Documents for Canadian immigration: what do you need?

Names, dates and family composition are especially important here

Depending on your situation, you may need:

• passport or other travel document;
• birth certificate;
• national identity card;
• marriage certificate;
• divorce papers;
• death certificate of the previous spouse;
• adoption documents;
• documents on name change;
• documents for children;
• documents for family members who are traveling with you or staying outside of Canada.

Main rule:

information about the family must be consistent in all forms and documents.

If the name, date of birth, or marital status are listed differently, this does not always indicate a problem. But the discrepancy needs to be noticed before filing, and not hope that no one will see it.

Check that you have the document and that it is valid

The passport confirms identity and is used in the application itself.

Before submitting, check:

• first and last name spelling;
• date of birth;
• passport number;
• date of issue;
• validity period;
• Pages with visas and stamps if your program requires them.

For Express Entry, IRCC recommends that you renew your passport if you have less than 6 months remaining at the time of application.

If the passport changes after profile creation or after submission, the data must be updated where required by the process.

When scanning:

• do not trim the edges;
• do not obscure the passport number;
• do not cut stamps;
• do not skip the back if there is information on it.

A diploma and an assessment of foreign education are two different things

A diploma confirms that you have graduated from an educational institution.

But some immigration programs additionally need to understand how foreign education compares to Canadian education.

For this purpose, Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is used.

ECA is not automatically required for every person and for every degree.

You need to check separately:

• does your program require it?
• which diploma to evaluate;
• who has the right to conduct an assessment;
• Is the assessment still valid?
• whether the name and educational information match the application.

The next page goes into detail about ECA.

Understand ECA

You need exactly the test that your program accepts

In Canadian immigration, it is not possible to confirm a language with a regular certificate from a language school or a university diploma if the program requires an official test.

Depending on the program, the following may be used:

• IELTS General Training;
• CELPIP-General;
• PTE Core;
• TEF Canada;
• TCF Canada.

Before submitting, check:

• whether the program accepts this particular test;
• is there a result in all four skills;
• whether the validity period has expired;
• Is the result number entered correctly?
• does the name match other documents?

If the language result must be valid both on the submission date and at another stage of the process, this must be taken into account in advance.

One line on a resume is usually not enough

Your immigration program may require evidence of:

• employer name;
• period of work;
• position;
• number of hours;
• pay;
• responsibilities;
• place of work;
• authorization to work in Canada, where relevant.

For Express Entry, an employer reference letter describing your work experience and duties is one of the main forms of evidence.

The most important part:

Your actual duties must match the occupation you declare under the NOC.

The job title itself does not guarantee anything.

If a standard employer letter is insufficient or unavailable, the following may provide additional evidence, depending on the circumstances:

• employment contract;
• pay slips;
• tax documents;
• company documents;
• other independent evidence of work.

No single combination of documents works for every situation.

The process for obtaining a police certificate varies by country

IRCC uses police certificates to check for criminal history that may affect admissibility to Canada.

IRCC’s official term is police certificate. In Russian, this refers to a certificate confirming a criminal record or its absence.

The requirements depend on:

• the program;
• your age;
• the country;
• how long you were there;
• when the certificate was issued.

For Express Entry, the system usually requests police certificates from the applicant and family members aged 18 or older for countries where they spent 6 consecutive months or more in the last 10 years.

Express Entry does not normally require a police certificate for time spent in Canada or before the person turned 18. IRCC may request additional documents later.

The main thing:

Do not request a certificate based on a random set of instructions from a forum. Use the IRCC page for the specific country concerned.

Some police certificates take a long time to obtain

If it takes weeks or months to receive a document, it is better to take this into account in advance.

For Express Entry, IRCC recommends planning for police certificates once you have created your profile.

If a police certificate will not arrive by your application deadline after an invitation, IRCC may allow you to upload the following temporarily in its place:

• explanatory letter;
• evidence that you requested the document in a timely manner.

For example:

• receipt;
• order confirmation;
• tracking number;
• official response from the authority.

This does not automatically exempt you from providing the certificate.

The officer decides whether your efforts were sufficient.

Confirmation at submission and review of a previous IME

Verified September 30, 2026: IRCC requires the IME or UMI number and a copy of the information printout sheet or IMM 1017B under the Express Entry completeness instructions.

Medical examination confirmation is required when you submit an Express Entry application. If you live in Canada and completed an IME in the five years before applying, include the previous IME or UMI number: IRCC will assess whether the temporary public policy applies. A new examination is not required in every case.

For a principal applicant’s new application, the policy requires a Canadian residential address on the application and a previous IME that included a physical examination within the five years before submission. The most recent IME must have an eligible medical code:

• M1;
• M3, except results marked “TR only” or “EDE only”;
• M2 or M2/3, with the requirement to report for medical surveillance to provincial or territorial health authorities fulfilled and no “TR only” or “EDE only” designation.

The policy has separate conditions for accompanying family members. IRCC decides whether the exemption applies; a previous IME within five years does not automatically qualify you.

If you submit your application using previous medical results and IRCC cannot use them, it will provide instructions for a new examination after submission.

If the policy does not apply, including when you reside outside Canada under the normal Express Entry instructions, follow IRCC’s usual process. If a new examination is required, complete it with an IRCC panel physician after the ITA and before submitting your application. A family doctor’s certificate does not replace an IME.

For other programs, the timing and documents depend on their instructions and IRCC requests. Do not apply the Express Entry process to every application.

The required amount and evidence depend on the program

Some programs require proof that you have funds for moving and settling in Canada.

Others provide exceptions.

An amount quoted in an article does not necessarily apply to every applicant.

Check:

1. whether you need proof of funds;
2. the amount currently required;
3. how many family members are taken into account;
4. which documents must show the funds;
5. whether you can actually access the funds;
6. whether any large recent deposits need an explanation.

This overview does not quote an amount because the required funds change over time.

Knowing the language does not mean you may translate your own documents

For Express Entry, IRCC explicitly states that the translation must not be done by:

• the applicant himself;
• a member of the applicant’s family;
• the applicant’s representative or consultant.

Therefore the option:

“I know English well, I’ll translate the diploma myself”

doesn't fit.

If the translator is not certified, check whether IRCC allows that option and what is required in the translator’s affidavit.

These are different things

Online submissions often include a scan of the original.

But in some situations a certified copy may be required.

This is a copy that an authorized person has compared with the original and confirmed its conformity.

There is no need to certify every document “just in case.”

This does not automatically make the package stronger.

First you need to look at what a specific instruction requires.

A good scan should be readable without guesswork

Before uploading, check:

• all four edges of the page are visible;
• nothing is cut off;
• the text is read;
• seals and stamps are visible;
• the pages are in the correct order;
• reverse side added if information is there;
• the translation can be easily compared with the source document.

The main thing is not a beautiful PDF.

The main thing:

so that the officer sees a complete and readable document.

File sizes and accepted formats vary between filing systems and should be checked immediately prior to uploading.

You need order first of all.

IRCC does not establish one file naming system for all applications.

But inside your working folder it is better to use friendly names.

For example:

01_Passport.pdf

02_Marriage_Certificate.pdf

03_ECA.pdf

04_Language_Test.pdf

05_Work_Experience_Employer_A.pdf

06_Police_Certificate_Germany.pdf

This helps:

• do not upload the old version;
• do not confuse the documents of the spouses;
• quickly check for completeness;
• see what exactly has changed.

Avoid files like:

final-final-new2-really-final.pdf

It helps explain the situation, but does not replace mandatory proof.

The official English title is Letter of Explanation (LOE). From now on we will simply call it an explanatory letter.

It may be useful if you need:

• explain the discrepancy;
• explain why the document is not yet available;
• link several documents to each other;
• explain the unusual situation;
• show attempts to obtain the required certificate.

But an explanatory letter does not automatically correct a weak package.

The logic should be like this:

Start with the strongest available documents. Add an explanation wherever the situation would otherwise be unclear.

Some documents take time, others may become outdated

It's usually worth thinking about:

• passport renewal;
• language test;
• ECA;
• letters from former employers;
• certificates from countries where receiving documents takes a long time;
• evidence and archival documents from other countries.

But you can’t get everything in advance.

For example:

• medical examination in different programs takes place at different stages;
• some certificates have a validity period;
• financial documents must reflect the current situation.

Therefore, a good preparation plan answers two questions:

what do you need to get?

and

by what point should this be ready?

Use this table as a guide. It does not replace the official document checklist for your application.

Document verification is especially important if:

• the employer's letter is non-standard;
• responsibilities are difficult to match with NOC;
• there were several employers;
• there is self-employment;
• education or ECA is questionable;
• a police certificate is difficult to obtain;
• there was a refusal before;
• older statements had different dates;
• name changed;
• complex history of addresses and travel;
• family documents from several countries;
• there are large or unusual movements of funds;
• there is no required document;
• the rules for translation or certification are unclear;
• The deadline for submission is near.