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Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

s. 11 Application before entering Canada

  • PART 1: Immigration to Canada
  • DIVISION 1: Requirements and Selection
  • Admissibility

Last verified: June 2026 · Source: justice.gc.ca

The law says

IRPA s. 11
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(1)A foreign national must, before entering Canada, apply to an officer for a visa or for any other document required by the regulations. The visa or document may be issued if, following an examination, the officer is satisfied that the foreign national is not inadmissible and meets the requirements of this Act.

Electronic travel authorization

(1.01)Despite subsection (1), a foreign national must, before entering Canada, apply for an electronic travel authorization required by the regulations by means of an electronic system, unless the regulations provide that the application may be made by other means. The application may be examined by an officer and, if the officer determines that the foreign national is not inadmissible and meets the requirements of this Act, the authorization may be issued by the officer.

Restriction

(1.1)A designated foreign national may not make an application for permanent residence under subsection (1)

  • (a)if they have made a claim for refugee protection but have not made an application for protection, until five years after the day on which a final determination in respect of the claim is made;
  • (b)if they have made an application for protection, until five years after the day on which a final determination in respect of the application is made; or
  • (c)in any other case, until five years after the day on which they become a designated foreign national.

Suspension of application

(1.2)The processing of an application for permanent residence under subsection (1) of a foreign national who, after the application is made, becomes a designated foreign national is suspended

  • (a)if the foreign national has made a claim for refugee protection but has not made an application for protection, until five years after the day on which a final determination in respect of the claim is made;
  • (b)if the foreign national has made an application for protection, until five years after the day on which a final determination in respect of the application is made; or
  • (c)in any other case, until five years after the day on which the foreign national becomes a designated foreign national.

Refusal to consider application

(1.3)The officer may refuse to consider an application for permanent residence made under subsection (1) if

  • (a)the designated foreign national fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any condition imposed on them under subsection 58(4) or section 58.1 or any requirement imposed on them under section 98.1; and
  • (b)less than 12 months have passed since the end of the applicable period referred to in subsection (1.1) or (1.2).

If sponsor does not meet requirements

(2)The officer may not issue a visa or other document to a foreign national whose sponsor does not meet the sponsorship requirements of this Act.

Justice Laws is the authoritative version. If this copy and it ever differ, Justice Laws wins.

Sections numbered under s. 11

Each of these is its own section of the Act, numbered after section 11.

IRPA s. 11.2

Visa or other document not to be issued

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What that means

You must meet the requirements on the day you were invited and again on the day the officer received your application. If your ranking score or your category eligibility fell short on either day, an officer may not issue the visa. There are two narrow exceptions. One covers a change caused only by a birthday after the invitation. The other covers a lower score that still ranks no lower than the cutoff for being invited, as long as you still meet the other criteria (s.11.2(2)).

The law says

(1)An officer may not issue a visa or other document in respect of an application for permanent residence to a foreign national who was issued an invitation under Division 0.1 to make that application if — at the time the invitation was issued or at the time the officer received their application — the foreign national

  • (a)did not meet the criteria set out in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(e);
  • (b)did not have the qualifications on the basis of which they were ranked under an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h) and were issued the invitation; or
  • (c)did not meet the criteria for membership in a category that was established in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h.2), if they were issued an invitation on the basis that they were eligible to be a member of that category.

Exceptions

(2)Despite subsection (1), an officer may issue the visa or other document if, at the time the officer received their application,

  • (a)the foreign national did not meet the criteria set out in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(e) — or they did not have the qualifications on the basis of which they were ranked under an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h) or did not meet the criteria for membership in a category that was established in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h.2) — because the foreign national’s birthday occurred after the invitation was issued; or
  • (b)the foreign national did not have the qualifications they had at the time the invitation was issued and on the basis of which they were ranked under an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h), but
  • (i)they met the criteria set out in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(e),
  • (i.1)they met the criteria for membership of a category established in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h.2), if they were issued the invitation on the basis that they were eligible to be a member of that category, and
  • (ii)they occupied a rank that is not lower than the rank that a foreign national was required to have occupied to be invited to make an application.
IRPA s. 11.3

Termination — processing of application

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What that means

An officer can stop processing an application for a visa or other document and close it. This can happen only in the cases the regulations set out. The officer does not decide whether the person meets the requirements. The file simply ends. The reasons that matter are in the regulations, not in this section.

The law says

11.3 An officer may terminate the processing of an application for a visa or other document in the prescribed circumstances.

Guides that explain this section

IRCC Processing Delays Explained: Why Applications Take So LongCanada Visitor Visa (TRV) Guide

Explained in depth in the textbooks

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Related sections

IRPA s. 10.5Consultation processIRPA s. 11.1Section 11.1