CIMM - Impact on Operations: Temporary Residence - Dec 2, 2020

Key messages

• We continue to process temporary residence applications, and are currently prioritizing those who are eligible to travel to Canada.
• We recognize that many applicants are unable to provide the required information or documentation due to the effects of COVID-19 – we are facilitating them by not rejecting or refusing their application for incompleteness.

Foreign workers

• Working with provinces/territories and with Employment and Social Development Canada, the Department is prioritizing applications from workers in essential occupations, where labour is most needed to respond to the demand of the Canadian economy, ensure sufficient food supplies, emphasizing the health and safety of Canadians and workers.

International students

• IRCC has implemented a number of facilitative measures to help international students affected by travel restrictions in Canada and elsewhere.
• IRCC implemented two-stage processing on July 24, 2020 to allow for a positive eligibility assessment while certain admissibility assessments were still pending for students who applied for a study permit before September 15, 2020. This helped expedite travel when border restrictions were amended in October.
• Since October 20, 2020, amended travel restrictions took effect to allow international students to enter Canada if their designated learning institution has a COVID-19 readiness plan approved by the provincial or territorial government in place.

Visitor visas

• On July 1, 2020, IRCC resumed processing online visitor visa (including transit visas) and electronic travel authorization applications to the extent possible, prioritizing clients who meet a travel restriction exemption.

Supplementary messages

Impacts on processing capacity and processing times

• In March 2020, processing was limited to the delivery of critical services such as temporary residence in-Canada extensions, travel restriction exemptions such as family reunification temporary resident visas, and the processing of work permit applications that fall under certain National Occupation Classification codes related to agriculture, transport, and healthcare.
• At the same time, most IRCC offices in Canada and abroad have undergone an interruption in service, which limited IRCC’s capacity to conduct in-person services such as client interviews, validation of supporting documents and identity to support the finalization of applications.
• Aligned with the Ministerial Instructions in place from April 9 to June 30, 2020, the processing of overseas temporary resident visas and eTA applications that could not be automatically approved (except those who are exempt from the travel restrictions and are seeking non-discretionary travel to Canada) was suspended. Although processing has resumed, an inventory of applications remains.
• While processing has resumed since the beginning of the pandemic, we recognize that service disruptions and travel restrictions due to COVID-19 may have an impact on processing times.

Missing information and documentation / processing challenges

• The temporary closure of visa application centres in some countries due to COVID-19 related restrictions created additional obstacles within the processing continuum, such as clients’ inability to give biometrics or to obtain necessary documentation.
• These limitations have proven to be a major chokepoint for the processing of student permit and work permit applications. As of October 2020, over half of the study permit applications are missing biometrics though we anticipate that this situation will change gradually with the re-opening of visa application centres in India.
• Missing documentation and supporting information also proves to be a notable pain point for the processing of work permits, including in the Global Skills Strategy stream. In some cases, the job offers in support of a work permit application are no longer valid.
• We have implemented adaptive measures to extend submission deadlines for clients who face delays due to COVID-19 restrictions. In other words, no application in progress will be closed or refused as a result of ongoing service disruptions related to COVID-19.
• While an important step to support our clients, this measure will further extend our processing times and has already led to increased inventories, as applications with missing documents remain open.
• Processing challenges for applications outside of Canada include access to paper files; however, under the Ministerial Instructions in effect until January 31, 2021, all applications for a temporary resident visa, a work permit or a study permit submitted by foreign nationals who are outside Canada at the time of the application must be submitted using electronic means (exceptions for those with disabilities who cannot do so).

Facilitation and mitigation measures

• IRCC implemented many process changes since the start of the pandemic in an effort to be as facilitative as possible for clients while maintaining program integrity. As such, IRCC continues to monitor and assess potential risks and impacts through ongoing quality assurance activities.
• Biometric enrollment deadlines have been extended for all clients until such time as biometrics collection points reopen.
• Three public policies involving biometric collection have been implemented to respond to visa application centre and Service Canada centre closures:
  • July 15, 2020 - exempting in-Canada temporary residence applicants from the biometric requirement;
  • May 12, 2020 - exempting certain requirements when a temporary worker is changing employment, including an exemption from providing biometrics in support of the work permit application;
  • April 30, 2020 - exempting certain prioritized cohorts, e.g. seasonal agricultural workers, from biometrics enrollment overseas. To mitigate program integrity risks, the Canada Border Services Agency is enrolling biometrics on arrival at Canadian airports.
• In exceptional circumstances (i.e. specific cohorts such as seasonal agricultural workers unable to access a visa application centre or migration office for visa printing), IRCC has produced counterfoil-less visas for clients traveling to Canada for non-discretionary purposes.
• Where possible, the Department has adapted to the new environment by offering e-mail intake, scanning paper applications, and establishing virtual processes. Although digitization of paper applications is being explored long term, there are continuing challenges with document integrity, and IRCC is assessment the way forward and its impacts.

Foreign workers

• IRCC has put in place a public policy to temporarily exempt foreign workers in certain sectors, namely the agriculture, agri-food and healthcare sectors, from having to give their biometrics before coming to Canada if the biometrics collection site closest to them is closed. This facilitated entry into Canada for 56.6K agricultural workers from April 21, 2020 to October 2020 and 4.9K under the healthcare category (including WP-EXT).
• IRCC has also implemented three new temporary public policies to provide options for temporary residents already in Canada. These measures include the following:
  • Expediting work permit applications for workers changing employment
  • Allowing until December 31, 2020 – rather than the 90-day timeframe set out in regulations – for temporary residents to restore their legal status if it expired during the COVID period
  • Permitting foreign nationals already in Canada with visitor status to apply for and receive a work permit without having to leave Canada
  • Giving former workers (those who held a work permit in the last 12 months) who apply with a job offer under these public policies the ability to work while waiting for a decision on their case
• All temporary foreign workers and international students whose status is set to expire and are unable to return to their country of origin can apply to extend their status.
• As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the disruption and reprioritization of business lines, processing times for routine Global Skills Strategy work permit applications and their accompanying family members exceeded the two-week processing commitment. With IRCC’s business reintegration advancement, IRCC is now processing all Global Skills Strategy applications, though at reduced capacity. As more employees reintegrate into the workplace, we expect that the Strategy inventory will be addressed and that processing times will improve.

International students

• A two-stage process was implemented on July 24, 2020 to allow for a positive eligibility assessment (where an officer finds it justified) while certain admissibility assessments were still pending (e.g. biometric collection).
• It also included notifying students when an eligibility decision was made in order to provide reassurance to students starting studies online but who cannot complete their biometrics due to visa application centre closures. This process was put in place for students who applied for a study permit before September 15, 2020 and who intended to study in the fall semester.
• 64.5K Stage 1 letters were issued to students who submitted applications before September 15 and were affected by travel restrictions, to be enable them to enroll and begin classes online for Canadian educational programs.
• On October 20, 2020, the amendments to the Orders-in-Council came into effect and travel to Canada resumed for asymptomatic international students planning to attend a designated learning institution with an approved COVID-19 readiness plan in place.

Visitor visas

• The integrated network continues to process paper temporary residence applications on-site when priorities allow, and e-apps through remote work.
• The Orders-in-Council that govern the COVID-19 travel restrictions include a number of exemptions that allow certain foreign nationals to seek authorization to come to Canada, for example, for the purposes of family reunification. This includes for immediate family members of a foreign national temporarily residing in Canada who are coming to Canada for a non-discretionary purpose, and extended family members of Canadian citizens, permanent residents and persons registered as Indians under the Indian Act who intend to visit for a period of at least 15 days.
• IRCC has provided written authorization as needed for those that meet the requirements for these Order-in-Council exemptions, in addition to ensuring that they have the required travel documents.

Partner service disruption and resumption and corresponding impact (i.e. visa application centres)

• Since March 13, 2020, most visa offices located outside of Canada have been affected to a certain degree by the global pandemic, and have undergone an interruption in service. Biometric collection through Service Canada centres in Canada, U.S. Application Support Centers, and visa application centres overseas was affected as a result of the pandemic. This resulted in an inventory backlog of applications for applicants without valid biometrics on file. 
• All 131 U.S. Application Support Centers closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of these biometric collection locations resumed services in July and August 2020 for IRCC applicants in a limited capacity, subject to opening and closure fluctuations.
• As of October 30, 2020, 106 out of 161 visa application centres are open to the public (66%). As these centres start to reopen gradually in different regions of the world, and travel restriction ease, we’ll be able to make final decisions on applications in progress as people complete all the steps in the process.

Supporting Facts and Figures

• From January to October 2020, IRCC has received 246,000 initial study permit applications. An intake drop of 31% from the same time the previous year.
• 175,100 study permit extension applications were received in 2020 up to the end of October, which is in line with the volume received during the same period in 2019.
• From January to October 2020, approximately 150,400 initial study permit applications were processed. This is a 57% decrease compared to just over 348,200 applications processed during the same period in 2019.
• For study permit extensions, 195,900 have been processed this year up to the end of October. This is 19% higher than the study permit extension output during the same period in 2019.