CIMM – Q-131 – IRCC Response – February 8, 2023

Inquiry of Ministry

Prepare in English and French marking "original text" or "translation"

Question No. : Q-131

By: Mr. Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn)

Date: November 30, 2021

Reply by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Print name of Signatory: L’hounorable Sean Fraser

Signature, Minister or Parliamentary Secretary

Question

With regard to the applications and resettlement of refugees from Afghanistan submitted to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC): a) what is the number of applications of Afghan refugees broken down by stage of processing; (b) what is the average processing time for an Afghan refugee application under the special immigration program; (c) how many Afghan refugees who applied to IRCC are in third countries; (d) what is the country breakdown of refugees in (c); (e) how many Afghan interpreters have submitted a refugee application; (f) how many Afghan interpreters' applications have been processed; (g) how many Afghan interpreters' applications have been denied; (h) what is the breakdown of (g) by reason for denial; (i) how many Afghan refugee applications have been made by refugees who identify as a targeted religious minority; and (j) what is the timeline for IRCC to resettle all 40,000 Afghan refugees in Canada?

Response

Insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is concerned: 

  1. As of November 30, 2021, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s processing inventory held 14,864 Afghan refugees’ applications. This includes individuals from the Special Immigration Measures (SIMs) cohort, Government Assisted Refugees (GARs), and Privately Sponsored Refugees (PSRs), as represented in Table 1, below:
Table 1
Total Application s Received (in person) Processing Inventory (in person)  Landing Inventory or TRP Approved (in person) Arrived in Canada  (in person)
SIM 14,636 5,018 5,965 3,623
GAR 1,810 1,311 72 417
PSR - 8,535 1,442 248
Total 16,446 14,864 7,479 4,228

*SIMs: locally engaged staff at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul and their families, and Afghan citizens with a significant and/or enduring relationship with the government of Canada, referred by Global Affairs Canada and Department of National Defense.

IRCC has received 14,636 SIMs applications (in people); 9,588 have been approved and 3,623 have arrived in Canada.  SIMs include interpreters. As applications are tracked by program category, not profession, the data in Table 1 includes interpreters. No refusal letters have been issued to date, therefore, there is no existing data on denials. 

  1. The average processing time for SIMs applications is 22 days from receipt to completion.
  2. Approximately, 11,662 Afghan refugees or 56% of our processing inventory are located in third countries, as represented in Table 2, below. Approximately 9,249 or 44% remain in Afghanistan.
  3. The country breakdown of refugees per country of residence is detailed in Table 2.
Table 2 - Afghanistan Inventory by Country of Residence
(Source: IRCC (EDW) CBR Data, as of November 30, 2021)
Country of Residence Special Immigration Measures (SIM) Afghan Humanitarian- Government Assisted Refugees (GAR) Afghan Humanitarian- Government Assisted Refugees (PSR)
Afghanistan 9,137 102 10
Albania 34 217 -
Australia 6 - 4
Austria - - 3
Azerbaijan - - 44
Belgium 15 - -
China - - 6
Czech Republic 6 - -
Denmark 13 - -
Egypt - - 1
England 13 - -
Ethiopia 1 - -
France 38 - 1
Germany 40 1 7
Greece 4 29 16
India 72 6 1,799
Indonesia 3   155
Iran 20 1 294
Ireland 4 - -
Italy 13 - -
Jordan 1 - -
Kazakhstan - 1 37
Kosovo 1 271 -
Kyrgyzstan 1 1 69
Macedonia - 108 -
Madagascar 5 - -
Malaysia 2 - 15
Mexico 2 165 -
Nauru - - 1
Nepal - - 5
Norway 11 1 -
Pakistan 1,016 281 486
Papua New Guinea - - 11
Philippines - - 10
Poland 7 - -
Portugal 1 2 -
Qatar 46 - -
Russia 2 - 29
Rwanda 9 91 13
Saudi Arabia - - 1
Spain 10 - -
Switzerland 3 - -
Sudan - - 1
Syria - - 8
Sweden - - 1
Taiwan - - 1
Tajikistan 37 - 4,824
Thailand - - 13
The Netherlands 74 2 -
Turkey 164 36 625
Ukraine 1 6 15
United Arab Emirates 38 3 13
United States of America 109 48 -
Uzbekistan 10 10 17
Unspecified 14 1 -
Total 10,983 1,393 8,535

Note: As the security of applicants remains a priority for the Government of Canada, numbers equal to or lower than 5 are recorded as “--” to prevent individuals from being identified when IRCC data is compiled and compared to other publicly available statistics. Additionally, all other values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 for the same reason. As a result of rounding, data reported in these tables may not sum up to the overall totals.

  1. to h)   The Government of Canada does not ask applicants questions concerning their religion, therefore does not hold data on applications made by refugees identifying as a targeted religious minority.
    1. and (j) IRCC is working, with the support of the whole of the Government of Canada, to continue to facilitate safe passage and resettlement of at least 40,000 vulnerable Afghan nationals, emphasizing individuals who supported Canada and our allies over the past two decades, women, LGBTQ1 people, human rights defenders, journalists and members of religious and ethnic minorities. The timelines for this initiative should be confirmed in the near future.

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