A CEC inland applicant received a document request specifically asking for an official IELTS report, only to discover their test centre had permanently closed and couldn't reissue records, while IELTS/British Council's own response time (a week or more) exceeded the 7-day deadline given.
The practical path members suggested:
- A TRF (Test Report Form) downloaded directly from the IELTS online portal is generally not treated as equivalent to the "official" report IRCC is requesting in this kind of document request, even though it may otherwise contain the same score information — don't assume the online copy will satisfy the request.
- Since IRCC itself advises against having the test centre send the TRF directly to IRCC (per the applicant's own research) and your realistic response time from IELTS/British Council will likely exceed the deadline, the recommended move is to raise a webform immediately asking for an extension, clearly explaining the situation: your original test centre has closed, you're actively pursuing the official report through IELTS/British Council, and their response time exceeds the given deadline.
- Keep evidence of your outreach attempts (emails to the test centre, IELTS, and British Council) to include with your extension request, since it demonstrates you're acting in good faith rather than stalling.
Acting quickly to request the extension — rather than waiting past the deadline hoping the TRF arrives in time — is the safer move when a document request deadline is unrealistic through no fault of your own.