This thread is from the 2021 paper-application backlog era, when several members found IRCC — and even their MP's office — had no record of files couriered months earlier. The advice remains useful for any 'lost file' situation.
What group members advised:- Lead with your delivery receipt. Use the courier receipt/tracking confirmation to establish the package arrived, and quote it when calling IRCC about a temporary file number.
- Raise a web form asking about your documents, attaching the delivery receipt and any supporting evidence of submission. This creates a written trail beyond phone calls.
- Involve your MP — the poster did; even when the MP's enquiry also returns nothing, it documents the escalation.
- Be prepared to resubmit. A member recalled a near-identical case: after a web form with delivery proof produced nothing, the applicant eventually resubmitted the entire application. Keeping a full copy of your original package makes this far less painful.
- You're not alone — coordinate. Multiple members reported the same May-era gap; several submitted web forms around the same time to raise visibility.
Historical note: this reflects IRCC's pandemic-era paper backlog; most streams have since moved to online portals where submission is instantly acknowledged, but the receipt-webform-resubmit escalation ladder still applies to any misplaced file.