If you have applied for permanent residence based on spousal sponsorship, you may wish to know how to check on the progress of the file . Normally, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sends out an acknowledgement letter or sponsorship approval letter within 90 days of an application being submitted, however, this has been occurring more infrequently. Before this letter or email is received, IRCC will not be able to give you any information over the telephone because you will not have received your immigration identification number, which is needed in order for IRCC to look up your file in the Global Case Management System (GCMS).
If you are the sponsor or principal applicant, you can check the status of your application whether you have, or have not, received an acknowledgement letter or sponsorship approval letter. You can do so by going to the Client Application Status (CAS) service
To use this service, you will need to enter personal information, such as:
· the serial number indicated on the receipt obtained when you paid your application fees on-line via the IRCC website (the serial number begins with the letter “R”).
· the UCI identification number which will be indicated on the acknowledgment letter or sponsorship approval letter.
· your surname(s) as they appear on your application or passport.
· your date of birth and
· your country of birth.
In the event you do wish to speak to a person who can access your file, there is a toll-free number that can be used if you are calling from within Canada. The number is 1-888-242-2100 and identifying information, such as the above, will again be required.
When there are additional documents that must be submitted to IRCC, or if there are specific problems with your file that you wish to address, the best method for contacting IRCC is to use the Case Specific Enquiry method. The site for that service is found at the following link: https://secure.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/canada-case-cas-eng.aspx?_ga=1.67306641.1269267832.1437691224