There are still 2.6 million immigrants waiting to be processed in Canada’s immigration backlog, according to new statistics from IRCC. IRCC’s website was updated on 14 October to include the 30 September information.
Following is the development of inventory across all business lines since July 2021:
According to the IRCC, 2,600,000 persons will be registered as of September 30, 2022.
- A total of 2,583,827 people were present on August 31, 2022
- A total of 2,679,031 people were in attendance from July 15-17, 2022
- 2,387,884 people between June 1-6, 2022
- 2,130,385 people between April 30 and May 2, 2022
- 2,031,589 people attended the April 11-12, 2022
- 1,844,424 people between March 15 and 17, 2022
- As of February 1, 2022, there are 1,815,628 people
- A total of 1,813,144 people were counted on December 15, 2021
- 1,792,404 people on October 27, 2021
- 1,447,474 people on July 6, 2021
Current application inventories
This website provides information on citizenship applications, temporary residence applications, and permanent residence applications. IRCC data show that less than half of these applications were processed within service requirements, totaling 1.11 million.
It has been determined that 1.49 million applications do not meet service criteria. Among those who met service standards, 46% were temporary residents, 47% were permanent residents, and 69% were citizens.
Service standards
A service standard is IRCC’s internal measure for handling applications for each business line. IRCC sets itself the objective of processing typical immigration applications under a certain program.
The IRCC indicated earlier this year that in order to give applicants more openness, it will post routine updates with normal processing durations on its website.
The Express Entry program normally processes applicants for permanent status in six months. Other economic classes require a longer period of time. Spouse and kid family sponsorship requirements are set by IRCC at twelve months.
In general, temporary residency applications are processed within 60 to 120 days depending on whether they are job-related or study-related and whether they were submitted locally or abroad.
Applications for citizenship have a service requirement of 12 months, and there are an extra 4 months between the application’s approval and the scheduled citizenship ceremony.
Generally speaking, applications for temporary residency can be processed within 60 to 120 days. This depends on whether the application is for a job or a study, as well as whether it was submitted locally or abroad. There are 4 months between the approval of a citizenship application and the scheduled ceremony, which has a service requirement of 12 months.
Two lines of business experience a decrease in backlog
It has been about the same since the last IRCC update in September in terms of the total number of applications. Although the distribution of backlogged applications varies by industry.
Permanent residency applications have increased significantly, while citizenship and temporary residency applications have decreased. As a result of this, 1,500 PR applications were solicited on July 6 and all-program Express Entry drawings resumed. It has continued to increase the number of applicants it invites for each draw, up until the most recent draw, in which 4,250 applicants were granted ITAs.
In inventory, there are the following numbers:
- As of September 30, the citizenship inventory stood at 352,000 applicants, down from 371,620 on August 31.
- At the end of September 30, there were 614,600 people in the permanent residence inventory, compared with 513,923 at the end of August.
- According to the Census Bureau’s temporary residence inventory on September 30, there were 1,644,100 people, up from 1,698,284 on August 31.
Thus, in two of the three main immigration categories, the number of applicants for permanent residency has increased by almost 100,677.
What is the expected timeframe for the backlog to subside?
It is also possible to view IRCC’s forecast for the backlog’s predicted state in the coming months on its website. According to the website, both the federal high-skilled permanent residence application backlog and the provincial nominee program backlog will be less than 20% by December 2022. Approximately 19% of family, spouse, and kid permanent residence applications will be backlogged outside of Quebec.
Citizenship requests should be backlogged by 25% by December 2022.
According to the type of visa, there are different projections for Temporary Residence permits through March 2023.
- 58% of temporary resident visas (visitor visas) will be backlogged.
- Approximately 23% of study permits are backlogged;
- By March 2023, 30% of work permits are expected to be backlogged. Backlogs are expected to reach as high as 60% in December 2022 before they drop again in December 2023.
Improvements made by the IRCC
Although the IRCC acknowledges the backlog, it claims to be improving application processing times. Justin Trudeau established a task force in June to assess the current backlog in services and recommend both immediate and long-term improvements. This was the purpose of the September 1 announcement of a number of system updates by immigration minister Sean Fraser.
For the majority of permanent resident programs, IRCC began using 100% digital applications on September 23, with provisions for those who cannot apply online. Citizenship applications can now be submitted completely online by applicants over 18 years old.
By the end of the autumn, the department will also hire 1,250 more employees to enhance processing capacity. The modernization and streamlining of the system are also claimed.
