An annual report on immigration has just been published by the Canadian government to Parliament.
Over the past year, Canada’s immigration industry has undergone significant changes across all business segments, according to the study.
IRCC announces Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan along with the official immigration targets. It will guide the agency over the next three years. The data from 2021 demonstrate that IRCC is making an effort to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s consequences.
IRCC’s annual report provides insights beyond the numbers regarding how the organization has developed. How it expects things to progress moving forward, especially with new permanent resident targets set at the highest level ever.
From the report, we have highlighted a few highlights:
Record-breaking enrollment across all courses in 2021
Over 451,000 new permanent residents were expected to be in the country by the end of 2024. Also, almost 432,000 by the end of 2022, according to Immigration Levels Plan 2022–2024.
In 2021, exceptional admissions led to the development of these goals. The IRCC shifted its focus from granting permanent residency to those already residing in Canada during 2021 due to restrictions related to COVID-19. A wide variety of candidates were eligible under the Provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs) and the Canadian Experience Class before the program’s draws were halted in September 2021.
In that year, 252,971 immigrants in lower socioeconomic classes were granted permanent residence status out of the 405,000 who met the criteria.
In order to maintain its economic growth, Canada places a large emphasis on its economic class immigration programs due to the shortage of skilled employees across the country. As of now, Canada has an unemployment rate of 5.2%. In addition, immigration accounts for about 75% of the country’s population growth and 90% of the labor force growth.
Family-sponsored immigrants contributed to higher immigration numbers overall in 2021 by sponsoring 81,423. Their spouses or partners assisted them in arriving in over 69,000 cases.
In the entire report, a significant portion is dedicated to highlighting Canada’s commitment to accepting refugees and asylum seekers. 40,000 refugees will be accepted by the end of 2024 if Canada maintains its commitment to accept them in 2021. Since the start of the year, 22,915 Afghans have migrated to Canada. The number of Afghans entering Canada this year is 22,915 according to the latest statistics.
Pathways from temporary residence to permanent residence
IRCC also introduced in 2021 that a temporary resident could become a permanent resident once. 191,338 temporary residents used this path to complete the process of becoming permanent residents. International students and healthcare professionals were the target audience for this program.
In addition, bilingual and French-speaking temporary residents were eligible for separate application streams. Canada welcomed over 24,000 permanent residents through these pathways by March 2022. Additionally, 18,000 come by the end of the year.
International graduate applicants were invited by the IRCC to apply via the International Graduate Stream. Also, this eliminates the need to obtain a Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP). There was a deadline for applications between May and November 2021.
Parallel streams were available for healthcare workers of all skill levels. Permanent residency applications could be submitted by temporary residents who met the requirements. Refugees with skills were no different.
The Backlog Report
A backlog of applications for all business lines has been acknowledged by the IRCC in the report. A total of 2.6 million applications are currently in the system’s inventory. But less than half of them are being handled in accordance with service requirements. An IRCC service standard sets a target for the typical application processing time for a specific immigration program.
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic’s high demand, foreign travel restrictions, and operational challenges, such as staff members not being able to process paper applications during office closures, the IRCC said the backlog grew to this size.
In order to get back on track, the IRCC is aiming to become 100% digital. Adjustments are provided for those incapables of applying online. As part of this change, citizenship applications can now be submitted entirely online by all applicants over 18. It is the IRCC’s intention to have all citizenship applications submitted electronically by the end of this year. This also included those submitted by kids under 18. It is the goal of the IRCC to have all citizenship applications submitted electronically by the end of the year, including those for kids under 18.
Over 1,200 new employees have been hired and trained by the government to reduce processing backlogs. As part of the 2022 budget, $37.2 million is allocated to expand the capabilities of the Client Service Center. As well as $187.3 million is allocated to the technology and tools needed to improve the support offered to people using its services.
