The IRCC Authorized Paid Representatives Portal is IRCC’s account for paid representatives to submit and manage most online applications for clients, including visitor visas, study and work permits, Express Entry, IEC and eTAs. Each representative enrols with their regulator’s membership ID and may have only one account. Non-Express Entry permanent residence goes through the separate PR portal. Build daily message checks and linking into your workflow.
- The APR Portal handles most online applications: visitor visas, study and work permits, Express Entry, IEC, eTAs and IFHP.
- Non-Express Entry permanent residence goes through the separate PR portal, where the client signs the declaration.
- Each representative may have only one APR Portal account, enrolled with their regulator’s membership ID.
- Only the representative can link a client’s application, and all details must match.
- Application messages sit on each file, so check active applications every day.
For most temporary residence and Express Entry files, the IRCC Authorized Paid Representatives Portal (APR Portal) is where the practice’s work reaches IRCC and where IRCC’s messages come back. This guide covers who can use it, how applications get into your account, where correspondence lands and how representation ends, then turns that into a routine for your team.
Facts come from IRCC’s pages, checked 5 November 2026: Sign in to an account for representatives (modified 5 October 2026), APR Portal sign-in (modified 27 July 2026), How to use the APR Portal (modified 4 August 2026) and the APR Portal enrolment guide (modified 8 December 2023, so confirm current requirements).
What is the IRCC Authorized Paid Representatives Portal used for?
IRCC lists three accounts for representatives and asks you to use the right one for each application:
| Account | Used for (per IRCC) |
|---|---|
| Authorized Paid Representatives Portal | Most online applications: visitor visas, study and work permits, Express Entry, International Experience Canada, eTAs and the Interim Federal Health Program |
| Permanent residence portal for representatives | Permanent residence applications outside Express Entry |
| IRCC portal for representatives | Certain other applications listed on IRCC’s page |
IRCC also says to sign in to the APR Portal through its own sign-in page, not through the IRCC secure account, which is for applicants. For a wider view of the systems a practice uses around these portals, see tools Canadian immigration lawyers use.
Who can enrol, and what do you need?
- Eligibility. IRCC’s user guide defines an authorized paid representative as someone paid for immigration services who is a member in good standing of a provincial or territorial law society, the Chambre des notaires du Québec, or a body designated under IRPA s. 91(5).
- Membership ID. The enrolment guide asks you to choose your governing body and enter your membership ID, and says you must appear as a full member, not a transitional member, on the College’s website.
- Identity. Two pieces of ID, the first a valid photo ID. IRCC does not accept credit cards, bank cards or Social Insurance Number cards.
- IMM 5661. The form is printed, signed by you and by another member in good standing of a law society, the Chambre des notaires or a designated body, then scanned and uploaded.
- Time limit. The enrolment request must be completed within 30 days.
- One account. IRCC says “a representative may only have one APR Portal account.”
- Sign-in. GCKey or a Sign-In Partner, with two-factor authentication for GCKey. Always use the option you enrolled with, and create a separate GCKey for the APR Portal even if you already have one for another portal such as the Employer Portal.
How do you submit a client’s application?
For visitor visas, study and work permits, you start the application in the portal, enter a client case ID and complete the forms and documents. IRCC says the case ID is a number for you to manage your applications and that IRCC does not use it, so match it to your own file number. Group applications need an application and documents for each client. Fees are paid by the representative on the client’s behalf by credit card or Interac Online when you submit, and you sign the declaration by selecting “I agree”, entering your names and answering the security question. Express Entry and IEC follow their own eligibility and profile steps in the same account.
How do you link an existing application to your account?
IRCC says you must link your client’s application to your APR Portal account yourself; your client can’t do it for you. Choose to add a client’s application, select the application type and search. You can link only when all of the information matches, and IRCC says some paper applications can be linked too. After IRCC receives an application, it may take up to 5 days to appear for linking. Make sure the IMM 5476 Use of a Representative form is on file so IRCC recognizes you as the representative.
Where do IRCC messages arrive?
- Account messages. Your personal inbox holds messages about your account, including confirmations when you link an application. IRCC says it does not list messages you receive as part of a client’s application.
- Application messages. Each application’s messages appear on its own “Application status and messages” page.
- Email alerts. IRCC sends you an email when you have a new message, so make sure that mailbox is monitored, including when the representative is away.
Because application messages sit on each file rather than in one inbox, a daily check of active applications is the safest habit.
What happens when representation ends?
IRCC’s user guide says that to remove you, the client completes the IMM 5476 to cancel your appointment, sends it through IRCC’s web form, then links the application to their own account. After that the application is no longer connected to your account. If you are the one withdrawing, the CICC Code (s. 36(2)(c)) requires you to give notice that you no longer represent the client, following the department’s procedure. To close your APR account entirely, IRCC asks you to send a request to its Immigration Representatives mailbox.
How is the PR portal different?
IRCC’s 2021 notice on the Permanent Residence Online Application Portal for representatives says it is not connected to the APR Portal. The representative enters the client’s email, completes the forms and uploads documents, and the client signs in with their own credentials to review and electronically sign the declaration and consent form. IRCC advises clients to sign only when the application is complete. Plan an extra client step, and a reminder, for every non-Express Entry PR file.
A daily APR Portal routine for the practice
- Morning check. The licensee, or a delegated reviewer working under supervision, checks the email alerts and each active application’s messages.
- Log it on the file. Record every IRCC request or decision on the client’s case with the date it arrived.
- Set the deadline. Create a task for any IRCC request with its due date and a reminder before it.
- Link new files. Link any application submitted by paper or by the client once it appears, and note the date.
- Close out. When a file ends, confirm the IMM 5476 change and record it.
ImmiPractice does not submit applications to IRCC: your licensed professional files through IRCC’s portals as usual. It can prepare the forms first. See IRCC form autofill software and can a CRM fill IRCC forms?.
General information about running an immigration practice — not legal advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with official sources and your regulator.