Taking stock of the main achievements of the Canadian Immigration Service in 2022
The Canadian Immigration Service processed 4.8 million applications in 2022, COVID-19 The backlog of applications decreased by nearly 500,000 in 4 months.
Immigration is vital to Canada's economy. New immigrants have become an important force in Canada's economic construction and one of the keys to Canada's economic development. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been taking steady action to strengthen Canada’s immigration system, including reducing wait times and modernizing services to better serve every applicant.
At the end of 2022, let’s take stock of the progress made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada this year in order to reduce the backlog of application cases that exceed service standards.
1 The overall situation of case processing in 2022
IRCC has greatly increased the speed of processing. Since August 2022, IRCC has reduced the backlog of application cases by nearly 500,000. As of the end of November 2022, IRCC had processed approximately 4.8 million applications, which is almost double the 2.5 million applications processed during the same period last year.
In order to strengthen the immigration system, IRCC has taken new measures such as digital processing of applications, hiring and training new employees, simplifying processes, etc., thereby ensuring that 80% of new applications in the future will be processed within the scope of service standards, thereby shortening the waiting time of applicants.
2022/12/22
2 Temporary Residency: Bringing more tourists, students and workers to Canada
Canada is expected to set a new record this year for the processing of study permits (Study Permit). As of November 30 this year, IRCC has processed more than 670,000 study permits, more than 500,000 over the same period last year. Most new study permits are now processed within the 60-day service standard.
The processing of work permits has also improved significantly, with nearly 700,000 work permits processed as of November 30, compared with around 223,000 in the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.
IRCC continues to reduce backlogs and process visitor visas (TRVs) faster in response to the growing number of people wanting to visit Canada. In November 2022 alone, more than 260,000 visitor visas were processed. This compares to an average monthly filing volume of about 180,000 in 2019.
3 Permanent Residency: Improving services and reuniting spouses and families
Canada welcomed a record 405,000 new permanent residents in 2021, surpassing the previous record set in 1913. After another record year in 2022, Canada remains on track to surpass its target of more than 431,000 new permanent residents.
IRCC has also been modernizing services and adding support for permanent residence programs. As a result of these efforts, all new spousal sponsorship applications are now processed within the pre-COVID-19 12-month service standards, and new Express Entry applications are processed within 6 months. Permanent residents can also expect shorter wait times when renewing their permanent resident (PR) card. IRCC has now reduced the backlog of PR card renewal applications during COVID-19 by 99%.
Leveraging immigration to address labor shortages
Canada views immigration as a strategy to help businesses find workers with the skills they need in key sectors, including health care, skilled trades, manufacturing, transportation and technology, to meet the social and economic challenges we will face in the coming decades. The Government of Canada has been taking steps to help realize the full labor market potential of temporary and permanent newcomers to Canada, including:
1. Extending work permits to spouses and working-age dependents of temporary foreign workers of all skill levels. This new policy will help address labor shortages by extending work permit eligibility to family members who accompany the principal applicant to Canada.
2. Temporarily removes the cap on the number of hours (20 hours per week) that eligible postsecondary students are allowed to work off campus while classes are in session. With more than 640,000 international students in Canada already able to work overtime, this temporary change reflects the important role international students can play in addressing our workforce needs while continuing their studies.
3. Implement new measures to allow foreign nationals whose post-study work permits expired or are about to expire between September 20, 2021 and December 31, 2022, the opportunity to work in Canada for an additional 18 months by extending their work permits or applying for a work permit.
4. Help workers locate in areas of Canada where they are needed most by leveraging our economic immigration programs, including through the new permanent Atlantic Immigration Program, expanded rural and northern immigration pilots, and new work permits for selected skilled workers in Quebec.
5. Implementation of the 2021 National Occupational Classification for immigration programs administered by the Express Entry system. As a result, 16 additional occupations are now eligible for fast-track managed programs.
6. Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act by selecting immigrants based on key attributes that support identified economic priorities, such as educational credentials, work experience, or knowledge of an official language. Express Entry’s new category-based selection access is expected to be available in Spring 2023.
IRCC stated that the Immigration Service will focus on establishing an immigration system that is suitable for new immigrants, visitors, Canadian businesses and all Canadians.
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