Building a stronger immigration system – Permanent residence
471,550
new
permanent residents
welcomed in 2023
Our performance
We made over half a million decisions and welcomed 471,550 new permanent residents in 2023, up from 437,600 in 2022.
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 (Express Entry)
Note
- This includes candidates who are eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
2022-2024 Percentage of backlog of federal high-skilled (Express Entry) applications – Actual and projected
2022-2024 Percentage of backlog of federal high-skilled (Express Entry) 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 | 15% | 20% |
| Jun 23 | 17% | 20% |
| Jul 23 | 16% | 20% |
| Aug 23 | 12% | 20% |
| Sep 23 | 12% | 20% |
| Oct 23 | 13% | 20% |
| Nov 23 | 16% | 11% |
| Dec 23 | 17% | 10% |
| Jan 24 | 17% | 15% |
| Feb 24 | 17% | 15% |
| Mar 24 | 16% | 15% |
| Apr 24 | - | 15% |
| May 24 | - | 15% |
Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry)
2022-2024 Percentage of backlog Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry) applications – Actual and projected
2022-2024 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 | 30% | 28% |
| Jun 23 | 33% | 24% |
| Jul 23 | 29% | 22% |
| Aug 23 | 27% | 21% |
| Sep 23 | 27% | 20% |
| Oct 23 | 24% | 20% |
| Nov 23 | 22% | 20% |
| Dec 23 | 20% | 20% |
| Jan 24 | 19% | 20% |
| Feb 24 | 20% | 20% |
| Mar 24 | 21% | 19% |
| Apr 24 | - | 19% |
| May 24 | - | 20% |
Spouses, partners and children (except for Quebec)
2022-2024 Percentage of backlog of spouses, partners and children (except for Quebec) applications – Actual and projected
2022-2024 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 | 20% | 24% |
| Jun 23 | 19% | 24% |
| Jul 23 | 18% | 24% |
| Aug 23 | 17% | 24% |
| Sep 23 | 16% | 24% |
| Oct 23 | 16% | 24% |
| Nov 23 | 15% | 16% |
| Dec 23 | 15% | 16% |
| Jan 24 | 14% | 15% |
| Feb 24 | 15% | 15% |
| Mar 24 | 14% | 15% |
| Apr 24 | - | 15% |
| May 24 | - | 15% |
What we’ve done
- We’re maintaining our target of 485,000 permanent residents in 2024. Pending Cabinet’s approval, we’ll complete the final step to reach 500,000 in 2025 and in 2026, we’ll stabilize permanent resident levels. This will allow new permanent residents to better integrate into our communities. It will also continue to meet the needs of Canada’s labour market.
- We launched a new Francophone immigration policy that promotes the vitality and economic development of Francophone minority communities, as well as a series of measures that support Francophone immigration outside Quebec.
- We launched an online portal that lets some permanent residence applicants
- apply online
- finalize their permanent residence
- get their permanent resident card without in-person interaction
- We launched an online application status tracker that lets some family class permanent residence applicants, sponsors and their representatives more easily check their application status online (in the spouse, partner and dependent child categories).
- We reduced the backlog of Express Entry applications. New applicants can expect their applications to be processed within 6 months.
We’ll continue to review and improve our processes so we can eliminate steps, use technology to support our employees and speed up processing.
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