Immigration Canada’s backlog of PR, TR, and citizenship applications grew by nearly 99,000 individuals in eighteen days.
Canada’s immigration backlog has grownup on the far side 2.1 million across all lines of business as of april 29, according to the newest Canadian government information obtained via email by CIC News.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s backlog has progressed as follows since last summer:
April 30-May 2, 2022: 2,130,385 persons
April 11-12, 2022: 2,031,589 persons
March 15 and 17, 2022: 1,844,424 persons
February 1, 2022: 1,815,628 persons
December 15, 2021: 1,813,144 persons
October 27, 2021: 1,792,404 persons
July 6, 2021: 1,447,474 persons
The number of persons in IRCC’s inventory has grown by 98,796 in the 18 days between April 11 and April 29. This increase is largely driven by the temporary residence inventory. Over this same period, the permanent residence backlog increased by 638 persons. Between April 12 and May 2, IRCC reduced its citizenship backlog by 258 people.
IRCC Backlog: April 11 – May 2
Line of Business Persons as of Apr. 11- Apr. 12 Persons as of Apr. 30 – May 2
PR 529,631 530,269
TR 1,102,375 1,200,791
Citizenship 399,583 399,325
Total 2,031,589 2,130,385
The evolution of the backlog since the beginning of the pandemic
The following table displays IRCC’s inventory growth since the beginning of the pandemic. CIC News has submitted an information request to IRCC on Canada’s temporary residence inventory as of April 2020. The table shows that over the past 2 years, the permanent residence inventory has grownup from 410,000 individuals to 530,000 people. The temporary residence inventory has doubled since last April. The citizenship inventory has grown from 240,000 individuals to 400,000 people. IRCC has struggled to manage its inventory throughout the pandemic, for a range of reasons, like the social distancing and travel restrictions place in place at the beginning of the pandemic.
Backlog in persons by IRCC line of business
Line of Business Apr. 2020 Apr. 2021 Apr./May 2022
PR 410,000 550,000 530,000
TR N/A 590,000 1.2M
Citizenship 240,000 395,000 400,000
Total N/A 1.535M 2.130M
Improvements in Express Entry as all-program draws resume in early July
Despite the slight overall increase in the permanent residence inventory, IRCC has reduced its Express Entry backlog by 4,292 persons since mid-April.
Express Entry Program Persons as of April 11 Persons as of April 29
Canadian Experience Class 8,363 7,522
Federal Skilled Worker Program 36,281 32,883
Federal Skilled Trades Program 537 484
Total 45,181 40,889
The reduction within the express Entry backlog can permit IRCC to resume all-program draws in early July. Candidates from the Federal skilled worker Program (FSWP) haven’t been invited to apply for immigration since Dec 2020. Before the pandemic, the FSWP was the most express Entry pathway. Canadian experience class (CEC) candidates who haven’t been drawn since september 2021 also are set to receive invitations to apply (ITAs) once more.
IRCC had been holding off on inviting these candidates, because the backlog had driven up process times in far more than the six-month normal for express Entry-managed programs. beginning in July, the vast majority of recent express Entry applications are going to be processed within the six-month service standard, according to IRCC.
Improvements to the permanent residence inventory were offset by gains among alternative immigration categories, like the Temporary Residents to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) Program that in brief existed in 2021. Meanwhile, there have been slight increases across the board for Canada’s Family class, Humanitarian and Compassionate, and protected Persons permanent residence categories.
The backlog increased across all temporary residence categories between april 11 and april 29.
IRCC had previously said in an email to CIC News the inventory for temporary resident visas and work permits has increased with the introduction of the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET). The CUAET could be a program that permits IRCC to bring Ukrainians to Canada by leveraging existing temporary resident visa processes. The CUAET isn’t a exile stream.
As of may 6, IRCC has received 204,227 CUAET applications and approved 91,482. Between January 1 and may 1, a complete of 24,645 Ukrainians have arrived in canada, in line with the IRCC web site.
Temporary residence inventory: April 11 – 29
Application type Persons as of April 11 Persons as of April 29
Study Permits 122,145 132,280 ( Check for Canada Study Visa From India)
Study Permit Extensions 34,242 36,310
Temporary Resident Visas 558,498 621,451
Visitor Records 73,450 76,847
Work Permits 172,796 189,061
Work Permit Extensions 141,244 144,842
Total 1,102,375 1,200,791
The Canadian government acknowledges the challenges IRCC’s growing inventory has caused over the past 2 years. In late January, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser declared a number of measures aimed at coping with the backlog, as well as adopting new technology and hiring additional processing workers.
Last Thursday, the Canadian Parliament’s Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) began a study evaluating IRCC’s backlogs which will culminate in a written report accessible to the general public containing recommendations on the way to improve IRCC’s application process.