Terms and conditions

Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled by Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the purpose of providing Canadians with direct access to information about the programs and services offered by the Government of Canada.

The material on this site is covered by the provisions of the Copyright Act, by Canadian laws, policies, regulations and international agreements. Such provisions serve to identify the information source and, in specific instances, to prohibit reproduction of materials without written permission.

Non-commercial reproduction

Information on this Web site has been posted with the intent that it be readily available for personal or public non-commercial use and may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, without charge or further permission, unless otherwise specified.

  • Users are required to:
    • Exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
    • Indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author organization; and
    • Indicate that the reproduction is a copy of an official work that is published by the Government of Canada and that the reproduction has not been produced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada.
  • Unless otherwise specified, this authorization is also applicable to all published information regardless of its format.

Reproduction of Government symbols

The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the “Canada” wordmark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without written authorization. Request for authorization from the Treasury Board Secretariat may be addressed to:

information@fip-pcim.gc.ca
Federal Identity Program
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada  K1A 0R5

Commercial reproduction

Reproduction of multiple copies of materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from the Government of Canada’s copyright administrator, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). Through the permission-granting process, PWGSC helps to ensure that individuals / organizations wishing to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes have access to the most accurate, up-to-date versions. To obtain permission to reproduce materials on this site for commercial purposes, please go to PWGSC’s “Applying for Copyright Clearance on Government of Canada Works” page.

Public Works and Government Services Canada
Publishing and Depository Services
350 Albert Street, 4th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada  K1A 0S5
copyright.droitdauteur@pwgsc.gc.ca

Third-party materials

Some of the materials and graphical elements found on Government of Canada websites are subject to copyrights held by other organizations. This is particularly true of sites that are jointly operated by a Government of Canada institution and an external organization as part of a collaborative arrangement. In such cases, some restrictions on the reproduction of materials or graphical elements may apply and it may be necessary to seek permission from the rights holder prior to reproducing the material.

To obtain information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions on reproduction on this site, please contact:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Communications Branch
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada  K1A 1L1

Disclaimer

Some of the information in this website has been provided by external sources. Citizenship and Immigration Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information provided by external sources. Users wishing to rely upon this information should consult directly with the source of the information.

Hyperlinking Notice

Links to Web sites not under the control of the Government of Canada (GoC) are provided solely for the convenience of users. The GoC is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The GoC does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Users should also be aware that information offered by non-GoC sites to which CIC links is not subject to the Privacy Act, the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities. The information offered may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question and users should research the privacy policies of the sites before providing personal information.

Privacy Notice

The Government of Canada and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) are committed to providing websites that respect the privacy of visitors. This privacy notice summarizes the privacy policy and practices for CIC’s websites.

Personal information collected from visitors

During your visit to its websites, CIC does not automatically gather any specific personal information from you, such as your name, telephone number or email address. We would obtain this type of information only if you supply it by sending us an email.

All personal information created, held or collected by CIC is protected under the federal Privacy Act. This means that, at any point during collection, you will be asked for consent to collect your information or advised of the authority for such collection. You will be informed of the purpose for which it is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.

Visitors’ personal information is used by CIC’s employees who need the information to respond to a request. The information you give us will be shared with another government department if your inquiry relates to that department. We do not use the information to create individual profiles, nor do we usually disclose the information to anyone other than to those in the federal government who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of the personal information you give us would be in accordance with the federal Privacy Act.

Note: Unless specifically noted otherwise, neither electronic systems nor emails are secure information transmission methods. Therefore, it is not recommended that you send sensitive personal information electronically.

Standard Internet information automatically collected from all visitors

CIC employs software programs to monitor network traffic and identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. When you visit our websites, these software programs automatically receive and temporarily store in our Web server logs information that is supplied by your browser (e.g., Internet explorer and Mozilla Firefox). Information automatically collected by our server when you browse our websites includes the following:

  • Network location and the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using to contact our websites;
  • Name of the domain you are using to access the Internet (e.g., ".com," ".org," ".net," and ".ca");
  • Type of browser you are using;
  • Type of operating system you are using (e.g., Windows and Mac OS);
  • Date and time you accessed the site;
  • Pages you have accessed and the documents you have downloaded; and
  • Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site, if applicable.

In most circumstances, this is anonymous statistical data, and we make no attempt to link this data, or the IP addresses of the computers that have contacted our websites, with the identity of individuals visiting our site—unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected or it is required by law. The programs are never used to gather specific personal information such as your name, your telephone number or your email address.

Cookies

Cookies are small files that may be placed on your hard drive by a website without your knowledge in order to monitor your use of the site. CIC uses "persistent" and "session" cookies to monitor usage of its websites. The cookies we use do not allow us to identify individuals. They are compiled into statistical information on traffic patterns and are used to assess and improve the efficiency of the site.

  • Session cookies—Are cookies that are used on some portions of CIC’s websites to store information within a session. During your visit to our site, your browser exchanges information with our Web server. Session cookies facilitate this exchange by reminding the server which computer is making the request. No personal information is kept in session cookies, and they are stored only in your browser’s temporary (i.e., cache) memory. When you log out of your session, the cookie is no longer valid; it is discarded when you close your browser.
  • Persistent cookies—Are more permanent cookies that can be reread when you return to the site. The information in them is written onto your hard drive and remains there until the expiry date of the cookie or until you delete the file. They are used for tracking traffic patterns to and from our websites and can also be used on some portions to find out how visitors access, navigate and use the site. More information on tracking can be found in the next session.

Google Analytics

CIC uses Google Analytics, a Web analytics service provided by Google Inc. to help measure traffic patterns to, from, and within its public websites. This analytics measurement tool uses "session" and "persistent" cookies (persistent cookies are stored on your computer and expire two years after your last visit to the websites) to collect standard Internet log information and to track visitor behaviour information in an anonymous form. The information generated by the cookies about your use of the website (including your truncated IP address) will be transmitted to Google. No personally identifying information is recorded or provided to Google. This anonymous information is then used to evaluate visitors’ use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity for CIC. The aggregate data and statistical reports are only used to help us make our site more useful to visitors and are only made available to Web managers and other designated staff who require this information to perform their duties.

We DO NOT use this Google Analytics measurement tool on any secure sites.

For further information, consult Google Analytics and its privacy policy.

If you wish, you may opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics by disabling or refusing the cookies, by disabling JavaScript within your browser or by using the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On. Disabling Google Analytics or JavaScript will still permit you to access comparable information or services from our websites. However, if you change the settings on your browser so that cookies will be denied or so that you will be warned before a cookie is saved on your computer, moving around on the websites may be a much slower process. To disable cookies or JavaScript, please refer to your vendor’s browser instruction guide.

External Service Providers

To effectively operate its websites, CIC uses external service providers. Such service providers are bound by contract with CIC to treat any personal information they may receive in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of the Privacy Act.

Questions or comments

Questions or comments regarding this policy or the administration of the Privacy Act at CIC may be directed to the Coordinator as follows:

Public Rights Administration
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
360 Laurier Avenue West, 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada  K1A 1L1

If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concerns, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at 1 800 282-1376 or through the Internet at www.privcom.gc.ca

For a description of the records held by CIC, please visit Treasury Board Secretariat’s Info Source publication entitled Sources of Federal Government Information.

Please note that CIC’s website provides links to other sites that are not covered by this privacy policy.

Official languages

Citizenship and Immigration Canada respects the Official Languages Act and relevant Treasury Board policies, and is committed to ensuring all information on this site is available in both French and English. However, users should be aware that some information from external sources is available only in the language in which it was provided.

Official websites

This website (www.cic.gc.ca) is the official website of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. On this site, you will find the official procedures and kits necessary for applying for citizenship and immigration services and visas. Supported by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Canadian missions and visa offices located outside of Canada operate websites that provide region-specific information on immigration and citizenship matters.

Impostor websites are attempting to mislead members of the public into thinking that they are official sites of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT). These websites may attempt to charge you for services that are otherwise free on the CIC website or through the official websites of the Canadian missions and visa offices abroad. They may also try to charge you for services that you may never receive, or request that you pay their fees in cash by mail or by making deposits to personal bank accounts. These methods are contrary to the official procedures for the payment of CIC services. Sending any personal or biographical information to impostor or non-official websites could also result in identity theft or fraud.

Applications for visas to Canada (also available on Canadian mission and visa office websites) must be submitted to Canadian missions or visa offices.

For services provided in Canada, check CIC’s Online Services for the appropriate procedures for payment. For services offered outside of Canada, the procedures for payment will be provided by the Canadian mission where you apply.

Websites operated by accredited immigration representatives provide legitimate and useful immigration information and services. However, regardless of the content of any other websites, CIC does not endorse, recommend or sponsor any information or material posted at such sites.

If you have any questions on how to apply officially for CIC services from within Canada, please call the CIC Call Centre at 1 888 242-2100. From outside Canada, check with your nearest Canadian mission or visa office.