Regulation 10 — Application requirements — completeness
Text of provision
(1) Subject to paragraphs 28(b) to (d) and 139(1)(b), an application under these Regulations shall
(a) be made in writing using the form, if any, provided by the Department or, in the case of an application for a declaration of relief under subsection 42.1(1) of the Act, by the Canada Border Services Agency;
(b) be signed by the applicant;
(c) include all information and documents required by these Regulations, as well as any other evidence required by the Act;
(d) be accompanied by evidence of payment of the applicable fee, if any, set out in these Regulations; and
(e) if there is an accompanying spouse or common-law partner, identify who is the principal applicant and who is the accompanying spouse or common-law partner.
(2) The application shall, unless otherwise provided by these Regulations,
(a) contain the name, birth date, address, nationality and immigration status of the applicant and of all family members of the applicant, whether accompanying or not, and a statement whether the applicant or any of the family members is the spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner of another person;
(b) indicate whether they are applying for a visa, permit or authorization;
(c) indicate the class prescribed by these Regulations for which the application is made;
(c.1) if the applicant is represented in connection with the application, include the name, postal address and telephone number, and fax number and electronic mail address, if any, of any person or entity — or a person acting on its behalf — representing the applicant;
(c.2) if the applicant is represented, for consideration in connection with the application, by a person referred to in any of paragraphs 91(2)(a) to (c) of the Act, include the name of the body of which the person is a member and their membership identification number;
(c.3) if the applicant has been advised, for consideration in connection with the application, by a person referred to in any of paragraphs 91(2)(a) to (c) of the Act, include the information referred to in paragraphs (c.1) and (c.2) with respect to that person;
(c.4) if the applicant has been advised, for consideration in connection with the application, by an entity — or a person acting on its behalf — referred to in subsection 91(4) of the Act, include the information referred to in paragraph (c.1) with respect to that entity or person; and
(d) include a declaration that the information provided is complete and accurate.
(2.1) An application to sponsor and the accompanying application for permanent residence for a person described in paragraph 117(1)(b) involving an international adoption or another person referred to in paragraph 117(1)(g) can be submitted without the information referred to in paragraph 10(2)(a) concerning that person but that information must be provided before the application is approved.
(2.2) For greater certainty, neither the information referred to in subparagraphs 12.3(b)(i) and (ii) nor the fee referred to in section 315.1 form part of the application.
(3) The application is considered to be an application made for the principal applicant and their accompanying family members.
(4) An application made by a foreign national as a member of the family class must be accompanied by a sponsorship application referred to in paragraph 130(1)(c).
(5) No sponsorship application may be filed by a sponsor in respect of a person if the sponsor has filed another sponsorship application in respect of that same person and a final decision has not been made in respect of that other application.
(6) A sponsorship application that is not made in accordance with subsection (1) is considered not to be an application filed in the prescribed manner for the purposes of subsection 63(1) of the Act.
Plain English
Regulation 10 sets out what constitutes a complete application under IRPA. An application must: (a) be made on the prescribed form; (b) be accompanied by all required documents; (c) be accompanied by the applicable fee; (d) include biometrics if required; and (e) include photographs of the required type and format.
An application that does not meet the completeness requirements is returned without being processed — it is not considered submitted.
Practical effect
The completeness check is the first filter applied by IRCC. Applications that fail the completeness check are returned to the applicant with a notice identifying the missing element. The applicant must refile. For time-sensitive applications, a return for incompleteness can cause significant delays or loss of status. Common completeness failures include: missing IMM forms, unsigned forms, missing photos, missing fee payment, and missing biometrics enrollment. Since 2019 most applications are submitted online, reducing paper completeness issues but introducing new electronic filing requirements.