September 11, 2026
Receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) is a significant step toward Canadian permanent residence through Express Entry. After receiving an ITA, you have 60 calendar days to submit a complete permanent residence application to IRCC. There is no extension and no appeal.
Key Takeaways:
- Deadline: 60 calendar days from the date IRCC issues your ITA. Weekends and public holidays count.
- First priority: Police certificates and panel physician appointments, as both depend on third parties.
- Document validity: Your language test and ECA must be valid on your submission date, not your ITA date.
- Medical requirement: Since 21 August 2025, results for you and every family member must be submitted with the application. A valid exam from the past five years may be reused.
- Missed deadline: The invitation expires and you return to the pool. An application submitted incomplete is returned without assessment and the fees refunded.
- Declining an ITA: Where your circumstances have changed, declining and correcting your profile is safer than submitting an application that no longer matches it.
Step 1: Review Your ITA and Application Deadline
After receiving an ITA, sign in to your IRCC secure account and review the invitation details, including the program you were invited under and the date the invitation expires.
Then review your Express Entry profile against your present circumstances. Marriage or divorce, the birth or adoption of a dependent child, a change in employment, a new job offer or updated language test results can all change your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, and in some cases your eligibility for the program itself.
If your score now falls below the cut-off for the round that invited you, declining the ITA is safer than submitting an application that no longer reflects your profile.
Step 2: Request Police Certificates and Book Your Medical Examination
Police certificates and medical examinations are issued by third parties, so both should be initiated immediately after your ITA is issued.
Police certificates
You need a police certificate from every country where you lived six consecutive months or more since the age of 18. This applies to every family member aged 18 and over.
For applicants in Pakistan this usually means more than one country. Many have worked in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar or Oman, and those certificates are frequently the slowest documents in the file. Some require an application through a former employer or a consulate, and several require attestation before submission.
Tip. Apply to every country on the same day. Waiting for one certificate to arrive before requesting the next is a common reason applicants run out of time.
Immigration medical examination
Since 21 August 2025, Express Entry applicants must complete an immigration medical examination before submitting rather than after. IRCC set this out in its program delivery update.
The requirement applies to every family member listed on the application, including those who will not accompany you. For a family of four that is four appointments with an IRCC panel physician, and the physician transmits the results directly to IRCC. Both the appointments and the results must fall inside your 60 days.
Where you completed an immigration medical examination within the past five years and it remains valid, you may be able to provide the unique medical identifier instead. IRCC will confirm whether the earlier results can be applied.
Step 3: Check the Validity of Your Documents
Your supporting documents must be valid on the date you submit your application for permanent residence, not the date you were invited.
Document | Validity period | Must be valid on |
Language test results | 2 years | Your submission date |
Educational Credential Assessment | 5 years | Your submission date |
Passport | Varies | Throughout processing and on landing |
Immigration medical examination | 12 months | Through to a decision on your application |
Tip. Check these on day one. A language test expiring inside the 60-day window cannot be replaced, as booking, sitting and receiving a new result takes longer than the time available.
Step 4: Gather the Documents in Your IRCC Checklist
After receiving an ITA, complete the online application for permanent residence in your IRCC secure account. Once you provide the required information, IRCC generates a personalised document checklist. That checklist determines which supporting documents you must submit.
Depending on your program and circumstances, it may include:
- Passport or travel document for you and every family member listed, including those who will not accompany you.
- Language test results from an IRCC-approved test: IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General, PTE Core, TEF Canada or TCF Canada.
- Educational Credential Assessment if you claimed points for education completed outside Canada.
- Proof of funds for the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Canadian Experience Class applicants are exempt, as are applicants holding a valid job offer or already working in Canada on a valid work permit.
- Employment reference letters stating your job title, employment dates, weekly hours, salary and duties. See our guide on the reference letter for Canada immigration.
- Digital photographs meeting IRCC specifications for each person on the application.
- NADRA documents to establish family relationships, including your marriage registration certificate, B-Forms for children and a Family Registration Certificate.
Any document not in English or French must be submitted with a translation by a certified translator, alongside the original or a certified copy. Where no certified translator is available, IRCC accepts an affidavit from the translator instead.
Step 5: Complete and Submit Your e-APR
Your electronic application for permanent residence is completed and uploaded through your IRCC secure account.
Check the format requirements before you begin scanning. Most documents must be submitted as PDFs, each upload is subject to a size limit, and IRCC specifies how files should be named. Scan at 300 DPI as a minimum for legibility, and compress any file that exceeds the limit rather than reducing the resolution.
Fees are paid through the portal as the final step, covering the processing fee, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee where applicable, and biometrics.
Tip. Aim to submit by day 55 rather than day 60. If an upload is rejected or a document proves to be missing, the remaining days allow you to correct it before the invitation expires.
Step 6: After You Submit
Submitting your application is not the final step after receiving an ITA. Once IRCC accepts your application as complete, it issues an Acknowledgement of Receipt. Your processing time is measured from that date.
IRCC aims to finalise 80 percent of complete Express Entry applications within six months, though the actual time depends on your country of residence, the completeness of your file and current application volumes.
Most permanent residence applicants must provide biometrics. Those given previously for a study permit, work permit or visitor visa do not usually carry over, so expect to pay the fee and attend an appointment again.
Check your IRCC secure account weekly. IRCC may request additional documents or an interview, and a slow or incomplete response delays your file. Email notifications are not guaranteed and may be filtered into your spam folder.
If your application is approved, IRCC issues your Confirmation of Permanent Residence.
After Approval: Your COPR and Landing Deadline
Once IRCC approves your application you receive a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), and because Pakistan is a visa-required country, a permanent resident visa in your passport.
The COPR carries a “valid to” date, set by whichever expires first: your immigration medical examination, valid 12 months from the date of the exam, or your passport.
That clock starts on the day of the medical, not the day you are approved. If you completed the examination during your 60-day window and IRCC then takes ten months to finalise your file, the COPR may arrive with only weeks left to land. IRCC does not extend a COPR, and allowing it to lapse can mean restarting the process.
Check the COPR against your passport as soon as it arrives, since a mismatch in name spelling or date of birth can prevent a border officer from processing your landing.
At the port of entry you present your passport and COPR, the officer confirms your details, you sign the COPR, and permanent resident status is granted.
Your PR card is mailed only to a Canadian address, so arrange one before you travel. Until it arrives, the signed COPR is your proof of status.
Your 60-Day Countdown Schedule
Days | Action | Reason |
1 to 3 | Request every police certificate. Book panel physician appointments for the whole family. | Both depend on third parties |
4 to 10 | Complete the online application so IRCC generates your document checklist | The checklist determines what you collect |
11 to 30 | Collect reference letters, bank statements, NADRA documents and translations | Employers and NADRA records take time to obtain |
31 to 45 | Scan, format and upload documents to the portal | Formatting and file size issues take longer than expected |
46 to 52 | Review the full file against your personalised checklist | A gap found here can still be corrected |
53 to 55 | Pay fees and submit | Leaves margin before the invitation expires |
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have after receiving an ITA?
You have 60 calendar days from the date your Invitation to Apply (ITA) is issued to submit your permanent residence application. Weekends and public holidays count, and extensions are not granted.
What happens if I miss the deadline?
The invitation expires and you return to the Express Entry pool. If you submitted an incomplete application, IRCC returns it without assessment and refunds your fees.
Can I decline an ITA?
Yes. An ITA may be declined where your profile no longer reflects your circumstances. Your profile returns to the Express Entry pool if you remain eligible, though a further invitation is not guaranteed.
Do family members need medical exams if they are not coming?
Yes. Since 21 August 2025 every family member listed on the application must complete an immigration medical examination, whether or not they travel with you.
Must my language test be valid on the ITA date or the submission date?
Your language test results must be valid on the date you submit your application, not the date you were invited. Results that expire during the 60-day window will not be accepted.
How long does IRCC take after I submit?
Six months is the service standard. IRCC aims to finalise 80 percent of complete Express Entry applications within six months of your Acknowledgement of Receipt.
How long do I have to land after my COPR is issued?
Up to 12 months from your medical exam date. Because that clock starts at the exam rather than at approval, a long processing time leaves correspondingly less time to land.
Stuck on a document you cannot obtain in time?
A police certificate a foreign government will not issue, a language test expiring inside the window, or a family member you did not declare. See our guide on adding dependants to Canada PR.
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