My Case user guide

This guide will help you understand how to use My Case, the secure online portal to communicate with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). It includes information on how to register, submit documents, and stay informed about important updates from the IRB.

Who can register

Refugee claimant or appellant

To register for My Case, you must have received an invitation to register from the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) or the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD).

Do not contact the IRB to request an invitation to register.
You’ll receive an invitation by mail to the address we have on file when we’re ready to invite you to register.

My Case is not yet available to people who have:

an admissibility hearing or a detention review with the Immigration Division
an appeal with the Immigration Appeal Division, such as a:
- sponsorship appeal
- removal order appeal
- residency obligation appeal

Counsel

You are either paid or unpaid counsel.

Paid counsel could be a lawyer, Ontario paralegal, immigration consultant or Quebec notary. They must be a member in good standing of one of these regulatory bodies:
- the bar of a province or territory
- College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants
- Chambre des notaires du Québec
Unpaid counsel (also called a representative without a fee) can be almost anyone, such as a friend, relative, or member of the community. The person appearing before the IRB will complete a form authorizing you to represent them.

Designated representative

For more information about this role, consult Designated representatives.

Delegate

As a delegate, you need to be invited by a paid counsel who is registered on the My Case portal. You can’t register for My Case independently. For more information about this role, see Delegation.

How to register

The registration process depends on your role in the proceeding. Select the one that applies to you. Each role is briefly defined under Who can register.

How to register if you’re a refugee claimant, a refugee appellant, or are responding to a Minister’s appeal or application

Step 1: Get your registration code

You’ll receive a registration code when we’re ready to invite you to register.

If you’ve received a registration code, go to Register for My Case to start the registration process. You’ll need to enter your:

registration code
email address (make sure it’s an email address that is used only by you)

Important: Start the registration process in your preferred official language (English or French). If you change languages after Step 1, you may see error messages.

Step 2: Confirm your email

Once you’ve entered your registration code and confirmed your email address, My Case will send you an automated email containing a time-sensitive link to continue to the next step.

Check your spam folder if you don’t see the email
It may take up to 10 minutes to arrive in your mailbox
If you don’t receive it, go back to Step 1 and try again by re-entering your registration code and the same email address or try a different one

If all your attempts fail, you’ll no longer be able to register.

Step 3: Sign in

Use the link included in the confirmation email to go to the sign-in page. This link is unique to you and must be used to continue your registration.

Note: You can't register by signing in from the My Case home page.

See Signing in to My Case for more information about the sign-in process.

Step 4: Accept terms and conditions

After signing in, you need to read and accept the terms and conditions for using the My Case portal.

Step 5: Verify your identity

We’ll ask you questions about your file to verify your identity. Make sure you have these documents ready:

your Refugee Protection Identity Document or your Refugee Protection Claimant Document
correspondence from the IRB about your file
your Basis of Claim (BOC) form

You’ll be signed out if you don’t answer the questions within 30 minutes. To continue the registration process where you left off, you’ll need to:

Go to the My Case home page.
Select "Sign in".
Select the sign-in option you chose in Step 3.
Enter your sign-in credentials.

If you answer incorrectly too many times, you won’t be able to access your account or register.

How to register if you’re counsel or a designated representative

You only need to register for My Case once. If you’ve previously registered but now have a new case before the IRB, you do not need to register again.

If you’re counsel (paid or unpaid) and also act as a designated representative, you can access all your files through one account. You can filter your cases by role.

Overview of your registration process

To start the registration process:

Go to Register for My Case and follow the instructions for your role.
Complete the registration form emailed to you and send it back to us.
Confirm your identity in a virtual meeting using Microsoft Teams. A My Case officer will guide you through the next steps.
Select the registration link sent to you by email.
Sign in to My Case; see Signing in to My Case for more information about the sign-in process.
Enter the invitation code the My Case officer gave you.
Confirm your phone number to receive an access code by text.
Enter the access code to confirm your identity.

How to register if you're a delegate

When paid counsel invites you to register, you’ll receive an email with a time-sensitive link to continue to the next step.

If you don’t see the email, check your spam folder. If you still don’t see the email, ask your counsel to invite you again.

Use the link in the email to continue your registration.

Note: You can’t register by signing in from the My Case home page.

See Signing in to My Case for more information about the sign-in process.

After signing in, you’ll be asked to confirm your identity. These questions are based on private information known to you and the paid counsel.

If you answer incorrectly too many times, you’ll be locked out of the registration process. To try again, you’ll need to call the My Case help desk at 1-833-931-5121. They may be able to have your registration process unlocked.

Signing in to My Case

If you’ve registered for My Case, sign in either using your:

banking information
GCKey

During the registration process, choose the option that works best for you. You’ll need to use the same credentials every time you sign in to My Case.

After you register, always sign in to My Case from the My Case home page. Other government sign-in pages may look similar, so make sure you’re using the correct one.

See Protection of personal information for tips to keep your account secure.

See Who are the sign-in partners to find out which financial institutions allow you to sign in with your banking information. This page also provides information on this sign-in service.

If you choose to sign in using a GCKey, you'll need to set up two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA is a recognized security best practice used to protect devices and accounts.

See Registering for two-factor authentication (2FA) for details on this process. For general information about the GCKey service, see What is GCKey.

If you have a GCKey but haven't set up two-factor authentication, we recommend you do so before registering for My Case.

To set up 2FA with an existing GCKey:

Go to the My Case home page and select "Sign in".
Select "Sign in or create an account with GCKey".
Enter your GCKey username and password and select "Sign in".
Select "Continue".
Choose a method of two-factor authentication and follow the instructions.

Important: At the end of the process, the My Case portal will display a sign-in error message. It simply means that you don't have a My Case account yet. You'll be able to use your GCKey when you register for My Case.

If you don't have a GCKey, you can create one during registration, but we recommend you create your GCKey ahead of time.

To create a GCKey and set up 2FA:

Go to the My Case home page and select "Sign in".
Select "Sign in or create an account with GCKey".
Select "Sign up".
Follow the instructions.
Choose a method of two-factor authentication and follow the instructions.

For more information about the creation of a GCKey, consult Help information about signing up for a GCKey.

Viewing your cases

Cases are available in My Case for a limited time. You need to download and save a copy of each document you've received before access to them expires.

If you're counsel or a designated representative

Cases will no longer appear in My Case 75 days after the IRB issues a final decision.

If you're a refugee claimant, a refugee appellant, or are responding to a Minister's appeal or application

Cases will no longer appear in My Case 6 months after the IRB issues a final decision. In addition, your account will be deactivated after 6 months of inactivity.

Updating your contact information

It's your responsibility to inform the IRB right away if your contact information changes. Contact information updates take up to 2 working days to be processed.

To update or correct your contact information:

As counsel or a designated representative, go to your profile and select which information you wish to change, add, or remove.
As a refugee claimant or appellant, use the "Submit a form" menu to select:
- Submit change of telephone number or email address.
- Submit change of mailing address.

Submitting documents and forms

Forms and documents that can be submitted through My Case

Many forms can be completed directly in My Case and sent to the IRB. These forms are easier to complete than the PDF versions on the IRB website because they automatically include some of your information.

Important: You can't submit a notice of appeal form for the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) through My Case.

See the Practice Notice – Electronic Exchange of Documents Using My Case for more information about submitting and receiving documents through My Case.

If you're a refugee claimant or appellant who is represented by counsel

You can submit changes to your contact information. Your counsel will submit documents and other forms on your behalf.

If you're a self-represented refugee claimant or appellant

You're not required to have counsel represent you before the IRB. If you don't have counsel, you're considered self-represented.

You can complete and send your forms and documents, including:

divisional forms
applications and requests
disclosure of documents
written submissions

If you're counsel (paid or unpaid), a delegate, or a designated representative

You can submit forms and documents on behalf of the person you represent, including:

divisional forms
applications and requests
disclosure of documents
written submissions
contact updates

Note: Based on your role, you may be able to send additional forms.

If you're paid counsel or a delegate, you may also send the notification of new client form and the notice of appeal to the RAD.

How to submit documents

Select "My Cases" in the side menu.
If your case appears, select "Submit documents".
If your case doesn't appear, either:
- select "Submit documents" in the Actions column.
- select the file number, then select "Submit documents".

You'll receive an email notification with a confirmation number for your submission. There's no need to mail a paper copy once you've sent the document electronically. However, you may be asked to bring original documents to your hearing or to provide them later.

Viewing your submission history

The details of your submissions are displayed in the side menu, under Submission history. This includes downloadable PDFs of My Case forms, but not the documents you submitted. Make sure to keep a copy of your documents on your computer.

If you're counsel, a designated representative, or a delegate, the side menu section shows the last 2 months of document submission details.

To see the full submission history of a case:

Go to "My Cases".
Select the case.
Select "Submission history".

Submission statuses

Each document and form submission has a status:

Submitted: This means that we've received your document or form, but it doesn't mean that the division has accepted it
Rejected: See the next section for details

Rejected submissions

Documents and forms you submit may be rejected if they:

can't be processed by the IRB due to technical problems, for example a system failure happening while you were submitting them
are uploaded to the wrong file
have information about unrelated cases

If this happens, you'll receive an automated email asking you to submit the document or form again. The status of your submission will say "rejected".

Receiving documents

When the IRB sends you a document, you'll receive an email notification at the email address you provided in your profile.

To view the document:

Sign in to My Case.
Go to "Notifications".
In the Actions column, select "Download".

Save a copy of each document. See Viewing your cases to find out how long cases remain in your account after they've been finalized.

Managing notifications

You can remove items from the Notifications when you no longer need them.

If you're counsel, a designated representative, or a delegate, the side menu section shows the last 2 months of notifications. Go to a case to see its full list of notifications. Documents will remain available in the case's inbox if the case is accessible in My Case.

Notification statuses

Each notification has a status:

Unread: you haven't downloaded the document
Read: you've downloaded the document
Recalled: the IRB has deleted the document because it was sent in error. You can no longer download it

Requesting audio files of proceedings

You can request an audio file (.mp3) of a recorded proceeding through My Case.

To make a request:

Sign in to My Case.
Select the case you want.
Go to the end of the page and select "Request audio files".

After you make a request:

you'll get an email notification with a confirmation number
it may take up to 4 working days to process your request
if a recording is available, you'll get an email notification once your audio files are ready to download
if the proceeding wasn't recorded, the email will tell you
if a recording was too large to be uploaded to My Case, you'll get a CD by mail

To download and listen to your audio file:

Sign in to your My Case account.
Go to "Notifications".
Download the file and open it using a media player.

Delegation

Paid counsel can choose to delegate the management of their My Case account to a delegate. With a delegation, an assistant can download documents and audio files and send documents and forms to the IRB on counsel's behalf. Only paid counsel can have delegates.

For paid counsel

Delegating case access and document submission

You may register up to 4 delegates at a time.

To add a delegate:

Go to "My Profile".
Select "Delegates".
Add a new delegate.
Fill in the required information and agree to the conditions.

Make sure the email address you enter is unique to the delegate. They'll receive an invitation by email to register for My Case.

New delegate using a former delegate's email address

If a former delegate previously registered for My Case with the same email address of your current delegate, contact the regional team of My Case officers to remove the email address from our database before you create a new delegation. Otherwise, the delegate will not be able to register.

Counsel delegating for a colleague

When you send a delegation to a colleague who is already registered as counsel:

they must use a different email address for their delegate account
their accounts will not be linked
they must use different sign-in credentials for each account

To prevent issues when trying to register as a delegate, your colleague should clear their browser's cache and not allow their browser to remember their credentials for any of their My Case accounts.

Responsibilities regarding delegates

You're the sole manager of your delegates. For security reasons, you must extend their delegation every 60 days, or it'll expire. You'll receive an email notification when it's time to do so.

If you wish to continue the delegation:

Sign in to your My Case account.
Go to "My Profile".
Select "Extend delegation" in the Actions column, next to the delegate's name.

Your delegate will receive an email notification once you've extended their delegation. Since they've already registered, they won't need to register again.

When your delegate no longer works for you or manages your cases, it's your responsibility to end the delegation. To do so:

Sign in to your My Case account.
Go to "My Profile".
Select "End delegation" in the Actions column, next to the delegate's name.

Supervising a delegate

The Submission history section of your account will list the correspondence sent by your delegate to the IRB for any of your cases. You and your delegate will receive email notifications when correspondence is received for cases that you represent.

Renewing expired delegations

If you haven't extended a delegation before it expires, the delegate's access to your cases will be blocked, and you won't be able to extend the delegation. You'll need to re-invite the delegate.

For delegates

Registering

For information about the registration process, see How to register if you're a delegate.

Once registered, you'll have access to the cases your counsel represents. A delegation lasts 60 days and will then expire. Counsel can extend or end your delegation at any time.

If you already have a My Case account as counsel

If you have an account as counsel and are being invited to act as a delegate for a colleague, you'll need to use different credentials and a different email address.

Important: Your delegate account can't be linked to your counsel account.

To prevent issues when trying to register as a delegate, clear your browser's cache and do not allow your browser to remember your credentials for any of your My Case accounts.

Renewal of a delegation

Counsel will receive a reminder email to either extend or end your delegation. You'll receive an email once your delegation has been extended. You can then sign in to My Case as usual.

Expired delegations

If your delegation has expired, counsel must re-invite you. You'll receive a new invitation email.

Sign in to My Case as usual.
Go to "My Counsel" in the side menu.
Select "Activate" and answer the questions.

Being delegated by more than one counsel

If another counsel invites you to become a delegate, you'll receive another invitation email.

Sign in to My Case as usual.
Go to "My Counsel" in the side menu.
Select "Activate" and answer the questions.

You can toggle between each counsel you're acting for by selecting a name in the Choose a counsel dropdown list.

Managing your caseload

You can submit documents, forms and audio requests on your counsel's behalf. Only you will receive an email confirming receipt.

In counsel's account, the Submission history section will list the correspondence you sent on their behalf. When the IRB sends your counsel a document, both you and your counsel will receive an email notification.

Security

Protection of personal information

The personal information you provide to the IRB is secure. The IRB takes the protection of your privacy seriously and follows all legal requirements to keep your information safe.

Things you can do to protect your information:

keep your password private, especially in public
don't share passwords or your PIN online or over the phone, even with family members
never choose to have your web browser remember your credentials
always sign out of accounts and websites every time you leave the computer; don't just close your browser
after each session, clear your browser's cache and close your browser

Email notifications

Beware of phishing attempts

My Case email notifications do not contain clickable links or attachments. They come from do-not-reply senders and have standard, bilingual subject lines and content.

The registration email is the exception.

To confirm that the link in the registration email is genuine, move your cursor over the link to reveal the URL. Do not click on the URL. The URL should start with https://mycase-mondossier.irb-cisr.canada.ca, followed by a long series of random characters.

If you're unsure, do not interact with the link, and contact the My Case help desk for support at 1-833-931-5121.

Once your My Case account is active, you'll receive email notifications when:

the IRB receives a form or document from you
you make a change to your profile information
your account information changes
the IRB sends you a document

It's important to check your My Case account regularly to receive the latest documents and updates about your file.

If you're paid counsel, you'll also receive an email when:

it's time to renew the delegation of your delegates

If you're a delegate, you'll also receive an email when counsel:

chooses to delegate the management of their account to you
renews or ends your delegation

Technical problems

If you're having trouble using My Case, contact the My Case help desk for technical support at 1‑833‑931‑5121. The My Case help desk only provides support for technical issues.

Browser and device problems

For the best experience, use the latest version of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a Windows device.

Other systems, devices or browsers may not work properly. This includes:

iOS devices
- You won't get a warning if you leave the page with unsaved changes
- After downloading a document from your inbox, you may need to refresh the page
Other browsers and operating systems
- Dates may appear in MM/DD/YYYY format, instead of the standard YYYY-MM-DD format

Sign‑in problems

Forgot bank or financial institution sign-in information

If you forgot your banking information, contact your financial institution for help.

Not able to sign in with bank or financial institution

You won't be able to sign in to My Case if your banking information, such as your card number, has changed. See Resetting a My Case account to fix this problem.

Forgot GCKey password or username

To learn how to recover your GCKey password, see Help information about a forgotten password.

To learn how to recover your GCKey username, see Help information about a forgotten username.

GCKey locked

If you enter the wrong password too many times, your GCKey will be locked, and you'll need to wait 24 hours before trying again.

GCKey revoked

See What if my GCKey has been revoked to figure out why your GCKey has been revoked. To continue to use My Case, you'll need to:

Create a new GCKey or decide to use your banking information.
Go to Resetting a My Case account to complete the process.

Resetting a My Case account

If you'd like to use a different GCKey or different banking information to access your My Case account, contact the My Case help desk at 1‑833‑931‑5121 and ask to have your account reset.

Important: Following the reset, the status of all the documents you've already downloaded will go back to Unread.

Case file problems

If you have active cases that don't appear in My Case, there may be a data entry issue. Contact the My Case help desk at 1‑833‑931‑5121 if an active case, or a case that was recently finalized, is missing from My Case.

Fixing common issues

If you've experienced an issue in My Case, try the following solutions before contacting the My Case help desk:

make sure you have a good internet connection because some issues may be caused by slower internet speed
refresh your browser
empty your browser's cache
try a different browser
restart your computer
install the latest version of Windows, Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome