Immigration Announcement
IRCC Processed an All-Time High of 4.8 Million Applications in 2022
Recently, Immigrants, Refugees, and Citizens of Canada (IRCC) has reduced the number of applications by nearly half a million. This is almost double the number of applications processed in 2021 by the department.
The development comes as IRCC is on target to welcome 431,000 new permanent residents to Canada by the end of 2022, which would set a new record. Temporary residence applications make up the majority of those that are processed. In 2022, IRCC processed 670,000 student permits and approximately 700,000 work permits. As a result, approximately 251,000 new citizens arrived in Canada between April and November.
According to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, “Our government has cut its pandemic backlogs by nearly half a million and processed a record-breaking number of immigration applications this year. Our actions are ensuring that we can continue to welcome and support newcomers who come to Canada to work, study, visit, or settle here.
The Backlog Continues to Decrease
The IRCC has 2.2 million applications in stock as of December 2 of this year. According to IRCC data as of November 30, 1.09 million applications, or just over 50% of all applications, are now in a backlog or are not being handled in accordance with service standards.
The most recent data is down significantly from 2.6 million in September and is an improvement over the data from November 3, when there were 2.4 million applications in inventory. According to the IRCC, all new spousal sponsorship applications are now processed within the pre-pandemic service norm of 12 months, and new Express Entry applications within 6 months.
IRCC’s Efforts to Manage the Backlog
Since the beginning of the year, IRCC has been attempting to manage the backlog of applications due to COVID-19 pandemic-related travel bans and office closures. IRCC has responded by making adjustments to address operational inefficiencies such as the digitization of applications. Moreover, to speed up the application processing process, the department also declared in August that it will hire 1,250 more employees by the end of the year. Furthermore, the IRCC wants to handle 80% of applications across all business lines within the agreed-upon time frames and service standards.
Canada’s New Immigration Levels Plan
By the end of 2025, the Immigration Levels Plan 2023–2025 seeks to welcome and accept over 500,000 new permanent residents to Canada annually. The country is currently attempting to fill its high objective which is critical labour force deficits, hence the. By 2030, up to nine million Canadians could be of retirement age, and there won’t be enough native-born citizens to fill the jobs that will become available as a result.
The IRCC has introduced various initiatives during the past year to increase the number of immigrants entering Canada. It has come to our notice that the Atlantic Immigration Program has been expanded (AIP). Additionally, additional money for 2,000 skilled refugees will be provided via the Economic Mobility Pilot Program. There have also been sector-specific measures put forth, most notably in the healthcare industry where restrictions for physicians who are already in Canada on temporary work visas have been removed.
