AOR is the abbreviated form of an Acknowledgement of Receipt. It confirms that Immigration, Refugees, and Canadian citizenship has received your application. When an applicant submits the permanent residency, temporary residence, or Canadian citizenship application, IRCC sends an AOR to IRCC. The vitality of a document largely depends upon the type of application submitted and the process through which it is submitted. This is how we define an AOR in Canadian immigration.
The IRCCs condition in determining an AOR
IRCC issues an AOR depending upon specific conditions. IRCC’s condition to issue AOR to individuals relies on the application type. Express Entry applicants receive the AOR by default after they submit their application. They typically receive the document within ten minutes of their PR application submission. On the other hand, for a sponsorship or citizenship application, an AOR might take longer than usual, perhaps a few months.
The proper definition of an AOR
AOR simply indicates that IRCC received your application. The AOR date is also essential, particularly when acknowledging the following factors:
1. A dependent child’s age
A dependent child must qualify for all the existing parameters associated with the definition of a dependent child. After that, the applicants can certainly include them on the application.
The following criteria if fixed for any dependent child:
- A dependent child must meet the requirements of being single.
- They must be under 22 years.
When IRCC gets your application, the dependent child must meet the above criteria as of the exact date of receiving their application. The same date reflects on your AOR as well.
2. Ensuring the validity of documents
Specific documents also have an expiry date, which means they don’t have full-time validity. Such documents include IELTS results, ECA, and a Police report. It is crucial to check their validity, especially on the date when IRCC receives your application. The AOR will have the exact date on which IRCC got your application. Therefore, plan your application submission way before the expiry of your documents.
Meaning of receiving an AOR
Receiving an AOR isn’t indicative of an application’s status, whether it is complete or not. Determining the application’s type will be vital. For instance, Express Entry candidates might receive an Acknowledgment of Receipt immediately after they submit their application. However, their application might be rejected if the documents aren’t complete or accurate.
On the other hand, receiving an AOR for citizenship application implies that IRCC has confirmed the completion of your application.
Paper-based application v/s online application
AOR provides you with information about when IRCC received your application. Suppose you submit an application that is not digital and is paper-based, AOR will reflect the date of receiving the application. Applicants receive an AOR once IRCC begins to process their application. Choosing a courier service that ensures that you’ve signed while you take your AOR is essential. This way you’ll have the chance to track the confirmation of your application.
Once you submit an online application, the AOR date will be the same as when you choose to apply. The AOR date might differ in terms of digital applications due to some minor technical faults or even the difference in time. The difference won’t be much but maybe a one-or-two-day delay. Therefore, it will be much better if you apply in advance.
PR possibility after receiving an AOR
We can conclude that AOR doesn’t essentially imply that your application is being processed. Obtaining a PR after receiving an AOR will mostly rely on the program under which you’ve applied. However, other factors will also apply.



