On July 29, 2025, IRCC implemented a new system to improve its services and offer more transparency in its immigration processes, so from now on, when an application is rejected, the user will receive the rejection letter along with the officer's notes.

In this blog, I will explain the reasons for this change and how it can directly affect those who receive a rejection on their application. I will also share the two options available by the Canadian immigration system in case, even if your new application is well justified, the officer rejects it once again. Read with me to the end so you will know what to do correctly. Let's get started!

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What are the official rejection notices?

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Official denial notes or immigration officer's notes are documents that contain information about the reasoning behind a denied application decision. To understand what specific reasons led the officer to deny the application, there is a tool called ATIP ( Access to Information and Privacy), which allows access to the immigration officer's comments and observations, documents and evidence submitted by the applicant, or the analysis and evaluations that led the officer to make the final decision. 

These notes can be used to understand errors that justify a Reconsideration or Judicial Review, as well as to improve the immigration profile.

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Which applications are affected by the new service system?

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This change applies, in a first phase, to the following applications:

• Temporary resident visas (except eTA and temporary resident permits).
• Visitor logs.
• Study permits.
• Work permits.

The idea behind this is that applicants can understand the reasons for rejection more quickly and directly, without having to go through an additional process.

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What happened before and what we see now

• In the past, if your application was denied, you received an overly generic rejection letter, which did not explain the real reasons why the officer had made that decision. In order to understand why the application had been denied, you had to ask for the officer's notes (ATIP, Access to Information and Privacy).ATIP, Access to Information and Privacy).. This process could take up to 60 days, which completely delayed any plans.
• What we see now is that IRCC seeks to be more transparent and promises to send these official notes expeditiously along with the rejection letter, but, in practice, the denied applications so far show that these official notes are very similar to the previous ones, i.e. generic, with the difference that they are now a written paragraph instead of bullet points.

The notes should be as clear and specific as required by the applicant, as this way he/she can identify with certainty the aspects that led to the rejection of his/her application and what needs to be improved in his/her profile! 

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Reconsideration and Judicial Review

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What to do after receiving an immigration rejection? When an application is rejected again and again, even if you submit complete and correct information, there are two important remedies that can be evaluated: Reconsideration and Judicial Review. 

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Option 1 - Reconsideration

Once you have the officer's notes and detect a clear error in the process, you can opt for a Reconsideration.

Reconsideration is a formal request to the immigration officer to review his or her decision. It is not an appeal or a new application. It is an appeal that is filed when you believe the officer made a clerical error, for example, if he or she ignored a key document that the applicant did send or misinterpreted a crucial piece of information in your profile. This option is only justified when there is an obvious error on the part of the officer. It is not viable if you simply do not agree with the decision or if you believe it was unfair.

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Option 2 - Judicial Review

Judicial Review is a process in which a federal court acts to look in detail at the legality of a decision made by the IRCC. It is not an appeal in the traditional sense; that is, it does not reconsider the facts or evidence of the case, but rather assesses whether there was an error in the interpretation of the law, an abuse of authority, or a lack of fair procedure on the part of the deciding official.

If you believe you require a Judicial Review of your denied application, you may complete the following form form This tool will allow us to identify whether you are a potential candidate for such a process or whether we can implement another type of legal remedy.

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Recommendations for a successful application

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This year 2025, we have noticed that rejections are on the rise. That is why, if you receive a denial, you must make sure that your next application is not a simple copy of the previous one, but that you respond to every element of the rejection letter and official notes so that it is very well justified.

Although it is a great improvement that IRCC delivers the notes immediately and saves processing time, sadly, we still do not see a big difference between the information you receive now and what you received before. So, if you require assistance in assessing whether you are a candidate for Reconsideration, Judicial Review or even a new application, please contact us, contact us at and an Immiland regulated immigration consultant will be able to handle your case.

I hope this topic is helpful and that nothing stops you from dreaming of living in Canada! Schedule a consultation with our immigration experts and get back on track with your application!

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Thank you very much for reading! See you in the next blog!

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With love, 

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Immiland Law