After Your ITA: What Iranian Express Entry Applicants Must Do in 60 Days

Receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) from IRCC is the moment most Iranian Express Entry applicants have been working toward for months — sometimes years. It is also the moment the real work begins. From the day IRCC issues your ITA, you have exactly 60 calendar days to submit a complete application. Not an outline, not a preliminary set of documents — a complete, submission-ready application.

For applicants from countries with normal diplomatic relations and straightforward document systems, 60 days is tight but manageable. For Iranian applicants, 60 days requires a preparation strategy that ideally starts before you receive the ITA, because some of the documents you need take four to eight weeks to obtain.

This post explains what the 60-day window covers, what documents you need, and where Iranian applicants most commonly lose time.

What the 60 Days Covers

After receiving your ITA, you gain access to the IRCC online application portal. You will upload documents, fill out personal history forms, answer admissibility questions, and pay fees — all within the 60-day window. Missing the deadline means the ITA expires and you return to the Express Entry pool, keeping your CRS score and waiting for another draw.

There is no extension process for the ITA deadline. IRCC does not grant extensions for most circumstances. This is not negotiable.

The Full Document Checklist for Iranian Applicants

Here is what a standard FSW application requires, with Iran-specific notes:

Identity Documents

• Passport (all pages): Must be valid for the intended period of residence in Canada. If your passport expires within two years of your application, consider renewing before applying.
• Shenasnameh (Iranian identity booklet): Requires a full certified translation of all pages, including blank ones. IRCC specifically requires this.
• National Card (Kart-e Melli): Include both sides with certified translation. If your card is expired and you have applied for the new Smart Card, include proof of the pending application alongside the old card.

Military Service (Male Applicants)

• Military Service Completion Card (Kart-e Payan-e Khedmat): Must be the smart card version. Paper cards issued before 2011 are no longer legally valid for migration purposes. If you do not have the smart card, this is likely your longest lead-time item — obtaining it requires being in Iran or through a power of attorney. Budget six to eight weeks minimum.
• If exempt: Include proof of your exemption (medical, educational, or family grounds documentation from the military system).

Educational Credentials

• Your ECA from WES: This must be completed and received before ITA — it is a prerequisite for the Express Entry profile, not something you prepare after. If your ECA is already done, confirm it is still valid (WES ECAs are valid for five years from the date of assessment).
• University degree and transcripts: Include the originals (or certified copies sent directly by your institution) with certified translations.

Language Test Results

• Your IELTS, PTE, or CELPIP results: Must be valid at the time of application submission (IELTS and PTE are valid for two years from the test date). If your scores are close to expiring, this is a critical pre-ITA consideration.

Police Certificates

• Iranian Police Clearance Certificate (Guvahi-ye Adame-Soo Pishineh / Su-ye Pishineh): Required for any country where you lived for six months or more after age 18. For residents of Iran, this is obtained through the NAJA system via the Mikhak portal. The process takes approximately four to six weeks — sometimes longer. This is often the document that puts Iranian applicants at risk of missing the 60-day window. Start the process before you receive your ITA if you think a draw is imminent.
• Police certificates for other countries: Required for any country where you lived six months or more after 18. If you lived in Turkey, the UAE, or elsewhere during a "stepping stone" period, you need certificates from those countries too.

Employment Documents

• Reference letters from employers: Must specify job title, duties, salary, and hours per week. If your Iranian employer will not provide a standard reference letter, use your SSO (Social Security Organization / Sabeghe-ye Bimeh) record as a proxy. The SSO record shows every month your employer paid insurance contributions and is government-issued — combine it with your employment contract and pay stubs.
• If self-employed: Business registration documents, tax filings, and a detailed description of your duties.

Proof of Funds

• Bank letter from your institution showing six-month average balance meeting the LICO thresholds (see amounts by family size). Must disclose liabilities. Include six months of bank statements if the letter only shows the current balance.

Relationship Documents (if applicable)

• Marriage certificate with certified translation
• Spouse's documents (passport, Shenasnameh, diplomas, language results if included in CRS calculation)
• For common-law: Evidence of cohabitation spanning the relationship

Photos

• Digital photos meeting IRCC's specific specifications (dimensions, format, background)

Where Iranian Applicants Lose Time

Police certificate: The Mikhak system requires digital fingerprinting at an Iranian consulate. For applicants outside Iran, this means travel to an Iranian consulate — Istanbul, Dubai, or Washington D.C. (for those in Canada). The process frequently takes four to six weeks and sometimes longer due to consular appointment backlogs.

Military card: If you served after 2011 and your smart card has not been issued, or if your records have errors, correction through the military bureaucracy in Iran takes time. If you are outside Iran, this requires power of attorney and a trusted representative in Iran.

Reference letters from Iranian employers: Employers who have not participated in international immigration processes before often do not know what a IRCC-compliant reference letter looks like. Prepare a template for them that covers all required elements.

Translations: Every non-English, non-French document needs certified translation. For a typical Iranian application, this includes the Shenasnameh, military card, university degree, transcripts, marriage certificate (if applicable), and bank statements. Budget one to two weeks for translations and allow time to review them for accuracy before submission.

Preparing Before Your ITA Arrives

The applicants who successfully submit within 60 days are those who prepared most of their document package before the ITA landed. If your CRS score puts you in range for an upcoming draw — generally anything above 470-490 in non-category draws, or lower for category-specific STEM draws — treat the ITA as if it could arrive any week:

• Initiate the Mikhak police certificate process now
• Confirm your military card is the smart version
• Contact employers about reference letters
• Have translations in progress for your core identity documents

The 60-day clock starts the moment the ITA is issued. For Iranian applicants, that clock is tighter than it looks.

For a complete, step-by-step walkthrough of the Iran → Canada Express Entry application process — including Iran-specific workarounds for every document on this list — see the Iran → Canada Express Entry Guide.

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