Edit in post title- *I REFUSED TO QUIT
No immigration consultant or lawyer services availed. Everything done by me and with the help of Reddit posts and official Canada website.
TL;DR: Prepared for Canadian education for an entire year right after a bachelor's degree. Landed in 2018 and spent 6.5 years in Canada studying and working. Increased CRS by obtaining foreign work experience, and IRCC took almost 9 months to process everything, right from ITA to COPR.
I have compiled a list of documents which I submitted at the end of the post.
I was a mere nobody back in 2017 when I graduated with a bachelor's, wanting to do something with my life. Being an only child, my parents were always reluctant to send me overseas or out of province, for that matter. But maybe God had different plans for me. Long story short, I ended up sending in an application form for my post-graduation.
I landed in Canada at the ripe old age of 21 in April 2018 as an international student at Humber. Life has taken many twists and turns since then. No matter what I did, it just wasn't enough to regularize my status and attain PR.
Graduated with honours right in the middle of March 2020, as the pandemic started. I couldn't land a job which qualified me for Express Entry throughout 2020 and half of 2021. As the pandemic started to fizzle out, I finally secured a job which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I had absolutely zero knowledge about Express Entry and how the point system worked, but in June 2022 created a profile after appearing for my IELTS. My score was 465, with one year of Canadian work experience and a mid-level IELTS score. I thought that was it, and now I am going to land an invitation, but scores have never come down to pre-pandemic levels. Mind you, CRS for CEC before 2022 were in the low 400s and sometimes even in the low 360s.
I worked for another year in the year 2023, and my score went up by 13 points to 478, but again I kept missing the cut-off. Until then, I had no clue that I could improve my IELTS and score an additional 9 points if I maxed out my language score.
In 2023, IRCC announced that it would extend the validity of certain PGWP holders who were affected by the pandemic and my PGWP got extended to October 2024. I worked for another year during 2024, and my score shot up by 11 points to 489.
Only when my IELTS from 2022 expired, I sought to give it again and my language score improved. I immediately created a new profile, and to my surprise, my CRS increased from 489 to 497. I lost my shit and cursed myself- if only I had known better, language scores increase one's CRS score, then I would have received an ITA a long time ago.
My PGWP expired towards the end of October 2024, and I came back to my home country. I immediately joined an organization and worked towards getting those 50 points.
I found this community towards the end of March 2025. I learned so much by going through old posts, spoke to so many people to obtain knowledge and gave my insights to many. I am grateful to everyone with whom I have had an interaction on this subreddit.
And finally, on October 1, 2025, my CRS increased from 497 to 547. A CEC draw took place on the same day, and I received my ITA- an email that I had been waiting for for 8 years.
When I saw the invitation, I broke down. Not because it was easy. Not because it was lucky. But because every delayed dream, every missed celebration, every working week, every night- it all led to that moment.
I waited to complete 52-55 weeks so that my foreign work experience would be valid at the time of eAPR submission.
CRS- 547
ITA- 1 October 2025
Upfront medicals appeared - 5 October 2025
AOR- 22 November 2025
BIL request- 23 January 2026
Medicals passed- 24 January 2026
Biometrics given- 28 January 2026
Biometrics passed- 29 January 2026
NO UPDATES FOR ALMOST 5.5 MONTHS. WHY? Because PVO CPC Ottawa and SVO CIO Sydney.
GCMS ordered via ATIP- 24 May 2026
GCMS received- 13 July 2026
As per GCMS notes:
Eligibility completed- 5 May 2026
Background check completed- 23 June 2026
But a final decision had not been made. All along, I knew that my medicals were only valid for a year, and that IRCC/CBSA would need valid, cleared medicals for me to land as a PR.
Thankfully, I received a new medical request on 7 July 2026 and immediately booked a new medical test, as the medical centre was 15 mins away from home. I appeared for new medicals on 8 July 2026 and waited for my results to be uploaded and cleared as passed by IRCC. The medical centres were swamped with a backlog, and only on 22 July 2026 were they able to upload my medical results to the eMedical portal.
New medicals passed- 24 July 2026
Final Decision- 24 July 2026 on GCKey
Passport Request aka PPR- 27 July 2026
Passport submission- 29 July 2026
COPR according to passport stamp and COPR document- 11 August 2026
Passport ready for collection and collected- 18 August 2026
COPR valid until- 23 July 2027 (That is when my new medicals expire, and I am legally allowed to land before or on 23 July 2027)
Some might think I had it the easy way. But during the waiting period of more than 8 months, there were battles with sleepless nights, anxiety, worry, and doubt. My faith and patience were tested.
This journey taught me that sometimes the path to PR isn't straightforward. You may have to take a step back, change your strategy, and keep going.
To everyone still waiting for their ITA or trying to figure out their pathway- don't give up. Your journey may just take a little longer than you expected.
I'M GOING HOME BABYYYYY!
PROFILE-
Age: under 30
Foreign bachelor's and post-graduation college certificate from Canada
IELTS: R-9, L-9, W- 7.5, S- 7.5
Canadian experience: 3.5 years, rounded off to 3 years
Foreign work experience: 1 year and still ongoing
No sibling points, no spouse and no COQ.
Documents submitted-
No proof of fund is required for CEC applicants. Enter $0 during eAPR stage and there won't be a slot to upload proof of funds.
Old passport with Canadian visa, entry/exit stamps and information pages.
New passport with Canadian visa, entry/exit stamps and information pages.
Bachelor's degree, WES report, bachelor's transcripts and passing certificate.
Post-graduation degree, letter of completion and transcripts.
PCC- only from home country.
Medicals- twice due to outland expiry policy.
Canadian work experience- work experience letter as per IRCC guidelines, T4, ROE and NOA.
Foreign work experience- work experience letter as per IRCC guidelines, income tax file and bank account statement for 12 months.
IELTS- submitted under client information.
Digital photo- as per specs.
PPR photo- as per specs.
My DMs are always open for any immigration related questions and advice.
CRS distribution of candidates in the pool as of August 16, 2026.
| CRS score range | Number of candidates |
|---|---|
| 601-1200 | 439 |
| 501-600 | 18,657 |
| 451-500 | 73,554 |
| 491-500 | 12,915 |
| 481-490 | 13,066 |
| 471-480 | 16,626 |
| 461-470 | 16,133 |
| 451-460 | 14,814 |
| 401-450 | 60,631 |
| 441-450 | 13,555 |
| 431-440 | 13,229 |
| 421-430 | 11,890 |
| 411-420 | 11,269 |
| 401-410 | 10,688 |
| 351-400 | 48,600 |
| 301-350 | 17,269 |
| 0-300 | 7,709 |
| Total | 226,859 |
Transport Occupations, 2026-Version 2
NOC under transport occupation:
Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors 72600
Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics, and mechanical repairers 72410
Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors 72404
Aircraft instrument, electrical and avionics mechanics, technicians and inspectors 22313
French-Language proficiency 2026-Version 2
Congratulations everybody. Remember, it takes up to 48 hours to receive ITA in your GCKey.
Credit to u/Basic_Importance1063 for calling out this fraud.
Folks like these inflate their CRS scores by adding fake qualifications and information to meet the cut-off.
Such fraudsters then have 60 days to game the system and update their information during the eAPR stage (such as transferring an Ontario pest license to Nova Scotia to meet COQ points).
Not to mention their sister's outland spousal PR application (back home for 'vacation' once the work permit expired and then applying via the outland spousal route). Let's not get into the whole accompanying vs. non-accompanying spouse fiasco.
So, overall, they seem to have wasted 3 ITAs by inputting false information in their EE profiles.
Unfortunately, such changes are not flagged by the system because all expired/ineligible Express Entry profiles are not kept in the system.
https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1164&top=29
FYI, it is very easy to create a fake Express Entry profile. All one needs is an email address. IRCC does not validate addresses, passports, language test results, ECA documents, etc. while one sets up a profile to be in the pool.
Imagine hundreds, if not thousands, of such profiles in the pool. No wonder it is one of the reasons the EE cut-off score is so high. Profile creation fee is a must! A one-time $100 fee, which will then be adjusted against your PR application. If one declines an ITA, then only a partial refund is issued.
Date and time: July 21, 2026 at 10:40:39 UTC
CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 516
Number of invitations issued: 2,000
Rank needed: 2,000 or above.
Tie-breaking rule: May 26, 2026 at 17:33:03 UTC
PS: Kindly remember ITA takes up to 48 hours to arrive in GCKey. Congratulations everybody!
OP's PNP AOR was somewhere in Feb and they received their eCOPR today.
No matter how honest you're about your application and timeline, somebody will find an easier way out.
The classic "dummy work permit" strategy. Spend hundreds of dollars on an application you don't actually need, only for IRCC to approve your PR before they even look at it. Attach AOR via webform to convert that ext WP application into a BOWP. When will IRCC weed out such backdoor policies?
Now you're a permanent resident wondering what to do with a work permit that has become completely irrelevant.
Meanwhile, people with genuine work permit applications and permanent resident applications are waiting in line while IRCC gets buried under unnecessary applications.
For instance- My own CEC application from Nov 2025.
PS- I know it is 100% legal to apply for a work permit extension but not if you are ineligible for it.
Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1
Congratulations everybody! Remember, it takes 48 hours to receive ITA in your GCKey.
PS: These 500 ITAs come under CEC quota.
At this point, I'm convinced PVO Ottawa November 2025 AORs were accidentally archived instead of processed.
Can someone please explain how applicants with December 2025, January 2026, February 2026, and even March 2026 AORs are happily posting their Final Decisions, P1s, P2s, and eCOPRs while so many of us from November 2025 are still staring at the same GCKey like it's going to magically change if we refresh it for the 500th time today?
The above question is rhetorical- yes, we are the lucky ones to be part of PVO Ottawa, and not Vancouver or Montreal.
It has been almost 8 months since many of us received a single update post-BIL.
Every single morning it's the same routine:
I'm genuinely happy for everyone getting their PR. Seriously, congratulations everybody- y'all deserve it. But after months of watching people who applied after us cross the finish line, it's hard not to feel like November 2025 applicants were selected for some secret endurance challenge.
IRCC processing feels less like a queue and more like a shuffled playlist.
Need a Final Decision? Sure... let's approve a February file. November file? "We'll circle back."
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if my application is being used to train new officers:
"Here's what an untouched file looks like."
The waiting isn't even the worst part anymore. It's the complete silence. No updates. No explanation. No indication whether my file is moving, parked in a forgotten inbox, or on a sightseeing tour across visa offices.
We're not asking for special treatment. We're just asking for some consistency. If November files are delayed due to a backlog, security screening, eligibility issues, etc., just let us know. At least we'd know what we're waiting for.
To all my fellow November 2025 AOR applicants still hanging in there- you are not alone. One day we'll wake up, see that golden Final Decision, and laugh about this... probably while telling future applicants, "Back in my day, November 2025 was a myth."
May our ghost updates become Final Decisions, our P1 arrive before your hair turns grey, and our eCOPR appear before GTA VI.
Until then... see you all tomorrow for our daily ritual of refreshing Reddit and GCKey. 🍁🤞
My timeline-
CEC General Outland
AOR 22 Nov
BIL 23 Jan
Medical cleared 24 Jan
New medical request (ADR) 8 July
New e-medical sheet uploaded 9 July
French-Language proficiency 2026-Version 2
Date and time: July 9, 2026 at 10:32:58 UTC
CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 420
Number of invitations issued: 5,000
Tie-breaking rule: May 15, 2026 at 08:04:00 UTC*
*If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.
Congratulations to everybody. Remember, ITA can take up to 48 hours to arrive in your GCKey.
Date and time: July 7, 2026 at 11:16:50 UTC
CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 517
Number of invitations issued: 2,000
Tie-breaking rule: December 29, 2025 at 17:49:27 UTC
*If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.
Remember- ITA can take up to 48 hours to arrive in your GCKey. Congratulations to everybody!