PACP - Q-1301 Inquiry of Ministry - December 5, 2023
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Question no
Q-1301
By
Ms. Kwan (Vancouver East)
Date
March 6, 2023
Marie-France Lalonde, M.P.
Question
With regard to the processing of permanent residence applications of overseas dependents of protected persons in Canada and DR2s: (a) are processing resources within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada allocated in accordance with the immigration levels set by cabinet; (b) if the number of applications for overseas dependents in a year exceeds the high range of the level, what happens to the additional applications, i.e. those beyond the level; (c) what are officers instructed to do with applications after the high end range of applications is reached; (d) how is the number of permanent residence applications processed in any year distributed among the various overseas offices, and on what basis; (e) what is the size of the inventory for permanent residence applications for protected persons in Canada and DR2s; (f) are there two separate levels for DR2s and protected persons in Canada; and (g) what are the written policies, guidance, and instructions that govern the processing of overseas dependents of in-Canada protected persons and DR2s?
Reply
Insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is concerned:
(a) Processing resources are allocated with a number of considerations and objectives in mind. Reaching the immigration levels set by cabinet is one of the main drivers for allocating processing resources.
(b) There is no Cabinet target or high/low range for the number of applications that the Department will process. IRCC processes the number of applications needed, in each category, in order to achieve the targets set out in the Immigration Levels Plan tabled in the House of Commons each year. Once an application is approved, overseas clients typically have up to one year, or the validity period of their Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) in order to travel to Canada, as such, many of the admissions from one year are from applications finalized in a previous year (for example, some 2023 admissions include clients whose applications were finalized in late 2022) and many of the applications finalized in the current year will result in the following year’s admissions.
There are many considerations as IRCC implements the Immigration Levels Plan and aims to achieve the volume of admissions that are aligned with it, including processing time commitment; balancing inventory shortfalls and surpluses within a category and across categories; other Government of Canada immigration commitments beyond those in the Levels plan; and operational considerations. In general, IRCC aims for admissions to be as close as possible to the target.
To keep workflows steady and utilize resources efficiently, IRCC aims to process at a steady pace, rather than reaching application processing targets early in the year. However, if application processing targets for a given category are reached or close to being reached, the Department generally slows down the pace of processing in that category. Applications within the inventory of that category would be processed in a future year.
It’s also important to note that there are many factors outside of IRCC’s control in regards to the timing of admissions. This is due to the fact that IRCC does not control the exact timing of admissions, particularly for overseas clients who organize their own travel. As a result, admissions achieved are not always precisely aligned with the Departmental plans, especially within a given category (rather than overall).
(c) To keep workflows steady throughout the year and in order to utilize resources efficiently, IRCC sets monthly operational targets based on the time required to process the various application stages and aims to process applications at a steady pace. However, if application processing targets for a given category are reached before the end of the year, resources may be temporarily shifted to other lines of business in order to help achieve the targets in those categories. If processing targets have been met for a given year, work may continue on applications within the respective inventory, but these applications may not be finalized until the beginning of the next calendar year and will contribute to the following years targets.
(d) Applications processed are aligned with the distribution of files globally, with the general objective to process oldest inventories first, while taking into account operational realities and other priorities. In the case of DR2s for example, the applications are usually distributed to the international office that processes clients from that country.
(e) As of the end of February 2023, there is a total inventory of 88K Protected Persons and Dependents Abroad. Of the 88K, 56.8K are Protected Persons in Canada and 31.2K are Dependents Abroad.
(f) There is one overall admissions and application processing target for Protected Persons and DR2s. The operational target for these categories are then broken down by office.
(g) The links below provide the guidance and instructions that govern the processing of dependents in Canada and abroad of in-Canada protected persons:
Protected persons: Processing applications for permanent residence – application intake and completeness
Protected persons: Processing applications for permanent residence – Eligibility
Protected persons: Processing applications for permanent residence – Admissibility
Protected persons: Processing applications for permanent residence – Family members overseas
Protected persons: Processing applications for permanent residence - Positive decisions on admissibility
Overseas processing of family members of in-Canada applicants for permanent residence - Program objectives
Overseas processing of family members of in-Canada applicants for permanent residence - General requirements for overseas dependents
Assessment of applications for overseas dependants - Medical examinations - Protected Persons
Assessment of applications for overseas dependants - Inadmissible family member
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