Access to information and privacy

How to make a request under the Privacy Act

A request for personal information held by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) should be made to CIC under the Privacy Act. The requester must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or currently in Canada.

Formal requests under the Privacy Act must:

  • Be made in writing;
  • Be signed and dated by the requester;
  • Include the name, Canadian address, and if possible, a telephone number and/or e-mail address where the requester can be contacted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Requests in writing

Written requests may be submitted using:

Payment / Fees

There are no fees involved with the processing of a request under the Privacy Act.

Please provide sufficient detail

Requests must include sufficient detail to enable an experienced employee of CIC, with a reasonable effort, to identify the records that are being requested. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Time periods
  • File numbers
  • Client identifiers
  • File names
  • Report titles
  • Locations (office, or region/branch)
  • Names of individuals
  • Dates of birth (if requesting citizenship or immigration files)

Request for personal information about someone else

Requests for personal information not belonging to the requester must be made under the Access to Information Act. Please refer to the How to make a request under the Access to Information Act section.

Where to send requests

Requests made pursuant to the Privacy Act must be sent to the ATIP Division at NHQ at the following address:

Access to Information and Privacy Division
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1

Or you may send your request by e-mail if you have:

  • Completed and signed your request; and
  • Scanned your request.

Your scanned request form and supporting documents (in JPG, TIFF or PDF format) should be sent to ATIP-AIPRP@cic.gc.ca.