Is an IRCC Form Not Opening for you? What Can You Do?

We get regular calls from people having trouble opening the PDF application forms for Canadian Immigration from the IRCC website. They might be contemplating a study permit or a work permit and want to open the forms to see what information Canada requests. But after trying several browsers unsuccessfully, they still get an error message. People often think perhaps the forms are only available to lawyers and legal practitioners, but that is not the case.

IRCC has a guide to answering this question “I can’t open my application form in PDF format. What can I do?”. In spite of official guidance, people tell us they still have issues when they click on the PDF. If you are having these technical difficulties, the following steps should help to fix the problem.

Steps to opening Canadian Immigration forms

First, you do not need any type of account, unique client identifier or user ID to open these forms from the IRCC website. They are accessible to everyone. However, they will not open when you click the website link. That is probably what you are doing wrong. 

It does nor matter what browser you are using - they will not open from Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox or any web browsers. And both Mac users and PC users have the same problem.

Here is how to open PDF files that contain the application forms for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

It is important to make sure you download the forms from the IRCC website to your own computer, by following these steps:

1. Ensure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader for your PC or Mac at least version 10 or above – the free downloadable version works; you do not need the newest version.
2. When you click on the PDF form, you get the following error message: “Please wait…If this message is not eventually replaced by the proper contents of the document, your PDF viewer may not be able to display this type of document…”
3. Don’t fret! Download the form from the website and save target file to your desktop.
4. Then, close your Internet browser.
5. Locate the form you just saved onto your desktop and double-click to open it.
6. You should now see the contents of the form. If you are having the same problem and still getting the “Please wait…” error message, you are probably not opening the form on your desktop. Close your Internet Browser, and then click the PDF file on your desktop. That should fix it and allow the form to open.

Another word of advice….

Now, could I be so bold as to have a frank conversation with you? I can assume you are the principal applicant about to embark on a legal process to become a temporary resident or permanent resident, the outcome of which will significantly affect your future and that of your family. 

Opening the forms is the simplest part of this process, with written instructions on the website. It does not require an IRCC secure account, a GC key, password or login access. To be honest, it does not get more simple than this.

To conduct business with IRCC on an actual application is massively more complex - it is a maze of bureaucracy, with multiple detailed instructions for any given application form. And, for your actual application, they do not give you a “Please wait….” message to flag when something is off track. You will only discover you missed something important months later when your application is returned to you as incomplete or refused for being ineligible. 

Please, for the sake of your future, enlist the help of a professional. The cost of a good professional is always less than losing time and money on your own. 

The Way Immigration exists to make your path to Canada smoother, easier and far less stressful. Contact Calgary's best immigration consultants today, to get started on your stress-free application process.