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🇨🇦 How to Fax IRCC (Canada Immigration) From Abroad

📅 Updated October 2026 · 🌍 Worldwide delivery

✦ Quick Answer

IRCC does not publish general fax numbers. Fax is one of the ways it may ask you to submit requested documents, and when it does, the request letter states the fax number to use. Take that number, select Canada from the list, type the 10 digits after the +1, upload your documents and pay $2.99 for up to 3 pages. Delivery usually takes a few minutes, the confirmation email is your timestamped proof, and you are refunded automatically if it fails.

Send a fax to IRCC, $2.99

When IRCC Accepts Fax

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has moved almost everything online. Applications go through the online portal or, for people who cannot apply online, by mail to the digitization office in Nova Scotia. The case processing centres in Sydney, Mississauga, Edmonton and Ottawa do not publish fax numbers on their contact pages at all.

Fax still exists in one place: requested documents. IRCC's own guidance on submitting information it has asked for lists three routes: through your online account, through the IRCC web form, or "another way," which it defines as email, mail, fax or Canada Post Connect. The request letter tells you which route to use, and the guidance is blunt about it: you must follow the instructions in the letter, and submitting another way may delay your application.

The rule: fax IRCC only when a letter or an officer has told you to, and only to the number given in that letter. If the letter says online account or web form, use that, not fax.

Where the Fax Number Comes From

From the letter, and nowhere else. An IRCC request for additional documents that allows fax will state the fax number, the file number to quote and the deadline, usually 30 days. Numbers differ by office and by program, and we do not list any here because a number copied from a forum or an old guide is the fastest way to send your passport scans to the wrong room.

If you lost the letter, do not guess. Use the IRCC web form to ask for the submission instructions again, quoting your application number. If an officer gave you a number by phone, write it down with the date and the officer's name, and put that on your cover page.

Send a fax to IRCC, $2.99

Canadian Fax Number Format

Canada shares country code +1 with the United States. A Canadian fax number is 10 digits: a three-digit area code and seven more. Select Canada from the list, then type those 10 digits with no leading 1 and no spaces. A number written 1-613-XXX-XXXX on the letter is entered as 613XXXXXXX. There is no zero to drop; Canadian numbers never have one.

OverseasFax is the right choice from the US, from Canada or from anywhere else in the world, which covers the situation of most people answering an IRCC letter: the applicant is in India, Nigeria, the Philippines or the Gulf, and the document has to reach an office in Canada today.

What to Put on the Pages

A cover page with your full name as it appears on the application, your date of birth, the application or file number from the letter, the date, your email, and one line saying what is attached. Then the documents in the order the letter listed them. Put the file number in a corner of every page, because a fax that arrives as separate sheets gets reassembled by that number.

Send a PDF rather than photographs. Fax transmits in black and white at a fixed resolution, and a phone photo of a passport bio page can arrive as an unreadable grey block. Scan at 200 dpi or more, check that stamps and dates are legible on your own screen first, and keep each page in portrait.

Send a fax to IRCC, $2.99

Proof of Submission

Your confirmation email records the destination number, the page count and the exact time the receiving machine accepted the fax, in US Eastern Time. Keep it with your application file. If IRCC later says it did not receive the documents, that email is a dated record that the fax was accepted by the number in the letter. It is also worth submitting a note through the web form the same day saying you faxed the documents as instructed and quoting the time.

What It Costs

Canada is in our first pricing tier: $2.99 for up to 3 pages, with extra pages at $0.99. A typical document request of a cover page plus five pages comes to $4.97. You see the price before you pay, there is no account and nothing renews. If the fax cannot be delivered the full amount goes back to your card automatically.

Why Faxes to IRCC Fail

Three causes cover almost every failure. A number that is no longer in service. IRCC retires fax lines as programs move online, which is why only the number on a current letter can be trusted. A leading 1 typed in. Select Canada and enter 10 digits, not 11. A busy line. Government fax machines take one document at a time, and a request deadline brings a queue. You are refunded automatically on failure and can resend; try early in the Ottawa morning.

Why send it here

One price for the whole fax, shown before you pay, and nothing added at checkout.

Nothing is printed on your document. It arrives exactly as you uploaded it.

If it cannot be delivered, the money goes back to your card without you asking.

It works from anywhere. Send from any country, in any browser, with no account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cost and what you get

How much does it cost to fax IRCC?

$2.99 for up to 3 pages, with extra pages at $0.99. Canada is in our first tier. No account, no subscription, and you see the price before you pay.

Is there a cheaper way to fax IRCC?

OverseasFax charges $2.99 for up to 3 pages and $0.99 for each extra page, from the US or any other country, with no account, no subscription and nothing added at checkout. Free fax services do exist, but they usually cap the number of pages and print their own advertising on the cover page, which you do not want on an immigration document.

Can I fax IRCC for free?

Free fax services generally limit you to a few pages, add their own advertising to the cover page, and do not give you a timestamped delivery record. For an immigration file with a deadline that is a poor trade.

Sending a fax

Does IRCC accept documents by fax?

Only when it asks for them that way. IRCC's guidance on submitting requested information lists fax as one of the "other way" options alongside email, mail and Canada Post Connect, and says the request letter will state which email, address or fax number to use. Applications themselves are not accepted by fax.

What is the IRCC fax number?

There is no general one. The case processing centres do not publish fax numbers. The number comes from the request letter for your specific file, and it differs by office and program. Use only that number.

I lost the letter with the fax number. What do I do?

Do not guess or copy a number from a forum. Use the IRCC web form, quote your application number, and ask for the submission instructions to be resent.

Can I fax my application to IRCC?

No. Applications go through the online portal or, if you cannot apply online, by mail to the digitization office in Nova Scotia. Fax is only for documents IRCC has specifically requested.

Fax numbers and format

What is the country code for faxing Canada?

+1, the same as the United States. Select Canada from the list and the code is added for you. Then type the 10-digit number with no leading 1.

How many digits is a Canadian fax number?

Ten: a three-digit area code plus seven digits. There is no leading zero and no trunk prefix in Canada.

Do I enter the 1 at the start of the number?

No. The 1 is the country code and it is added when you select Canada. Enter the 10 digits that follow it.

Receiving a reply

Will IRCC fax me back?

IRCC corresponds through your online account, email or mail, not fax. If any Canadian office does need to fax you something, our sister service GetAFax.com provides a US fax number for 24 hours for $5, with anything received sent to your email.

Delivery, proof and safety

What proof do I get that IRCC received my fax?

The confirmation email records the destination number, the page count and the exact time the receiving machine accepted the fax, in US Eastern Time. Keep it with your file, and consider noting the submission through the web form the same day.

What time should I fax IRCC?

During the Canadian working day. Most IRCC offices are on Eastern time (Ottawa, Mississauga) or Atlantic time (Sydney, Nova Scotia), Monday to Friday. From India that is evening; from the Philippines it is late night; from Nigeria it is early afternoon.

Why did my fax to IRCC fail?

Usually one of three things. The number on an old letter is no longer in service. A leading 1 was typed, making 11 digits. Or the line was busy. You are refunded automatically either way.

Is it safe to fax passport scans and personal documents?

The fax goes point to point to the number you enter and the file is deleted from our servers once it has gone. Nothing is stored and there is no account. The risk is a wrong number, which is why only the number on your current letter should be used.