Unable to download existing eCOPR

[ChunkyHammer]

PR Express Entry application. Partner is Main Applicant, I'm the dependent.

TIMELINE

• July: Application submitted
• Oct 13: Portal request received
• Oct 14: Address and photo submitted - Main applicant sent information for both of us.
• Oct 18: Email saying eCOPR available to download.

ISSUE

• Main applicant portal page: address approved, photo under review, eCOPR available to download but document generated is the dependent's.
• Dependent portal page: address and photo under review, no eCOPR available to download
• Representative portal: both eCOPRs ready and available for download as of Oct 18 (when email was received by main applicant). Includes document numbers which matches the one eCOPR we were able to download.
• So the documents SHOULD be available to download but a technical issue in the portal prevents us from accessing them.
• Because portal is wrong, we don't know if the other information in the portal (i.e. address and photo approval) are accurate and if we are on our way to receive PR cards.

ACTIONS TAKEN:

• Tried different browsers, clearing cookies or cache, nothing.
• Contacted IRCC via three different addresses (general inquiries, same one used for portal creation, office holding our application - Etobicoke).
• Contacted IRCC via Twitter, they keep telling us creating eCOPR can take a few weeks and don't seem to understand it's a tech issue preventing us from accessing the documents versus us being impatient. We received the email saying they're available!
• Reached out to our local MP and Sean Fraser's office (because at this point why the fuck not)
• Have no been able to speak to a person on the phone whenever we tried to call.
• Submitted multiple webforms detailing the issue. Only received the automated replies saying it has been delivered.

Of course it has now been over a month and aside from my local MP nobody has gotten back to us. I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall.
It worries me that nobody seems to even understand the issue we're having. Our representative is at a point where she's trying to figure out different ways of accessing the portal or the documentation versus giving us legal advice, it's madness. I feel like we're in a Kafka novel.

Anyone has experienced anything similar of figured out a way around the PR portal just being utter crap?

 

[mica.t]

Hello @ChunkyHammer,
I have to say I'm both relieved and double-pissed after reading your post. I'm having a very similar problem with the difference that I'm a single applicant and the only eCOPR that should be available is not.
My timeline is also quite similar to yours, which makes me wonder if there was a particular issue around those dates:

- Early July: application submitted
- Sep 27: Portal request received
- Sep 28: Address and photo submitted
- Oct 1: Email saying eCOPR available to download (starting with "Congratulations! You are now a permanent resident (PR) of Canada!)
- Nov 2: Automated email from IRCC (not the portal) saying they're still working on my application.

Unlike your application, both my address and photo appear under review, with no signs of an eCOPR as the email suggested. I'm doing the process myself too, so I cannot check the representative either.

I tried different ways to contact them with the same result as you: nothing.
- First, I emailed the person who sent that last email about the eCOPR but I got no response.
- Then I tried those webforms two times, resporting it as a technical issue, but they just reply that I should send a webform (basically, a circular non-sense).
- I also tried twitter, where they asked me for more information but then never got back to me. I messaged them again, with extra politeness, but nothing.
- Calling was simply impossible. I ended up lost in a loop of options that had nothing to do with my situation, and no way to talk to a real person.

Ugh, I guess I needed to relieve my frustration. Sorry about that.
I'm not sure what can be done but I'll keep on thinking about it and I'll let you know if I hear back from them. Please, would you do the same and share any news with me?

Thanks for sharing this issue and have a great day.

 

[ChunkyHammer]

Oh dude @mica.t I feel you so bad. It sounds very similar. Honestly we have not been able to find a solution yet. Were continuing to email and call but very little actual action. Contacting our MP has helped in that they can push the issue and get a reply but that has been slow too. No resolution but at least IRCC had a rely timeline now.

This option is a hail Mary because who knows if it will work but since we can see the document appears to exist we put in a freedom of information request in. IRCC legally has to provide all they paperwork they hold related to you so we're hopping the package will include the eCOPR.

Again it's a shot in the dark, they can take 30 days to reply and there's a small fee but (I think $7 bucks) but we're kinda stuck and at least this felt like we were trying SOMETHING.

Other than that same boat as you. If anything changes I will let you know.

BTW Twitter is particularly infuriating. We were told to use a Web form to deal with the issue but warned we won't receive a reply if it's not relat map to Afghanistan lol

 

[mica.t]

Hey @ChunkyHammer, thanks for the reply.
Miraculously, I got a reply on twitter that I hadn't seen:

"Hi. The download button should be on the right of the electronic confirmation of permanent residence (eCOPR) section, at the bottom of the portal. Try clearing your cache and using Chrome as a browser. If you still don’t see the download option after these steps, reply to the first email we sent about the portal to let them know you’re having technical problems. The email ending in @cic.gc.ca with the subject line: IRCC - Permanent Residence Portal (PR Confirmation) / Portail de résidence permanente d’IRCC (confirmation de la RP). If you obtained your permanent resident status before the implementation of the portal, you will not be able to download your eCoPR."

Not sure if it helps much (some things we've already tried), but it feels good to see some feedback.
I just emailed the PR portal people again, so we'll see.

 

[Tinnaneeraj]

Hey @ChunkyHammer, thanks for the reply.
Miraculously, I got a reply on twitter that I hadn't seen:

"Hi. The download button should be on the right of the electronic confirmation of permanent residence (eCOPR) section, at the bottom of the portal. Try clearing your cache and using Chrome as a browser. If you still don’t see the download option after these steps, reply to the first email we sent about the portal to let them know you’re having technical problems. The email ending in @cic.gc.ca with the subject line: IRCC - Permanent Residence Portal (PR Confirmation) / Portail de résidence permanente d’IRCC (confirmation de la RP). If you obtained your permanent resident status before the implementation of the portal, you will not be able to download your eCoPR."

Not sure if it helps much (some things we've already tried), but it feels good to see some feedback.
I just emailed the PR portal people again, so we'll see.

Hello. I got the same problem. I am unable to download ecopr of my child whereas other members got it. What should I do now? Did u guys find any ways? Pls reply

 

[ChunkyHammer]

Hello. I got the same problem. I am unable to download ecopr of my child whereas other members got it. What should I do now? Did u guys find any ways? Pls reply

Hey! We did eventually resolve - kind of. We reached out to our local MP and they were the ones who put pressure on the IRCC on our behalf. It took around 2.5 months of back and forth (though obviously there was a Christmas break in there).

In the first round they went through standard tech suggestions and asked for screenshots that it hadn't worked, we sent those back and they tried re-uploading the documents to the portal and we had to send more screenshots to show that also hadn't worked.

Eventually our MP's office told us that my partner's card had been been dispatched but there had been an issue with mine and it would be delayed. My partners arrived on the 17th of December and mine arrived 12th of Jan.

So in short, we didn't really get a solution for the eCOPR but I suspect having our MP advocating for us helped our inquiry get looked into and I suspect (though I can't be sure) it sped up the printing of our cards. If you're not in Canada or have an unhelpful MP however you are SoL.

Webforms have been pointless and Twitter insultingly unhelpful. The webform keep offering tech solutions that did not work for us (clear cache, different browser, different laptop, etc), information on how to correct the personal details in the form (not relevant)while Twitter kept telling us to keep using the webform despite me being clear that they did not understand the issue.

**RESOLUTION FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER**

• Dec 9: Received another IRCC email saying documents were available. Later found this was a result of our MP pressing them for a solution so they tried re-uploading the docs. The same tech issue detailed above remained. We shared screenshots showing that with our MP and webform.
• Dec 14: MP wrote to us saying my partner's information had been approved on Nov 26 (portal did not show this) and his card was in the mail. Mine had been approved but suffered a production error so hadn't been printed yet. IRCC suggested cleaning cookies and cache to see if portal worked in case we needed the eCOPR for Christmas travels. Needless to say this didn't work as they had already made this suggestion a hundred times before.
• Dec 17: Partner's PR card arrived, the evening before he was due to travel. Unfortunately by that point he chose to cancel his travel since he didn't want to risk losing the ticket money and we'd have nobody to look after our dog.
• Jan 12: My PR card arrived

Never had an actual solution for the portal/eCOPR problem in the end, it just took so long that it became no longer relevant.

 

[neil_user]

Hey! We did eventually resolve - kind of. We reached out to our local MP and they were the ones who put pressure on the IRCC on our behalf. It took around 2.5 months of back and forth (though obviously there was a Christmas break in there).

In the first round they went through standard tech suggestions and asked for screenshots that it hadn't worked, we sent those back and they tried re-uploading the documents to the portal and we had to send more screenshots to show that also hadn't worked.

Eventually our MP's office told us that my partner's card had been been dispatched but there had been an issue with mine and it would be delayed. My partners arrived on the 17th of December and mine arrived 12th of Jan.

So in short, we didn't really get a solution for the eCOPR but I suspect having our MP advocating for us helped our inquiry get looked into and I suspect (though I can't be sure) it sped up the printing of our cards. If you're not in Canada or have an unhelpful MP however you are SoL.

Webforms have been pointless and Twitter insultingly unhelpful. The webform keep offering tech solutions that did not work for us (clear cache, different browser, different laptop, etc), information on how to correct the personal details in the form (not relevant)while Twitter kept telling us to keep using the webform despite me being clear that they did not understand the issue.

Make sure you get the eCopr as well. You would need it during Citizenship application.

 

[ChunkyHammer]

Make sure you get the eCopr as well. You would need it during Citizenship application.

Oh FFS really? Ok that is good to know, we'll keep chasing it then. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[neil_user]

Oh FFS really? Ok that is good to know, we'll keep chasing it then. Thanks for the heads up!

Yeah, no worries.

 

[mica.t]

Hey! We did eventually resolve - kind of. We reached out to our local MP and they were the ones who put pressure on the IRCC on our behalf. It took around 2.5 months of back and forth (though obviously there was a Christmas break in there).

In the first round they went through standard tech suggestions and asked for screenshots that it hadn't worked, we sent those back and they tried re-uploading the documents to the portal and we had to send more screenshots to show that also hadn't worked.

Eventually our MP's office told us that my partner's card had been been dispatched but there had been an issue with mine and it would be delayed. My partners arrived on the 17th of December and mine arrived 12th of Jan.

So in short, we didn't really get a solution for the eCOPR but I suspect having our MP advocating for us helped our inquiry get looked into and I suspect (though I can't be sure) it sped up the printing of our cards. If you're not in Canada or have an unhelpful MP however you are SoL.

Webforms have been pointless and Twitter insultingly unhelpful. The webform keep offering tech solutions that did not work for us (clear cache, different browser, different laptop, etc), information on how to correct the personal details in the form (not relevant)while Twitter kept telling us to keep using the webform despite me being clear that they did not understand the issue.

**RESOLUTION FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER**

• Dec 9: Received another IRCC email saying documents were available. Later found this was a result of our MP pressing them for a solution so they tried re-uploading the docs. The same tech issue detailed above remained. We shared screenshots showing that with our MP and webform.
• Dec 14: MP wrote to us saying my partner's information had been approved on Nov 26 (portal did not show this) and his card was in the mail. Mine had been approved but suffered a production error so hadn't been printed yet. IRCC suggested cleaning cookies and cache to see if portal worked in case we needed the eCOPR for Christmas travels. Needless to say this didn't work as they had already made this suggestion a hundred times before.
• Dec 17: Partner's PR card arrived, the evening before he was due to travel. Unfortunately by that point he chose to cancel his travel since he didn't want to risk losing the ticket money and we'd have nobody to look after our dog.
• Jan 12: My PR card arrived

Never had an actual solution for the portal/eCOPR problem in the end, it just took so long that it became no longer relevant.

Oh, thanks for the update. I didn't have any luck contacting the PR portal people so I basically gave up. I'm not even sure what an MP is or how to contact them, but I'd like to try if you please give me some info.
I'm glad your stuff moved forward at least.

 

[rafpas]

Hi,
I am having a similar issue with the eCoPR for a family member. Try to click download and the result is an error 404. Tried to clear cache, different browsers and computers, smartphones and etc. Obviously, the issue is a missing file on IRCC servers. Today I sent a web form for the second time seeking help.

Has anyone had success getting a duplicate or a reuploaded eCoPR to download?

Wish you all the best.
Rafa

 

[mica.t]

Hi,
I am having a similar issue with the eCoPR for a family member. Try to click download and the result is an error 404. Tried to clear cache, different browsers and computers, smartphones and etc. Obviously, the issue is a missing file on IRCC servers. Today I sent a web form for the second time seeking help.

Has anyone had success getting a duplicate or a reuploaded eCoPR to download?

Wish you all the best.
Rafa

Hi Rafa,
I think the issue you're having is slightly different. In my case, I don't even see a download link or anything like it.
I'm still trying to get in touch with IRCC but I've decided to contact my member of parliament, as suggested above, if nothing else works.
Best of luck

mica

 

[mica.t]

An update to anyone who's dealing with this issue.
My eCOPR was finally uploaded to the PR portal, after 5 months of that "Congratulations" email.
I can now confirm this is some sort of technical issue with the portal, because the document says I became a PR in October 2021.
I have no clear advice to anyone dealing with this except contact IRCC as often as you can in as many ways as you can. I also contacted my MP but I didn't get a reply, so I don't think that did anything.
Anyways, just wanted to tell the end of the story in case it helps anyone.
Good luck!

 

[rafpas]

Hi mica.t, is good to know that finally, they fixed your issue. Congratulations again and I wish you the best of luck on your journey. I want to share my situation as well. Yesterday I got an email from IRCC with the eCoPR that was missing for my family.

I had to open 2 web forms, email IRCC three times (through the ircc portal email) and also visit an IRCC office in Ottawa before they finally properly address my issues. I'm glad that they were able to help me and provide the eCoPR that was missing.

Thank you for sharing your journey and wish you all the best of luck.

 

[Tina1.23]

I’m having the same issue, I received “congratulations” email on Monday, but in the portal there is no link to download ecopr…
I’m really frustrated, it suppose to be over after 2 years and now I’m having this issue..
I sent webform and email back to them as well. If anyone has any recommendation I will appreciate it?? Thank you