Building a stronger immigration system – Permanent residence
437,000
new
permanent residents
welcomed in 2022.
Our performance
We made over half a million decisions and welcomed over 437,000 new permanent residents in 2022—surpassing our record-setting target of 431,645 new permanent resident admissions and resulting in the greatest number of newcomers in a year in Canadian history.
Reducing backlog
We’re taking steps to make the process of applying for permanent residence in Canada a better experience for our clients.
- Information on this page is up to date as of . Data is approximate and subject to change.
- IRCC is working toward our goal to process 80% of applications within our service standards, which allows for expected delays in very complex cases or when more information is needed from clients before finalizing their files.
- Our projections are estimates based on current operating conditions and may change. They don't account for sharp increases in received applications, urgent shifts in priorities, or other unforeseen circumstances affecting our operations.
Federal High Skilled
2022-2023 Percentage of backlog of federal high-skilled applications – Actual and projected
2022-2023 Percentage of backlog of federal high-skilled applications – Actual and projected
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 89% | - |
| Feb 22 | 92% | - |
| Mar 22 | 98% | - |
| Apr 22 | 99% | - |
| May 22 | 100% | - |
| Jun 22 | 100% | - |
| Jul 22 | 99% | - |
| Aug 22 | 90% | 86% |
| Sep 22 | 68% | 72% |
| Oct 22 | 45% | 59% |
| Nov 22 | 31% | 46% |
| Dec 22 | 22% | 20% |
| Jan 23 | 20% | 20% |
| Feb 23 | 20% | 20% |
| Mar 23 | 18% | 20% |
| Apr 23 | 17% | 20% |
| May 23 | - | 20% |
| Jun 23 | - | 20% |
| Jul 23 | - | 20% |
Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry)
2022-2023 Percentage of backlog Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry) applications – Actual and projected
2022-2023 Percentage of backlog Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry) applications – Actual and projected
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 56% | - |
| Feb 22 | 55% | - |
| Mar 22 | 54% | - |
| Apr 22 | 51% | - |
| May 22 | 47% | - |
| Jun 22 | 45% | - |
| Jul 22 | 43% | - |
| Aug 22 | 42% | 39% |
| Sep 22 | 40% | 35% |
| Oct 22 | 42% | 31% |
| Nov 22 | 42% | 28% |
| Dec 22 | 41% | 20% |
| Jan 23 | 38% | 40% |
| Feb 23 | 32% | 39% |
| Mar 23 | 30% | 32% |
| Apr 23 | 28% | 30% |
| May 23 | - | 28% |
| Jun 23 | - | 24% |
| Jul 23 | - | 22% |
Spouses, partners and children (except for Quebec)
2022-2023 Percentage of backlog of spouses, partners and children (except for Quebec) applications – Actual and projected
2022-2023 Percentage of backlog of spouses, partners and children (except for Quebec) applications – Actual and projected
| Month | Backlog (Actual) | Backlog (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 34% | - |
| Feb 22 | 32% | - |
| Mar 22 | 30% | - |
| Apr 22 | 29% | - |
| May 22 | 27% | - |
| Jun 22 | 27% | - |
| Jul 22 | 26% | - |
| Aug 22 | 25% | 24% |
| Sep 22 | 25% | 23% |
| Oct 22 | 24% | 22% |
| Nov 22 | 24% | 20% |
| Dec 22 | 24% | 19% |
| Jan 23 | 24% | 24% |
| Feb 23 | 23% | 24% |
| Mar 23 | 24% | 24% |
| Apr 23 | 23% | 24% |
| May 23 | - | 24% |
| Jun 23 | - | 24% |
| Jul 23 | - | 24% |
What we’ve done
- We launched an online portal that allows some permanent residence applicants to
- apply online
- finalize their permanent residence and get their permanent resident card without in-person interaction
- We launched a new online application status tracker that allows some family class permanent residence applicants, sponsors and their representatives to more easily check their application status online (in the spouse, partner and dependent child categories).
- We opened a one-time pathway to permanent residence for over 90,000 essential temporary workers and international graduates of a Canadian institution.
- We reduced the backlog of Express Entry applications to allow us to resume sending invitations to new applicants to apply. These new applicants can expect their applications to be processed within 6 months.
What we’re doing
- We’re hiring more employees to speed up processing across our business lines.
- We’re reviewing and improving our processes so we can eliminate steps and use technologies to support our employees and speed up processing.
- We are increasing permanent resident targets year after year to accommodate as many new immigrants as possible and further reduce the backlog.
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