An applicant whose Express Entry profile was declared ineligible (low CRS) was about to apply for a study permit and worried: should they create a fresh GC Key so IRCC wouldn't connect the two files, given the EE attempt showed intent to settle — and given some discrepancies between the old EE data and the new study-permit forms?
What the thread answered:
- IRCC links your applications regardless of which account you use. Records are tied to your identity, not your login. Creating a second GC Key doesn't hide anything — it just adds inconsistency.
- The forms ask about previous profiles — answer honestly. The most concrete advice: one of the study-permit forms has a question about previous EE profile applications; mention the profile details (even though it expired as ineligible) and add a brief two-line explanation in that form's comment section — earlier plans changed, now pursuing education.
- A past EE profile is not a study-permit killer. Members treated prior immigration interest as explainable — the SOP can say plans have evolved — while hiding it, if discovered, becomes misrepresentation with a five-year ban.
- Fix the discrepancies by disclosure, not concealment. Whatever was inconsistent in the old EE profile should be corrected openly in the new application; a mismatch found across linked files is far more damaging than an explained correction. (One suggestion to 'withdraw the file' didn't apply — an ineligible/expired profile has nothing to withdraw.)