Immigration System Update

Ottawa, on January 31, 2022

Immigration is a major driver of Canada's economy, helping tackle labor shortages and keep communities thriving. But challenges remain, including delays in processing that have frustrated those trying to come to Canada to work or to reunite with their families. We know these need to be addressed.

IRCC made more than half a million decisions on permanent residence applications in 2021. We are working to increase processing capacity and plan to make 147,000 final decisions on permanent residence in the first quarter of 2022 – doubling what was done in the same period last year.

In February 2022, Canada will launch a new Permanent Residence Application Tracker for spouses and dependents, allowing applicants to check the status of their applications online.
Internal IRCC documents have revealed that the department's actual anticipated processing times for economic immigration programs are significantly longer than what is stated on the government website in recent weeks. In the coming months, Canada will update the online processing times tool to provide IRCC customers with more up-to-date estimates of how long it will take to process applications, according to Fraser.

According to a memo on November 24, IRCC expected application processing for the Foreign Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) to take 20 months, far longer than the six-month threshold for Express Entry-managed programs.
The same document said that processing for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates would take roughly eight months.

More than 1.8 million individuals are now waiting for judgments from Immigration Canada. Citizenship applications, temporary foreign employees, families, students, refugees, and visitors all fall under this category.

To further address challenges related to COVID-19 and speed up the process, IRCC has also developed a portal to allow permanent residence applicants to Canada To finish their procedures and receive their permanent residence cards without any personal interaction. From June 2021 to December 2021, 225,000 permanent residents used this portal.