COPR expired before you landed in Canada: asking IRCC to extend it, and what to do if it refuses

By Pardeep S. Grewal, lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation · Reviewed November 10, 2026

Published November 11, 2026

Pardeep S. Grewal is a lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation, called to the BC bar in 2024, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Updated November 10, 2026: the Federal Court’s decisions in Austin and Liu checked that day.

If your Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) or permanent resident visa expired before you could land in Canada, you cannot become a permanent resident on that document. But it is not automatically the end of the application. The Federal Court has confirmed that IRCC officers have discretion to extend or reissue an expired COPR, and that there is no rule that you had to ask before it expired. What matters is a clear request, a real reason you could not travel, and proof. If the officer refuses without considering your reasons, the refusal can be challenged in the Federal Court.

Lawgical Law Corporation, an immigration law firm in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, prepares COPR extension requests and takes refusals to the Federal Court; this guide is by Pardeep S. Grewal.

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Why does a COPR expire?

Every COPR and permanent resident visa has an expiry date, and you must land before it. As a general rule, IRCC ties the date to your passport and your immigration medical results: the COPR usually cannot outlast either. Admissibility results and the validity of family members’ documents can also limit it. The expiry dates are often short, sometimes only a few weeks after the visa is issued.

In the Liu case below, the refusal said: “All visas must be used for landing within their validities and extensions will not be granted.” The Federal Court held that treating this as a fixed rule was an error.

Why this needs a lawyer

One lawyer, one file, every step:

• a clear, documented request to extend or reissue the COPR;
• updated medicals, passport or police certificates if IRCC asks;
• judicial review within 60 days (or 15 from inside Canada) if the officer refuses.

Immigration lawyers are members of a provincial law society (in our case, the Law Society of British Columbia), and only lawyers can appear for you in the Federal Court.

What are my options?

1. Ask IRCC to extend or reissue the COPR. Explain what stopped you travelling, when you learned of it, and when you can travel now. Attach the proof.
2. Update what has expired. A new passport, new medical exam results or new police certificates, if the officer asks for them.
3. Judicial review if the officer refuses without considering your reasons, or treats extensions as impossible.
4. A new application, if the program is still open to you and the request is refused for good reason.

What has the Federal Court said?

No rule that you must ask before expiry. In Austin v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 1277, a young woman’s car broke down on the way to the airport and she missed her flight. Her visa expired a few days later. The officer refused to extend it because she had not notified the office before the expiry date. The Court set the refusal aside: officers can extend or reissue a visa, and it found “no basis, either in law or in policy” for requiring notice before expiry.

The officer must consider your reasons. In Liu v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 1784, a family could not travel because of a medical emergency during a pregnancy. The officer refused an extension without considering it. The Court quashed the refusal on November 7, 2024: the officer acted as if no extension was possible and ignored the emergency.

The lesson I take from these cases is that the request itself is the evidence. Say exactly what happened, with dates, and attach the proof the first time.

Expired COPR at a glance

Worked example: the request

Example. A skilled worker’s COPR expired on Friday, January 15, 2027. Her son was admitted to hospital on January 8, and she cancelled her flight. On Monday, January 18, she sends IRCC a request to reissue the COPR, with the hospital records, the cancelled booking and a new flight date in February. Her medical results are still valid, and her passport has two years left. The officer has everything needed to decide.

What the request should include

• What happened and when, in a short timeline.
• Proof: medical records, cancelled tickets, a death certificate, a passport office receipt, an airline notice.
• When you can travel and confirmation that nothing else has changed: marital status, children, criminal record.
• A valid passport, and an offer to redo medicals or police certificates if needed.

Mistakes I have seen

• I have seen people send a one-line webform asking “Can my COPR be extended?” with no reason and no documents.
• I have seen people try to fly on an expired COPR and be refused boarding.
• I have seen people marry or have a child after the COPR was issued and not tell IRCC. That has to be disclosed before landing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still land if my COPR expires tomorrow?

Only before the expiry date. If you cannot make it, ask IRCC right away and explain why.

My passport expires before my COPR. What happens?

The COPR usually cannot be valid longer than your passport. Renew the passport and tell IRCC as early as possible.

Will I need a new medical exam?

Often, if the old results have expired. The officer will tell you what is needed.

Related guides

See our guides on mistakes when applying for permanent residence, an application returned as incomplete and what each IRCC letter means. See also our guide on what the dates on your COPR mean.

What should I do right now?

Find the expiry date on your COPR. Write down what stopped you travelling and gather the proof. Send IRCC a clear request now, not after another delay.

Book a consultation with our immigration lawyers in Surrey, Abbotsford or Vancouver, or online from anywhere.

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Sources (official)

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 72 (current to October 19, 2026)
• Austin v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 1277 (December 18, 2018)
• Liu v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 1784 (November 7, 2024)

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts.