GCMS Notes vs CAIPS Notes: What Is the Difference?
"CAIPS notes" and "GCMS notes" are used as if they were the same thing. They are not: CAIPS was retired years ago, and for any application filed today the records you want are GCMS notes. This page explains the difference and when the old name still matters.
What is the difference between GCMS and CAIPS?
CAIPS, the Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System, was the system visa offices abroad used to process immigration applications. FOSS, the Field Operations Support System, held the domestic and port-of-entry side. Both were replaced by the Global Case Management System (GCMS), which IRCC describes as "an integrated case management system that covers the entire continuum of client information from first contact to final disposition and replaced CAIPS and FOSS through a phased implementation that took place between 2010 and 2012".[1]
That phrase — between 2010 and 2012 — is the part most pages get wrong. The changeover was not a single day, so an application from those years may have been handled in either system, and the name on a release depends on the office and the date rather than on a clean cut-off.
| Feature | CAIPS | GCMS |
|---|---|---|
| In use | Until the phased replacement between 2010 and 2012[1] | From that replacement to today |
| Department | Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), now IRCC | IRCC |
| Coverage | Visa offices abroad; the domestic side sat in FOSS[1] | Immigration, citizenship and passport services in one system[2] |
| Information sharing | Two separate systems to reconcile | Shares personal information with CBSA, CSIS, GAC, the RCMP, Justice, Correctional Service Canada and the IRB under Memoranda of Understanding[2] |
| Relevance today | Only for applications handled before the changeover | Every current application |
Why are both terms still used?
CAIPS was retired more than a decade ago, and the name has outlived it for ordinary reasons:
- Habit. Consultants, lawyers and applicants who worked with CAIPS kept the word, and it was passed on to people who never saw the system.
- Search. People still type "CAIPS notes", so services keep the term on their pages — which keeps it alive.
- Forums. In immigration communities the two words are used interchangeably, and nothing corrects them.
In practice: if your application is active or recent, what you need is GCMS notes. A request that asks for "CAIPS notes" by name is not refused for using the old word — the ATIP Division searches for the records you describe, which is why the wording of a request matters more than the system's name. See how to word an ATIP request to IRCC.
What did CAIPS notes include?
CAIPS was a visa-office system, so a release was narrower than a GCMS release is today: the officer's assessment notes, the processing stage, and the visa office's own handling of the file. Material held on the domestic side — entries, examinations, enforcement — was in FOSS, which is why a complete picture of an older file sometimes meant two requests.[1]
There is no public IRCC guide to the CAIPS printout, and this site does not have a sample of one. What a modern release looks like, section by section, is set out in sample GCMS notes and how to read GCMS notes.
Should I request GCMS or CAIPS notes?
- An application filed after about 2012: GCMS notes. CAIPS holds nothing for it.
- An application from 2010 to 2012: GCMS notes. The changeover was phased, so ask for the complete record for the application and let the ATIP Division find it wherever it sits.[1]
- An application from before 2010: still ask for the complete record rather than for CAIPS by name. Records from the older systems may or may not have come across, and describing the file — name, date of birth, UCI or application number, application type and year — is what decides what is found.
- If you are unsure: GCMS notes. It is the correct request for every current application.
How to file it, with or without a representative, is on GCMS notes: what they are and how to get yours.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still get CAIPS notes for an old application?
You can ask for the records of an old application, but not for a live CAIPS system: it was replaced between 2010 and 2012.[1] Ask for the complete record for the application and identify the file precisely; what exists is what is released.
Are GCMS notes more expensive than CAIPS notes?
The system's name has nothing to do with the cost. A Privacy Act request for your own personal information carries no fee;[4] an Access to Information Act request costs $5.[3] Anything beyond that is a service's own charge — see how much GCMS notes cost.
Do I need both GCMS and CAIPS notes?
No. One request for the complete record for your application is the right approach; there is no second request to make under the old name.
Is "CAIPS notes" the wrong thing to ask for?
It is an out-of-date name rather than a wrong one, and using it does not invalidate a request. But the ATIP Division searches for what you describe, so describe the records — the complete file for the application, including officer notes and assessments — rather than naming a system.
What about FOSS, GCMS and the border?
Border entries, exits and examinations are held by the Canada Border Services Agency and take their own request to CBSA, whichever system they were recorded in. See CBSA notes and the Travel History Report and IRCC records vs CBSA records.
Official sources
- Evaluation of the Family Reunification Program — IRCC (GCMS "replaced CAIPS and FOSS through a phased implementation that took place between 2010 and 2012")
- Privacy Impact Assessment Summary: Deployment of GCMS and TEMPO — Canada.ca
- Who can make a request under the Privacy Act? — IRCC
- What is the fee for an Access request? — IRCC