CIMM – 9.6 – Applications Received, Processed and Waiting for Afghanistan – February 8, 2023

IRCC’s response to a request for information made by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on March 3, 2022

Question

Ms. Jenny Kwan: If I can get in detail for the committee the numbers for how many applications have been processed, how many of them have been completed, and how many of them are still waiting for completion […] What about the applications for people who are not interpreters or collaborators, which is to say those who may have family members who are here in Canada and who have connections that way?

If any of those are being processed at all, how many are?

[…]

Ms. Catrina Tapley: We look at this in three groups. One of those three groups includes interpreters who came to Canada in 2009 and 2012 and their extended families. We have the first slightly more than 1,000 applications in for those now. Those are being processed. The second group is those who are privately sponsored or government-assisted outside of the group under SIMs. About half of those applications are in. All the spaces are allocated, but half are in.

Ms. Jenny Kwan: Thank you. If I could get those specific numbers, not “half” but exact numbers and under which category, that would be appreciated. Perhaps those could be submitted to the committee then.

Response

Since summer 2021, Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada has processed over 18,000 applications (in persons) via:  1) Special Immigration Measures (SIMs) for those who served Canada; 2) a Humanitarian Program which includes a combination of privately sponsored and government-assisted refugees outside the group of SIMs (Afghan nationals don’t apply directly to us for this program); and 3) a pathway for extended family members of former Afghan interpreters who came to Canada under earlier programs in 2009 and 2012); as well as priority processing, including prioritizing family reunification applications and measures to facilitate extending temporary resident status. 

The table below reflects the numbers of persons per pathway (as of March 22, 2022), excluding  non-accompanying dependents: