Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has recently launched an Application Status Tracker (ATS) tool, offering enhanced transparency to applicants for various permits and visas, including work permits, study permits, visitor visas, and certain permanent residence application types.

The types of permanent residence applications covered by this tool include Express Entry, the enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and family sponsorship for spouses or dependent children.

On October 14, 2026, IRCC officially introduced the tool on the government’s website, allowing applicants with an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) to monitor the status of key components of their applications, such as eligibility, medical exam completion, background verification, and biometrics.

The tool provides status updates for each component, indicating whether it is ‘Not started,’ ‘Waiting on you,’ ‘In progress,’ ‘Completed,’ or ‘Exempted.’ Additionally, applicants can view an ‘overall status’ for their submission, which may show as ‘received,’ ‘in progress,’ or ‘closed.’

According to the website, applicant account information is refreshed daily to ensure the most up-to-date status.

To access application status details, individuals can log in using their bank credentials if supported or with their GCKey username and password.

An application