An applicant from a country with mandatory military service (Iran, in this case) received an IRCC request for a "complete military table and records or proof of an exemption," despite never having served — they had left the country over a decade ago under a student exemption, backed by a deposit/bond that was later forfeited when they didn't return.
Members' guidance for this kind of request:
- Obtain an official document from your home country's relevant authority confirming that you never served and are not currently required to, especially given that any exemption bond or deposit was already collected/forfeited by the authorities. This is the core piece of evidence IRCC is looking for.
- Pair the official document with a clear, detailed Letter of Explanation walking through your specific situation — in this case, the study-abroad exemption, the bond, and its forfeiture — since IRCC officers won't necessarily be familiar with another country's specific exemption/bond system.
- Be precise in how you describe your status: the original applicant's own phrasing (calling themselves both "not exempt" and describing an exemption) confused readers in the thread, so clarity about exactly what status you hold now (versus what applied when you left) matters for a convincing explanation.
This is a fairly common type of request for applicants from countries with mandatory military service, and a well-documented explanation is generally enough to resolve it.