What is ATIP (GCMS Notes)?

ATIP is a tool that we use to access the immigration history of our clients. ATIP stands for Access to Information and Privacy.

When you give us consent to access your immigration history, we make an official request to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), or Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to access your files.

We can see all kinds of information in the ATIP files – your immigration applications, the forms, the case notes. We can access the following records:
        • Temporary Residence
        • Permanent Residence
        • Family Class, Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class or Refugee Sponsorship
        • Express Entry Profile
        • Medical
        • Landing Record
        • Permanent Resident Card
        • Travel Document Application (for Permanent Resident Abroad)
        • Authorization to Return to Canada
        • IRCC’s Refugee Claim
        • Pre-Removal Risk Assessment
        • Citizenship
        • Rehabilitation (for persons who are inadmissible to Canada).

Most importantly, we use ATIP requests to understand the reasons for the officer’s refusal when clients come to us after their previous application has been refused.

In contrast to the very general refusal letter that a person gets, access to officer’s notes through ATIP allows us to see the officer’s reasoning and understand what was wrong in the application and what prompted the officer to refuse it.

Based on this information, we can take corrective action and resubmit the application to increase the chances of approval.
After we submit the request, it takes from 30 days to 60 days to receive the information.