What is Canada Immigration Backlog?

What is Canada Immigration Backlog?: Canada, being the most preferred country by immigrants, is facing a backlog of immigration in the aftermath of the Covis 19 lockdown. Canada’s Immigration backlog is over 2.4 million as per the data issued by Immigrations, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). 

There are a total of 331,401 citizenship applications as of October 31, as compared to 351,964 applications on October 3. Similarly, the permanent residency applications on November 3 were 506,421 as compared to 505,562 on October 3. 

As the data shows, Canada’s Immigration backlog is big in numbers, and it will take time to clear this backlog. The temporary resident Visa applications were 1,537,566 as compared to 1,651,649 as of October 3.

The visa inventory of the IRCC is full from the Canada immigration Backlog. As per IRCC, the temporary resident visa inventory has the biggest reduction. The Canadian immigration backlog has been reduced to a number of 2,411,388. 

There is also a backlog in the Express Entry inventory. Express Entry is the most famous pathway for permanent residency in Canada, mainly for skilled workers. The EE backlog has 39,589 applications. 

Provincial Nominee Programs also had a backlog after the covid 19 pandemic. There are a total of 62,073 applications in the PNP waiting line.  

Family Class Inventory: The family class inventory was 128,112 as on November 3. The family class visas include Spouse and Partner visa applications. The business class visa includes an inventory of 61,118 applications. 

IRCC is taking steps to speed up the application process after acknowledging the backlog of applications. 

IRCC aimed to reduce the backlog of applications by 50% by the end of March 2023. IRCC, from 23 September, has begun the 100% digital applications for most permanent resident programs for clearing the backlog. 

Canada is the main choice for people who want a new place to work and make a new life for themselves and their families. These newcomers serve as fuel for Canada’s economy. 

Strengthening Canada’s immigration system means that Canada’s main focus is on people and communities. This gives Canada the advantage in the global race for securing the talent for supporting the industries in Canada. 

Canada’s immigration inventory helps in achieving the annual immigration target of the country. Immigration inventory contains the applications which are not yet processed. 

The inventory contains the applications within the service standards as well as the applications which are in inventory longer than the service standards and are considered as a backlog of the applications. 

IRCC manages one million applications from inventories. In 2021, 1.7 million decisions were finalised. 

Reducing the Backlog of Applications: IRCC is taking the required actions to reduce the application backlog. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada plans to reduce the applications in inventory by processing 80% of applications from inventory within the standard service time.

The rest were mainly those cases which are complicated or required additional documents from the applicants before a final decision could be made on these applications. 

The submission of applications has increased since the Covid 19 pandemic was over. As the country is facing a shortage in the labour market, more and more applications were submitted to the IRCC.

The one million applications in the IRCC inventory are considered the standard number which will be processed. However, there are currently 54% more applications in the IRCC inventory, which will take more time than the standard service and these are also considered as the backlog of the applications. 

IRCC is trying to clear the backlog as soon as possible. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has hired 1,250 new staff to increase the processing of applications by investing $85 million.

The main purpose of hiring new staff was to speed up the processing of the current applications and also to clear the applications from the IRCC inventory.  

IRCC aims to reduce the processing time of all categories of visas, such as study, work and permanent residency. Family class visa processing time is also reduced. The normal processing time for a study visa is 90 days. 

Similarly, the processing time for a tourist visa is 30 days, while the visas in family sponsorship programs usually take three months. Different visas have different processing times. 

After covid 19, the processing time for all visas was increased. IRCC is trying their best to return the processing time to normal and also to clear the 2.4 million application backlog. 

Summary on Canada Immigration Backlog:

1. COVID-19 Impact on Canada Processing
2. IRCC’s 2.4 Million Application Backlog
3. 1 Million Standard Service Applications
4. 1250 New Staff Hired
5. $85 Million to Speed Processing