You gathered your documents, filled out your CIT 0001, and mailed everything to IRCC. Weeks later, the entire package arrives back in your mailbox with a form letter listing what went wrong. No processing. No refund of time. Back to square one.
This happens more often than you think. IRCC's Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia reviews every application for completeness before it enters the queue. If anything is missing or wrong, they return the whole package unprocessed. Here are the five most common reasons, straight from IRCC's own return letters.
1. Identity Documents Missing or Unclear
IRCC needs to verify who you are. That means a clear, legible copy of a valid government-issued photo ID: passport, driver's license, or state/provincial ID card.
Common mistakes: - Sending an expired ID - Uploading a blurry or cropped photo where text is unreadable - Sending a work badge, student ID, or health card (none of these are accepted)
The fix: Photograph your passport photo page or driver's license on a flat surface in good lighting. No flash (it causes glare on laminated cards). Every character must be readable.
2. Hospital Birth Certificate Instead of Government Certificate
This is the single most common mistake. A hospital birth certificate, the decorative one with baby footprints that the hospital gives new parents, is not a legal document. IRCC explicitly rejects these.
What IRCC requires: a certified copy of the birth registration from the vital statistics office in the state or province where the person was born. This is a letter-sized document on security paper with a raised government seal, a registration number, and both parents' full names.
The fix: Order a long-form certified birth certificate from your state's vital statistics office. In the US, search "[your state] vital records birth certificate" to find the ordering portal. Budget 2-4 weeks for delivery. For Canadian certificates, order from the provincial vital statistics office where your ancestor was born. Quebec takes 8-16 weeks, so start early.
3. Photos Missing or Not to Specification
Canadian citizenship photos are not the same as passport photos. The requirements are specific:
- Size: 50mm x 70mm (larger than a standard 35x45mm passport photo)
- Background: plain white or light grey
- Expression: neutral, mouth closed, both eyes open
- No glasses (this rule changed recently and catches many applicants)
- Printed on photo paper, not inkjet printed at home
Two identical photos are required. The photographer must print the date on the back and sign them.
The fix: Go to a pharmacy photo counter (CVS, Walgreens, Shoppers Drug Mart) and ask specifically for "Canadian citizenship application photos, 50 by 70 millimeters." Bring the IRCC photo spec sheet to be sure.
4. Payment Missing or Wrong Format
The government fee is $75 CAD, and IRCC is strict about how you pay. The only accepted method is an online fee payment receipt generated through IRCC's website. No cheques. No money orders. No bank drafts. No cash.
If you paid correctly but forgot to include the receipt printout in your package, your application comes back.
The fix: Pay online at IRCC's website before mailing. Print the receipt. Include it in your package. The receipt has a barcode that IRCC scans during intake.
5. Supporting Documents Insufficient
Your application must include enough documentation to establish an unbroken chain of descent from your Canadian ancestor to you. Every link in the chain needs proof.
What gets returned: - Missing a birth certificate for one person in the chain - No marriage certificate to explain a name change between generations - Documents that don't clearly show the parent-child relationship - Black and white photocopies instead of colour copies (IRCC requires colour)
For a grandparent chain, you typically need: your birth certificate, your parent's birth certificate, your grandparent's Canadian birth certificate, and any marriage certificates needed to connect name changes.
The fix: Map your full ancestry chain before you start. List every person from you to your Canadian ancestor. For each link, confirm you have a birth certificate showing the parent-child connection and marriage certificates for any name changes. Upload everything to MaplePass for AI verification before you mail, so issues get flagged before IRCC sees them.
How to Avoid a Return
The pattern across all five reasons is the same: IRCC tells you exactly what they need, and most applicants skip a requirement because they assume their document is good enough.
Before mailing: 1. Check every document against IRCC's requirements, not your assumptions 2. Ensure all copies are in colour, not black and white 3. Verify your photos meet the 50x70mm specification 4. Confirm your payment receipt is printed and included 5. Review your ancestry chain for any missing links
MaplePass runs AI verification on every document you upload, checking for the exact issues IRCC flags. A two-minute check before you mail can save months of waiting for a returned package.