IRCC returned your application as incomplete: your options and the 15-day deadline

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

Published November 10, 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: sections 10 and 182 of the Regulations and IRCC’s restoration instructions (modified May 1, 2026) checked that day.

If IRCC returned your application because a form, signature, document or part of the fee was missing, the application is treated as if it was never made. That matters most if you applied to extend a study or work permit: a returned application gives you no maintained status, so you may have been out of status since your old permit expired, and the 90-day restoration window started then. The fix is usually a fast new application, and, where the return itself was wrong, judicial review within 15 days in Canada or 60 days outside. This guide covers temporary and permanent residence applications, including sponsorships.

Lawgical Law Corporation, an immigration law firm in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, restores lost status and challenges wrongful returns in the Federal Court for applicants across Canada; this guide is by Pardeep S. Grewal.

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What does a return under section 10 say?

A return is not a refusal. The officer has not looked at whether you qualify. The officer has decided that the application did not meet the basic requirements in section 10 of the Regulations: the right form, a signature, the required information and documents, and proof of the full fee. Under section 12, an application that does not meet them is returned.

You will often see phrases like these in return letters:

• “Your application for permanent residence in Canada is incomplete and is being returned to you.”
• “You submitted insufficient fees [..] The correct processing fee amount for your application is [..]”
• “You submitted an outdated version of the IMM 5476 Use of Representative Form.”
• “As you have two accompanying dependents we require an additional [..] per dependent.”

Other wording that appears in these files:

• “Application refused, advised of restoration”
• “you are a person in Canada without temporary resident status who is not eligible for restoration”

In other words, IRCC is saying your application never properly existed. If your status depended on it, you may already be out of status.

Why this needs a lawyer

One lawyer, one file, every step:

• working out your status today and when it ended;
• a new complete application or a restoration application, filed before the 90 days end;
• judicial review of the return within 15 or 60 days, if the application was in fact complete;
• arguing it in the Federal Court.

The Federal Court has confirmed that a return can be reviewed, but only in some situations. Whether your return is one of them depends on the program and what the return cost you.

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.

Some articles say the only option after a return is to apply again. Often that is the best option, but where a program has closed or an invitation has expired, a new application is not possible, and the court is the only route.

What are my options after a return?

1. Have a lawyer check your status and the dates. When did your permit expire, when did you apply, and when did the file come back?
2. File a new, complete application. If you are still within your permit, apply to extend. If your permit has expired, apply for restoration within 90 days of the expiry.
3. Judicial review of the return. If the application was complete, or the officer misread what was missing, apply to the Federal Court within 15 days in Canada or 60 days outside.
4. Stop working or studying if your status has ended. You cannot work or study while a restoration is pending.
5. Reconsideration request. Discretionary, and it does not stop the court deadline or the 90 days.

The court deadline does not wait for the other options.

Could the return be challenged in court?

The Federal Court has confirmed that returns can be reviewed, at least where the return takes away something you cannot get back. In Ferreria v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 267, IRCC returned a parent sponsorship over one dependant’s resume. The program was closed, so a new application was not possible. The Court followed an earlier decision, Devgon, and held that “[d]ecisions to reject an application for incompleteness cannot be immune from judicial review.” It sent the application back.

The argument is strongest when the application was in fact complete, or when IRCC asked for something the Regulations do not require. The fee is a common example: officers sometimes miscalculate the fee for dependants, or miss a payment that was made.

The limits are real. In Kuznetsov v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 57, the Court agreed that returns are not automatically outside its reach, but upheld the return as reasonable on the facts.

Under Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, the officer must explain why the application was incomplete.

Whether this fits your case depends on whether the application was complete and what a new application would cost you.

What do the rules require?

Section 10(1) of the Regulations says an application must be made in writing on the required form, be signed by the applicant, “include all information and documents required by these Regulations”, and be accompanied by evidence of payment of the fee. Section 12 says an application that does not meet these requirements is returned.

IRCC’s restoration instructions say that if an application is rejected under section 12 as incomplete, “there is no extension of the period of authorized stay (maintained status)”, and “the 90-day period to apply for restoration starts when the foreign national’s initial period of authorized stay ends.” Section 182 sets the 90-day limit.

How is Ferreria different from Kuznetsov?

Both were returned sponsorship applications, and in both the Court agreed it could review the return. The difference was the outcome:

• In Ferreria the return was over a small point the applicant disputed. One dependant’s resume, in a program that had closed. The return was unreasonable and was set aside.
• In Kuznetsov the return was reasonable. The Court would not decide reviewability by category, but upheld the officer on the facts.
• Prejudice matters. Where you can simply reapply, the court is less likely to step in.

The lesson: if you can file a new complete application in time, do that first. Judicial review is for returns that were wrong and cost you something a new application cannot fix.

Worked example: when the 90 days started

Example. A student’s study permit expired on July 31, 2026. She applied to extend it on July 25, but she paid $100 instead of the $150 study permit fee. IRCC returned the application on September 15, 2026. Because a returned application gives no maintained status, she has been out of status since July 31. Her 90 days to apply for restoration run from July 31 and end on October 29, 2026, so she has 44 days left from the day the file came back, not 90. She should not attend classes or work until her status is restored.

Before you file again: a completeness check

• Forms: the current version of every form, downloaded the day you apply.
• Signatures: every form signed by the right person, including family members and the representative.
• Fees: every fee for every person, including the open work permit holder fee and biometrics, with the receipt.
• Documents: everything on the checklist, with an explanation letter for anything you cannot provide.
• A copy of what you sent: keep the full PDF of the submission and the confirmation page.

Mistakes I have seen

• I have seen people keep working after a return because they thought they had maintained status. A returned application never gave them any.
• I have seen people count the 90 days from the date the file came back, and miss the restoration window.
• I have seen applications returned for an old version of a form downloaded months earlier.
• I have seen fees short by a few dollars because the price changed, or because a family member was not counted.

Frequently asked questions

Is a returned application the same as a refusal?

No. A return means the application was not accepted for processing, so no decision was made on whether you qualify. It also means the application gives you no maintained status.

When does the 90-day restoration period start after a return?

IRCC’s instructions say it starts when your original permit or authorized stay ended, not when the application came back.

Can I keep working after my application was returned?

Not if your permit has already expired. A returned extension application does not give maintained status, so your permission to work ended with your permit.

Can I challenge a return in the Federal Court?

Sometimes. The Court has reviewed returns where the application was complete and the return cost the applicant something they could not get back, such as a place in a closed program.

Will IRCC refund my fees?

Yes, if the application is returned as incomplete: the fees are returned with it. Fees are not refunded when an application is refused.

Does a return affect my future applications?

The return itself is not a refusal. But time spent out of status, or working without authorization after a return, can affect later applications.

Related guides: students who worked over the limit or stopped studying, restoration refused or out of status, a work permit expiring before PR, a section 16(1) refusal, an expired COPR and a missed IRCC document deadline.

What should I do right now?

Find three dates: when your permit expired, when you applied, and when the file came back. Stop working or studying if your permit has expired. Gather the return letter and a full copy of what you sent, and plan the new application today. If you want to challenge the return, fifteen days passes fast.

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

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Sources (official)

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s. 10 and s. 12 (current to September 30, 2026) and s. 182
• IRCC, Restoration of temporary resident status (modified May 1, 2026)
• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 72
• Ferreria v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 267 (February 26, 2026)
• Kuznetsov v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 57 (January 15, 2026)
• Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65

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