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How to check whether an email claiming to be from IRCC is legitimate

Canada • Permanent Resident • immigration 0 views
By VisaBuddies Communityvia community — compiled from public visa forums

Step-by-Step

IRCC does send legitimate correspondence from regional addresses (e.g., cic-london@cic.gc.ca), so an unfamiliar-looking sender address isn't automatically a red flag — but it's worth checking a few things before you reply or click anything.

What to check:
  1. The full sender email address, not just the display name — look closely for misspellings or an unofficial domain.

  2. Personalization — a genuine IRCC email should reference your specific application number correctly, and often your name.

  3. Bilingual formatting — official IRCC communications are typically bilingual (English and French), so an email with no French text at all is worth a second look.

  4. Generic or oddly-worded closing questions — group members flagged this as a common tell in suspicious emails.


In this thread, opinions were split: one member said the email looked legitimate and that replying was the right move to get the eCOPR process moving, while another flagged several signs (no name, no French translation, an odd closing question) as suspicious. When in doubt, don't click links or reply with personal information from the email itself — instead, log into your official IRCC/GCKey account directly and check your application status and messages there.

Dos, Don'ts & Tips

  • Do: Verify the full sender address, check for bilingual (English/French) formatting, and confirm your correct application number before trusting an IRCC email.
  • Tip: If unsure, don't reply directly to the email — log into your official IRCC account and check your application status/messages there instead.

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