How do I get a copy of the application my agent submitted for me?

You can get the whole file; it usually costs nothing, and most of what is written about how to do it names the wrong request.
Why it may not be in your own account
Authorised paid representatives do not have to use your account. IRCC publishes three separate accounts they can use to submit on behalf of clients, and which one depends on what is being applied for.
The representatives portal takes visitor visas, study and work permits, Express Entry, International Experience Canada, electronic travel authorisations and Interim Federal Health Program applications. The permanent residence portal takes non-Express Entry permanent residence, including provincial nominee applications, spouse, partner and dependent child sponsorships, and the start-up visa. A third portal takes in-Canada refugee claims and temporary resident visas.
So if your application is not sitting in your own account, that is not necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. It may simply have been filed somewhere you do not have a login for. Either way, there is a route that does not depend on your agent handing anything over.
The two requests, and which one is yours
This is where almost everything written on the subject goes wrong. People say to file an ATIP as though it were one thing. It is two, under two different laws, with different eligibility and different costs.
A request under the Privacy Act is for your own personal information held by IRCC. It is open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and foreign nationals regardless of where they are located. There are no fees involved with processing a request under that Act.
A request under the Access to Information Act costs $5.00, and the person making it must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or an individual or corporation currently in Canada. One of the things it covers is getting personal information submitted by a representative where the client, with their consent, is not a citizen, a permanent resident, or in Canada.
Read those two side by side and the picture changes. If you are asking for your own file, you are a person asking for your own personal information, and that is the free route, available from anywhere in the world. The paid route is built for somebody in Canada asking on behalf of a client who is abroad.
It is worth being deliberate about this rather than following a template, because the wrong form can mean paying for something you were entitled to for nothing.
How long it takes
The legislated timeframe for responding to an access to information or a privacy request is 30 calendar days.
Both Acts allow that to be extended. Under the Access to Information Act, an extension is permitted where the request covers a large number of records, where external consultations are necessary, or where a third party has to be notified that their information is involved. Under the Privacy Act, a maximum of 30 additional calendar days is permitted where the original limit would unreasonably interfere with the institution's operations, or where consultations are necessary.
So 30 days is the starting point rather than a promise, and a file that is large or that touches another person's information will take longer.
How to file it
Electronically, a request must go through the ATIP Online Request tool.
In writing, you can use IRCC's own form IMM 5563, or Treasury Board form 350-57 for access to information, or Treasury Board form 350-58 for personal information. A plain letter also works, provided it states which Act you are making the request under. That last point matters, because a letter that does not say which Act leaves the department guessing.
Written requests go to the Access to Information and Privacy Division, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1L1. If you are paying a fee by cheque or money order it has to go by regular mail. Credit card payment is only accepted through the online tool.
If you are asking on someone else's behalf
A request for another person's information needs their written consent on form IMM 5744, the Consent for an Access to Information and Personal Information Request. That is required for every individual on the file who is 16 or older, not just the main applicant.
What this is actually for
People usually come to this after something has gone wrong, and the file answers questions that nothing else can. What was declared. Which forms went in and which did not. What was uploaded. Whether an application you were told had been filed was ever filed at all. One of the most common reasons people need the file is a refusal saying their duties did not match the occupation they claimed, and what an officer is actually comparing is set out here: https://www.nextmovepath.com/community/what-does-ircc-actually-check-when-it-says-my-duties-did-not-match-my-noc/ The same applies to a bridging permit refused with no acknowledgement of receipt, where what was filed in place of it decides everything: https://www.nextmovepath.com/community/why-was-my-bowp-refused-when-bulletin-699-says-i-do-not-need-an-aor/
If you are inside a deadline of any kind, start the request now rather than after you have decided what to do, because 30 days is the floor and the deadline will not wait for it.
Where this comes from
How to make a request under the Privacy Act, IRCC. Note one oddity: the page's own metadata says it was modified in April 2018 while the visible text says updated 13 July 2022, so treat both as approximate and check it yourself.
How to make a request under the Access to Information Act, IRCC, last modified 19 May 2023.
Timeframe for responding to access or privacy requests, IRCC, last modified 23 October 2012. Old, but it states the period set by the legislation rather than a departmental policy.
How and where do I submit an Access to Information or Privacy request, IRCC Help Centre, last modified 28 September 2026.
Sign in to an account for representatives, IRCC, last modified 5 October 2026.
Check the modified date on each before relying on anything here.