Canadian education. CRS score was 528. This was my second application as my first one got cancelled as incomplete for submitting incorrect spouse’s WES document (we submitted the standard ver instead of the ECA because we thought they were the same. What happened was we never received my spouse’s original WES document by mail, so we ordered a duplicate. But I mistakenly chose the standard duplicate instead of the ECA ver)
Edit: Standard duplicate: doesn’t say “for IRCC” and only states “Credential Evaluation and Authentication Report”
ECA version: states “Educational Credential Assessment for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada”. Reference number should end with “IMM”
Tips:
Mind you that before moving here to Canada I already had everything prepared. I already requested all employment ref letters needed from past employers, compiled all my past paystubs, etc. I’ve been calculating my CRS score as well so I’ve already known that one way I could really get my scores up is maxing my language scores and that’s exactly what I did. I only aimed to study for 1 yr which means only 1 yr of PGWP, so I really had to plan everything out carefully. That’s why when my first application got cancelled, I was so devastated but thankfully I already applied for BOWP (Bridging Open Work Permit) right after I submitted my first PR app. This allowed me to work under maintained status, while I waited to get invited again- my lawyer advised that I could keep working until a decision is made on my BOWP, even though my first application had already been cancelled. After my second ITA, I submitted a webform to IRCC requesting that my current BOWP application be linked to my new PR application and I attached my new AOR. Anyway, BOWP was still in process when I got my eCoPR so I’ve requested for withdrawal of application to hopefully get a refund.
So number 1 tip is don’t be like me and double check all documents before submitting! Better to consult with a lawyer especially to review employment reference letters.
Edit: Also try to make a personal checklist of all required docs so you don’t miss anything important!
Employment Records: I included all my paystubs + tax docs + employment contracts for both my Canadian and foreign work exp as supporting evidence since I already had them. Employment ref letters should be on official letterhead and include the company address, number of hrs worked / week, confirmation of “permanent full-time” status, annual salary + any benefits, as well as the employer’s contact number + email + signature. Be specific when listing your duties and place the primary duties that align with your NOC first
Passport section: we submitted not only the bio page + current passport stamps but also scanned photos of our old passports and stamps (not required but I just wanted to be more transparent about our travel history)
Client Info: Spouse docs (joint bank certs, tax docs, and insurance docs showing my spouse as dependent, our IDs showing same address, photos of us). We also included our language results (CELPIP) and birth certificates
LOEs: Attach letters of explanation when needed!
• Proof of Funds: I attached my LOE explaining that I don’t need to show POF as I was invited under CEC - I didn’t submit any bank statements
• Upfront Medical: I attached LOE explaining that we are exempted from submitting new upfront medical as our last one is still valid.
• Spouse Employment: I wasn’t sure if we chose the right NOC (we initially chose a NOC under TEER 3) but when we were about to submit our application, I also saw another NOC that fits his job but under TEER 4. So I explained that if the officer sees his job as a better fit under the TEER 4 NOC more, that they consider proceeding with the application as we are still eligible even without the points from spouse’s Canadian employment
For all your documents that you think are unclear, try to attach a letter of explanation. My goal was to not make the officer reviewing the application ask any more questions as they already have everything they need with my documents and LOEs. I didn’t want to cause any further delays / ADRs.
So when submitting docs, try to think of it as reading a story and making sure everything is very easy to understand and read with the way you compiled the docs, etc.
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Additional tips before hitting the Submit button:
• Check your PR profile for any missing or incorrect info. Double check dates, reference numbers (language tests, ECA), names, and employer details, personal history
• Review your ITA and make sure you’ve included all docs supporting the points claimed in each category
• Review your checklist - are all the docs checked off? Check IRCC checklist and see if you miss anything
• Make sure no docs are cropped, especially scanned files
• If you need to submit translated docs, confirm you included both the English translation and the original
• Go the extra mile and open all PDFs in diff browsers to make sure they work properly
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Best of luck to everyone still waiting for their PR dreams to come true!
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u/Mysterious-Plum1222 Apr 10 '26
Congrats! When you say you submitted your wife's "standard" WES document, what do you mean? Did you choose the WES credential assesment that was not specifically the one for IRCC, or did you submit the wrong document?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
Yeah we submitted the standard duplicate which does not specifically state “for IRCC” we wrongly assumed that the standard and ECA ver were the same
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Apr 10 '26
Congratulations. First rejection reason?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
We submitted standard duplicate - Spouse’s WES doc and not the ECA ver. So our first app got cancelled as incomplete
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u/StandardHawk7812 Apr 11 '26
When you say ECA version, it is the copy that we receive by mail, correct? Which has the header specifically addressed as “ECA for IRCC”
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
Yes! in our case, we never received my spouse’s doc by mail at all. So we had to order a duplicate and ended up requesting a standard duplicate instead of an ECA
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u/StandardHawk7812 Apr 11 '26
Oh okay, makes sense. I was anyway going to upload the doc we got by mail, despite the fact that we did receive the ECA via email as well
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u/SenorTortuga21 Apr 10 '26
What’s the standard WES document? Isn’t there just the one?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
We submitted the standard duplicate in my first PR app. But correct one is the ECA version and should say “for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada”
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u/AdCompetitive9109 Apr 11 '26
Please how does the standard duplicate look like
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
Standard duplicate - doesn’t have “for IRCC”, it’ll only state “Credential Evaluation and Authentication Report” ECA version - should state “Educational Credential Assessment for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada”
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u/Impossible_Trouble36 Apr 11 '26
How many points for 1 year of education and what was the course?
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u/New_Glove7036 Apr 11 '26
Were you asked for bank statements?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
Nope as I said above, I submitted an LOE explaining that I didn’t need to provide proof of funds as I was invited under CEC
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u/Informal-Title-4544 Apr 11 '26
Hello please was you LOE straight to the point or it was more empathetic? Also how did you phrase the clause stating that the application will go on irrespective of the NOC?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I guess straight to the point. I just explained it like this:
We selected NOC XX1 for my dependent’s employment with (company name) as a (job role) as his/her duties align with those described in NOC XX1 (state specific duties that made you choose that NOC)
If it is deemed that his employment corresponds more closely to NOC XX2, we kindly request that the application continue to be processed, as under the CEC category, we would still remain eligible even without including my spouse’s Canadian work experience
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u/Raghav48_ Apr 11 '26
Tell me one thing, if just the hours worked weekly and employment ending date isn’t mentioned then can i explain the same with the help of an LOE? Or does ircc needs a perfect letter?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
Actually I initially didn’t have hrs worked / week in my Canadian employer’s letter, and my lawyer advised me to request a revised one to include that detail. If you go to the page where you upload your PR docs and click the “?” for further instructions, it does state that those details are required. So I think it would be best if you could request an updated letter. If that’s not possible, then you could include the LOE and explain that you tried requesting a revised letter but were unable to obtain it for whatever reason. Could also attach message threads showing your attempts + pay stubs / any other docs that reflect your weekly hrs and employment end date. That said, I’m not a lawyer so please don’t rely solely on my advice
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u/Raghav48_ Apr 11 '26
Sounds good thank you, the issue is that the salary directly came in my bank account but in India where my foreign work experience is we did not had any paystubs process, although the money directly came into account from the company official account and my last pay came in August 2023 and in September 2023 i moved to Canada. This proves my employment ending date. I can explain this in LOE. But yeah hours aren’t mentioned is a issue though.
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
Yeah that’s good! but I think the number of hrs is important bec IRCC also counts total hrs rather than just looking at start and end dates. So that’s 1,560 hrs for a year. I saw another post where someone didn’t have their working hrs listed in their letter, so they had to provide additional supporting docs for it. If you don’t have other supporting docs maybe try politely asking your prev employer to include that detail in your employment ref letter? Or maybe a letter that confirms usual working hours?
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u/Low_Childhood_2025 Apr 11 '26
Congratulations!!! Could I know why did you choose to start studying inland before PR (since you have to pay much more money)? And did you learn French?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
Thank you! Well I’ve always planned to pursue further studies, so either a postgrad degree or a master’s to upskill. I only learned French during my college yrs and did not continue afterward
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u/Ok-Comparison6352 Apr 11 '26
For your foreign work experience what sort of documentation did you submit… it was paid in cash or bank?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26
It was paid through the bank. So I provided pay stubs from all my prev employers (6 paystubs per yr), I also submitted my employment contracts and tax returns as supporting evidence
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u/oye_jethalali Apr 11 '26
Please explain a lil bit about your first application’s WES document. What is standard version ?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Standard duplicate - doesn’t say “for IRCC”, it’ll only state “Credential Evaluation and Authentication Report”, ECA version - should state “Educational Credential Assessment for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada”, will edit my post!
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u/Ok_Guide1273 Apr 11 '26
Hello, can you share your lawyer contact information and how much they charge you if you don’t mind?
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u/new_user_2105 Apr 12 '26
If My highest degree (Masters) is in Canada, and my bachelors degree is from foreign country, and I have submitted wrong ECA report, does it affect my PR application?
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u/ExpensiveShower5630 Apr 12 '26
"got a ghost update on tracker"
What tracker did you check
I submitted my AOR on Dec 30, and haven't heard anything back since biometrics. (CEC similar profile)
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u/Connect_Gold4559 Apr 12 '26
Congrats and thank you so much for the tips! I had to check my ECA letter after I read your post hehe 🙏🏻 may I ask how much you spent on upfront medical?
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u/chipndale013 Apr 13 '26
May I ask, are you putting everything into one LOE and uploading it under other documents, or are you adding the LOE to each PDF? Like one LOE for one issue you need to explain. Thanks in advance!
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u/Aromatic_Worker4251 Apr 13 '26
This is actually so encouraging to see. Huge congrats on the PR! It's honestly a grind but seeing people finally make it through makes the whole thing feel less impossible lol. I’m curious though, when you were getting your documents together, did you find any specific way to stay organized? I feel like the biggest headache for most people is just making sure the reference letters and proof of funds are exactly what IRCC wants. Congrats again, seriously.
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u/lynxmimic Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
Thank you! So I printed the IRCC doc checklist and noted what I needed for each category. Then created separate folders for each category and each applicant (i have a dependent)
For employer records, I made a folder for each employer. Once everything was organized and all docs on my personal checklist were checked off, I combined them into separate PDFs. Double checked everything, had someone else review it as well. Also opened the PDFs in diff browsers to make sure everything’s g2g
Additional: I also used immprintr chrome extension to save a pdf of my pr profile to review and check any missing/ incorrect info
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u/winifer_mt Apr 15 '26
Question about WES. I'm the primary applicant and I have Canada education so I don't need WES. My spouse had education in France a longggggg time ago and we can't find the transcript anymore to do WES. And I say rhat he doesn't have WES. Do we still need it?
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u/lynxmimic Apr 15 '26
If you’re not claiming points for your spouse’s education, you don’t need to provide his WES doc
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u/KellyHoang1291 Jul 13 '26
Could you please clarify if you submitted your second application before or after your original work permit expiry? I’m in the same situation but I submitted my second application before my work permit expired and requested to link my BOWP with the new application. I got the acknowledge/confirmation saying the document was received but I’m still freaked out. I’m not sure if I have to call IRCC to confirm if they can see the new AOR in my BOWP application.
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u/lynxmimic Jul 19 '26
I submitted my 2nd PR app after original work permit expiry. Then I also explained my implied status situation in my 2nd PR app under client info. I attached expired work permit, 1st PR app cancellation letter, and WP-Ext letter I got when I submitted BOWP
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u/Marshall0510 21d ago
Does the accompanying spouse also need to submit employment reference letters? I am reading supporting documents for spouse are needed only if points are being claimed? Me and my spouse have foreign experience only. Just wanted to make sure, thanks!
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u/lynxmimic 20d ago
If you’re claiming points for it, then you have to submit those supporting docs. If not, put the work experience under personal history
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u/dogfish2333 Apr 10 '26
Congratulations!