Inland PR applicants nearing approval receive an email asking for personal details before they can access the PR portal — and it looks suspicious: no letterhead, no signature, and a request to reply with personal information. This thread confirmed what's normal.
What group members explained:- The email is genuine if it comes from an address ending in @cic.gc.ca. The sender in this case (a long client-portal address ending @cic.gc.ca) is IRCC's real domain.
- This is the 'Portal 1' email. Inland applicants (PNP, CEC and other categories) get a first email requesting details by reply; a second, 'Portal 2', email follows with actual portal access. Multiple members confirmed receiving the identical message during their own PR process.
- Timing lines up with your file. It usually arrives once eligibility, medical and background checks show completed — cross-check your application status before replying.
- The bare-bones formatting is normal. Missing letterhead and signatures worried the poster, but members who completed the process said the template really is that plain.
Caution: verify the full sender address character-by-character (the domain must be exactly cic.gc.ca or canada.ca) — the plainness of real IRCC emails is exactly what scammers imitate. When in doubt, confirm via your online account or a call to IRCC rather than replying.