New medical exam requirements for Express Entry permanent residence applications take effect
As of 21 August, new applicants for Canadian permanent residence (PR) through the Express Entry system will need to complete an upfront Immigration Medical Exam (IME) to submit their application—unless they meet certain exemptions.
Prior to this change, IMEs were to be completed after a foreign national submitted their application for PR, upon request from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Some candidates will be exempt from this change if they meet all conditions detailed below, including having completed an IME in the last five years.
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To be exempt, an Express Entry applicant must meet all the following conditions:
- They previously completed an IME in the last five years.
- Their previous IME indicated that they were a low risk or no risk to Canadian public health and public safety.
- They already live in Canada.
IRCC advises candidates to only complete an IME if they have received an invitation to apply (ITA) for PR.
IMEs are typically valid for 12 months from the date of the exam.
IMEs must be completed by a candidate and all of their immediate family members (spouse / common-law partner, dependent children, and the dependent children of dependent children), even including family members who are not accompanying the candidate to Canada.
Who can perform an IME?
IMEs must be performed by an IRCC-approved panel physician.
These physicians have access to IRCC’s eMedical program and will send a candidate’s IME results directly to IRCC on their behalf.
To find the closest panel physician to you, visit IRCC’s webpage.
How to attach your IME results to your PR application
Once you have completed your IME, the panel physician will give you either an
- Information printout sheet; or
- IMM 1017B Upfront Medical Report form.
When you apply online, you’ll need to provide one of those documents as proof that you have completed an IME in the Express Entry Profile Builder.
What if I have already completed an IME in the past five years?
Candidates who meet all the conditions (as detailed above) for the exemption to this new rule can use their old IME results to meet the new requirement.
Applicants who may be exempt should provide a copy of one of the following documents from their previous IME:
- Information printout sheet;
- IMM 1017B Upfront Medical Report form; or
- Their IME number (unique medical identifier).
This information should be uploaded to the Express Entry Profile Builder when submitting a PR application.
If, after the application has been submitted, IRCC determines that the previous results cannot be used, the department will provide the applicant with instructions on how to complete a new medical exam.
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