GCMS Notes for Work Permit — LMIA & PGWP

Published April 15, 2026 · Last updated October 7, 2026 · Sources: IRCC and CBSA official pages, linked in the text · Reviewed by Morteza Idjadi, RCIC R708675

Work permit refusals are different from visitor or study refusals: the officer is not only judging you, but also the job offer, the employer and, for a post-graduation work permit, the program you completed. A refusal letter gives you one line. Your GCMS notes show whether the officer doubted your ability to do the job, the genuineness of the offer, the LMIA, your intent to leave, or your eligibility for a PGWP, and what evidence was missing. This guide covers what is specific to work permits: the test in section 200 of the Regulations, the mandatory refusal grounds, the four genuineness factors, PGWP rules as they stand in 2026, what a work permit file looks like in GCMS, and what to do about maintained status and restoration if you were refused inside Canada.

Refused after July 29, 2025? IRCC now attaches the officer's decision note to work permit refusal letters, including extensions. It is the final officer's summary, not the file. See what the decision note includes and what it leaves out.

What is the legal test for a work permit?

Section 200 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations requires an officer to issue a work permit if the applicant applied properly, will leave Canada by the end of the authorized period, either falls into a permitted category or has a job offer the officer has determined to be genuine (with a labour market impact assessment or an exemption from one), and passes a medical examination where required.^[1] IRCC's applicant guidance adds that you must show enough money for yourself and your family and to return home, include all required documents, provide any further documents an officer asks for, and "show that you will leave Canada before your work permit expires".^[2]

Section 200(3) then lists situations in which a work permit "shall not" be issued. Two matter most in refused files: where "there are reasonable grounds to believe that the foreign national is unable to perform the work sought", and where the applicant worked or studied without authorization and six months have not passed since they stopped, unless an exception applies. The same subsection bars permits where the employer is ineligible or owes administrative penalties, and, for Quebec, where a required Certificat d'acceptation du Québec is missing.^[1] A refusal under 200(3) is mandatory, so the GCMS notes will show which paragraph the officer relied on.

What are the four genuineness factors on an employer-specific permit?

For an employer-specific work permit, the officer assesses the job offer itself under subsection 200(5). IRCC's manual says four genuineness factors should be assessed, in these words:^[3]

"the offer is made by an employer that is 'actively engaged' in the business (unless the offer is made for employment as a live-in caregiver)"
"the offer is consistent with the reasonable employment needs of the employer"
"the terms of the offer can be reasonably fulfilled by the employer"
"the employer or their authorized recruiter has complied in the past with federal and provincial or territorial laws that regulate employment or recruitment in the province or territory where the foreign national will be working"

Any one of the four is enough on its own: "If the offer of employment is not found to be genuine under any one of the 4 genuineness factors, the officer is to refuse the work permit application, as it does not meet the requirements of section R200."^[3] So the notes will name the factor, not just the conclusion.

Before refusing on this ground the officer should write first, and that step is visible in the file. IRCC's instruction is to send a procedural fairness letter saying the officer "has concerns with the genuineness of the offer and further information or documents are required", specifying "which of the 4 genuineness factors is of concern and why", and telling the applicant that the employer should provide the evidence directly to IRCC "within 15 days (or the applicable office standard)".^[3] If your notes show a fairness letter and no employer response, that is usually what decided the file — and the response had to come from the employer, not from you.

One exception worth knowing: "Open work permits are not subject to the assessment of the genuineness factors in subsection R200(5), since there is no specific employer or job offer involved."^[3] A refused spousal open work permit or PGWP was therefore refused for some other reason, usually eligibility.

What does the refusal letter say, and what do the notes add?

Ground on the letter	What the officer was deciding	What the GCMS notes usually show
Not satisfied you will leave Canada at the end of your stay	Ties, travel history, previous refusals and the length of the offer	Which factor the officer weighed most, and whether a previous refusal from Canada or another country drove the decision
Unable to perform the work sought (R200(3)(a))	Whether your education, experience and language match the job's requirements	The specific gap: an unverified reference letter, experience in a different occupation, or language below the level the LMIA or offer stated
Job offer not genuine (R200(5))	The employer's business activity, size, needs, finances and compliance record	Which of the four factors failed and what the officer checked, for example business registration, revenue or the number of existing staff
LMIA issues	Whether a valid positive LMIA (or an exemption code) matched the job, wage and location applied for	Mismatches between the LMIA and the application: employer name, occupation code, wage or work location
Unauthorized work or study (R200(3)(e))	Whether you worked or studied without authorization and whether six months have passed	The dates and source of the compliance finding and whether an exception was considered
PGWP eligibility	Program length, DLI eligibility, full-time status, timing, study permit validity, language and field of study	The exact criterion the officer found unmet and the document relied on
Medical or security	Whether a required medical was done and screening completed	The result dates, or that a result never arrived

Post-graduation work permits in 2026

PGWP refusals are almost always eligibility refusals, and the criteria have changed several times. As of IRCC's current page, you must have completed a program "at least 8 months long (or 900 hours for Quebec programs)" at a PGWP-eligible designated learning institution, kept "full-time status as a student in Canada during each semester" (part-time is allowed only in the final semester), and applied "within 180 days of confirmation that you completed your program of study", with a study permit that "was valid at some point during the 180 days after you completed your program of study".^[4] Applicants who applied on or after November 1, 2024 must also meet a language requirement: CLB or NCLC 7 in all four abilities for university degree programs, and CLB or NCLC 5 for college and polytechnic programs; non-degree college and university graduates whose study permit applications were submitted on or after November 1, 2024 must also have studied in an eligible field.^[4] You are ineligible if you "already received a PGWP".^[4]

The GCMS notes on a PGWP refusal identify which of these the officer found unmet, and that decides whether the refusal can be fixed. A missed 180-day window cannot be repaired; a misread transcript or a language test that was not linked to the application can.

What does a work permit file look like inside GCMS?

Application summary: UCI, application number, the permit type (employer-specific, open, PGWP, extension), the LMIA number or exemption code recorded, the employer and occupation code on file, and the dates of receipt and decision.
Assessment results: eligibility, security, information-sharing and medical results with dates.
The officer's notes: a dated assessment covering your qualifications, the genuineness factors or the PGWP criteria, and the refusal ground. Parts may be redacted where the law protects other people or security methods.^[5]
Employer information: what the employer submitted through the Employer Portal or with the LMIA, as it appeared to the officer.
Earlier applications: previous permits, extensions, study permits and visitor applications under the same UCI, with their notes.
Correspondence log: procedural fairness letters, document requests and the refusal letter, with dates.

See how to read GCMS notes for how the release is laid out. If you entered Canada to work and were examined at the border, those records are held by CBSA; see IRCC vs CBSA notes.

Refused inside Canada: maintained status and restoration

If you applied to extend or change your work permit before it expired and stayed in Canada, you were on maintained status while IRCC processed the application and could keep working under your existing conditions.^[6] A refusal ends that status. From that point you generally must stop working, and you have 90 days from the date you lost status to apply to restore it and, at the same time, apply for a new permit; you cannot work while a restoration application is pending.^[7]

Because the 90-day clock runs from the refusal, order the GCMS notes immediately. IRCC has 30 days to respond and may extend that period,^[8] so the notes can still arrive in time to shape the restoration application, and they show whether the problem was a document, the employer, or an eligibility finding that a new application cannot cure.

Get the officer's notes on your work permit

We file the access request with IRCC as your Canadian representative. No Canadian status needed. From USD 19.

Order GCMS Notes

After a refusal: re-apply or judicial review

There is no appeal for a refused work permit; the options are a new application or an application for leave and judicial review at the Federal Court.^[9] IRCC advises re-applying only with information you did not include before.^[10] For a work permit that usually means one of these, and the notes tell you which:

A corrected or new LMIA or offer of employment when the notes show a mismatch in wage, occupation, location or employer name.
Evidence you can do the job: verifiable reference letters with duties and dates, credentials, or a language result at the level the offer requires.
Employer evidence addressing the genuineness factor that failed, for example financial statements or proof of active operations.
A different permit type if the notes show the eligibility finding cannot change, for example a PGWP refused for timing.

Where the notes reveal that a concern was never put to you, or that the officer misread a document, judicial review may be the better route; IRCC notes that you should state you have not received the reasons when applying, so the Court can request the complete reasons.^[5] See GCMS notes after a refusal.

Ordering GCMS notes for a work permit

What we need: your name and date of birth as on the application, your UCI or work permit application number, and the signed consent form we provide.^[11]
Spouse on an open work permit: their permit is a separate application with its own file; add them to the same order.
From outside Canada: no Canadian status is needed; we file from Canada as your representative.^[11] See requesting from outside Canada.
Timeline: IRCC has 30 days and may extend; 4 to 6 weeks is typical.^[8]

Frequently asked questions

Do the notes show what my employer submitted?
Yes. The file records the offer of employment or LMIA details as they appeared to the officer, which is how mismatches between your application and the employer's submission are found.

My open work permit was refused. Was it the employer?
No. Open permits are not assessed on the genuineness factors, because there is no employer; the notes will show an eligibility or admissibility reason instead.^[3]

Can I order the notes while a restoration application is pending?
Yes, and you should. An access request does not affect the restoration or any other application.

Does a work permit refusal affect a later PR application?
The refusal and its notes stay on your UCI. A finding of misrepresentation or unauthorized work matters for PR; an ordinary refusal does not, provided the next application addresses the recorded concern.

Official sources

All information on this page is based on official Government of Canada publications: