Submission of immigration medical examinations (IMEs)

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

Electronic immigration medical examinations (eMedical)

Panel physicians complete the immigration medical examination (IME) and enter the results into the eMedical system (an online application that provides a paperless process for electronic recording, transmission and storage of the IME results). Once the IME is submitted in eMedical, the results are automatically transferred to the Global Case Management System (GCMS) for assessment.

Note: Panel physicians are unable to submit an incomplete IME through eMedical.

Guidelines for record management using eMedical

  • Panel physicians are encouraged to give a copy of the IME to the client, unless it would be injurious to the client’s physical or mental health.
  • Panel physicians are required to keep copies and records of files for at least 2 years in compliance with their local regulatory and licensing requirements.
  • If the panel physician plans to print out a copy of the IME, it must be done before submitting the IME through eMedical.
    • Once the IME has been submitted through eMedical, there is no way for the panel physician to retrieve it to make a copy.

Paper-based immigration medical examinations

In exceptional cases where the panel physician does not have access to eMedical, submission of paper-based IMEs is accepted. Panel physicians send the original copy of the IME by mail to the responsible regional medical office (RMO). The RMO manually enters the IME results into the GCMS.

Guidelines for paper-based immigration medical examination record management

  • Original documents and information related to an IME must be sent by post to the responsible RMO.
    • Original documents must never be given to the client for delivery to the RMO.
  • Panel physicians are encouraged to give a copy of the IME to the client, unless it would be injurious to the client’s physical or mental health.
  • Panel physicians are required to keep copies and records of files for at least 2 years in compliance with their local regulatory and licensing requirements.
  • Panel physicians should retain tracking numbers for the shipments of IMEs for 6 months.

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