IMM 5257 Schedule 1

This is the Travel History Form, in the IEC world often referred to as the “pain-in-the-ass form.” It’s a common source of frustration because it’s only requested after you’ve submitted your biometrics and a human officer starts reviewing your application. Just when you think you’re almost done, this form is requested, causing unexpected delays.

Why does it happen? Because there’s a gap in your work history or resume, even a small one. The processing officer notices these inconsistencies, and instead of approving your application, they ask for this additional form.

This form is completely preventable if you fill out the work history section and resume 

  • without ANY gaps
  • back to your 18th birthday

If you followed the exact Working Holiday application steps and tips  > here < you will be spared from this particular form.

If the form is requested from you:

The requirement in the letter is: IMM5257 – Schedule 1 – Section 8

The letter also:

  • states a period of time that you have to fill out,
  • provides a link to download the form,
  • provides a deadline by which you have to submit the document.

⚠️ A few important rules about this form:

  • The form must be the most recent form. The link to download will be provided in the letter. 
  • It must therefore be downloaded via the link in the letter or from the official canada.ca homepage. Since the location of forms is constantly changing, please  enter IMM5257 Schedule 1 in Google. See if > this link< works. 
  • The form cannot be filled out on a mobile phone or iPad. Only on a PC or laptop.
    • If you’re on the road and don’t have a laptop, you’ll need to go to a library and fill it out.
  • If you’re having trouble downloading the form, please follow the steps >here< in this guide.
  • The form cannot be combined with other PDFs into a document.
  • The form cannot be uploaded by printing it and scanning it. 
  • The form does not need signing. 
  • The form cannot be renamed when saving. You must keep the same file name. 
  • Save the form in another location than where it was downloaded.

⚠️ Ignore the wording in the form: You must fill out the exact time frame requested in the letter. Without any gaps and including the home stays.

  • List everything first on a piece of paper until you have filled everything without a gap. Then transfer to the form. 
  • Start with the month/year and end with the month/year that is requested in the letter.
  • Only the travel history is required. You have to list all the countries where you have traveled.
  • The form cannot be printed out and filled out by hand. You have to fill it out directly on the PC, validate it with “Validate“.
  • All questions from 1-8 must be answered in the form. 

There’s no need to list every short trip. Quick getaways, like weekend travels, can be excluded. For instance, if you live in Europe and took a few days to drive from Germany to Italy for vacation, that doesn’t need to be mentioned.

That said, any trip where you used your passport, regardless of the duration, must be listed. These entries are cross-checked with official records, so it’s important your travel history matches what’s in the system.

Example of how the rows under “from to” should look if you have only traveled once:

  • Period at home
  • Period of the trip
  • Period at home

If you’ve had multiple trips and run out of space, don’t worry. You can add more rows by clicking the “+” button at the bottom right corner of the form. You can insert up to 30 additional rows, which should be enough to include your full travel history.

If you did not travel at all during the period that is requested:

Meaning, in the requested time frame you were at home. 

  • You still have to answer “Yes” to question 8, otherwise the rows will not open up.
  • List the entire period requested in the letter
  • Under “country” you enter your home country and under “location” your hometown
  • Unter “purpose of travel” you enter: “Not travelling, in my home country”

If you only travelled a few days during the month:

  • For example, you can list month/year – month/year and in the purpose “10 days vacation”

I can't remember the trips for some dates

If you can’t remember the exact dates or destinations of your past trips, do your best to find them.

  • Social Media: Look through old Facebook or Instagram posts, WhatsApp conversations with friends or family 
  • Email account: Search email using keywords like “flight confirmation,” “reservation,” “hotel,” or airline/hotel names.
  • Credit card or bank statements can also help find travel-related expenses like flights, hotels, or restaurants.
  • Ask travel buddies, friends or cousins you traveled with, they might have kept better records.
  • Ask your parents or close family members. You might be surprised by how much they remember about your travels, sometimes even more than you do!

Other places to look:

  • Cloud photo backups (like Google Photos, iCloud, or OneDrive): These often organize pictures by date and location. 
  • Travel and booking apps: Airbnb, Booking.com, or Expedia may have a history of your bookings if you used them.

Help, the rows in the form are not enough!

  • If your trips were so many that even with “Add more rows” there are not enough rows, you will need to submit the extra information on a separate form via the IRCC web form.
  • In the last row of the first form, please write “see more rows via webform” under “Purpose of travel”.
  • Upload the first form into the open spot in the GCKey account.
  • Fill out a second form, in the first row please write “continued from first form”.
  • Print out the first form + the second form as a PDF and submit it via the web form >here<.  
  • In the web form, explain in the empty field that there was not enough space in the form and that you will submit both forms.
  • Select “International Experience Canada” from the drop-down in the web form, fill in all the necessary input fields and upload the document in the next step.

When you're done with the form: You must submit it!

  • Save it to your PC.
  • Upload it into the provided spot in the document list in the GCKey account.
  • Very important! You have to go through all the steps in the account again with “Next” until the end until the status of the document is set to “Replacement Provided“.

Here is how you can find the upload spot and upload it (quoted from the Canadian government website here ): 

  1. Sign in to your account.
  2. Look for your application under View the applications you submitted.
  3. Under the Action column, click Check full application status.
  4. At the top of the page, click View submitted application or upload documents.
  5. Scroll down the page and click Continue.
  6. Under Documents submitted by the client, you can find
    • Document Name: the document we need
    • Instructions: more information on the type of document and how to get it
    • Required by: the latest date by when we need to receive the document
  7. Click Upload file and follow the steps to upload your document to your account.
  8. Make sure the Details column shows the message Uploaded – not submitted to IRCC.
  9. Click Next.
  10. Provide your Signature by entering your Given name(s) and Last name(s).
  11. Answer the Security Question.
  12. Click Sign.
  13. Click Transmit.
  14. The following message should appear on your screen: “Congratulations! You have successfully submitted your application or profile. You have successfully transmitted your additional or replacement document(s).”
  15. After you see the message, you’ll receive an email confirming you’ve added a new document.
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