PACP - Question Period Note - December 5, 2023

Date: October 23, 2023

Classification: N/A

Department: IRCC

Immigration and Citizenship Processing

Issue: IRCC Immigration and Citizenship application processing

Proposed Response:

• IRCC continues to strengthen Canada’s immigration system, welcome new citizens, and respond to multiple international crises and increasing levels of application intake.
• IRCC also continues to improve client service and reduce wait times by streamlining processes and leveraging technology to meet demand.
• IRCC has processed 5.6 million applications across the Permanent Resident, Temporary Resident, and Citizenship lines of business from January 1 to September 30, 2023, which is 56% higher than the output during the same period in 2022 (3.6 million).
• Moreover, as a result of our ongoing efforts, as of September 30, 2023, 58% of total applications in our inventories are now within service standards, compared to 50% at the end of January 2023.
• Our target for 2023 is to welcome 465,000 permanent residents. As of September 30, 2023, we have processed approximately 429,000 applications and already welcomed over 371,000 Permanent Residents to Canada, accounting for 80% of the 2023 Cabinet-approved target.

If pressed:

• Approximately 191,500 new Canadian citizens have been welcomed from April 1 to September 30, 2023. As of the end of September, the Citizenship Program has achieved almost 50% of its target for this fiscal year, which is set at 385,000 new citizens.
• We have also continued to make good progress with temporary resident processing. Compared to July 2022, as of September 30, 2023, the volume of temporary resident applications in the inventory remaining above their respective service standards were reduced. Specifically:
  • Temporary resident visa applications were reduced by 11%, study permits were reduced by 1% and work permits (excluding Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) related applications) were reduced by 14%.
  • These inventories have steadily decreased over the past year and we expect this trend to continue.

Canada also continues to meet its ongoing humanitarian commitments related to Afghanistan, Ukraine, asylum amongst others.

• Supplementary Processing Data as of September 30, 2023:

Temporary Resident:

• Temporary Resident Visas (TRV, Super Visa, extensions): Canada continues to remain a destination of choice for visitors. Intake remains at record highs and the Department continues its efforts to reduce the inventory of TRV applications.
• Between January 1 and September 30, 2023, over 2.7 million applications were received, and over 2.5 million applications were processed. During the same period in 2022, just over 1.5 million were received and almost 1.4 million were processed, representing significant increases in intake and resulting output.
• Study Permits (SDS and extensions): Over 839,000 study permits were processed between January 1 and September 30, 2023, up from approximately 665,000 during the same period in 2022. Current processing times remain just below the 60 day service standard at 59 days.
• Work Permits (inc. extensions): IRCC processed more than 1.3 million work permits between January and September 2023, a significant increase from the almost 788,000 processed during the same period in 2022.

Citizenship:

• Grant processing times have decreased to 17 months as of September 30, 2023 compared to 26 months at the end of July 2022. However, new clients applying for a grant can expect to be processed within the 12 month service standard.
• Proof processing times have decreased to 10 months as of September 30, 2023, compared to 17 months in July, 2022.

Contact:
Marie-Josée Dorion
Director General, Operations Planning and Performance Branch
Cell.: 613-277-4134

Approved by:
Daniel Mills
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations
Tel.: 613-437-6396

Background:

Status of Operations

• IRCC continues to work to reduce inventories to a healthy level and improve processing times for all lines of business while balancing its response to ongoing international crises and increasing levels of application intake. Some categories of applications are seeing an overall improvement to processing times, such as applications for certain Family Class clients, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Workers and Citizenship Grants. However, improvements have been incremental as inventories of older cases are processed and various innovations and digital improvements have been gradually introduced; all while respecting targets set by Cabinet for immigration levels and other initiatives.
• It should be noted that processing times are historical, meaning they’re measured based on how long it took to process 80% of applications in the past. The processing time starts when a client’s complete application is submitted online or, is received in IRCC’s mail room and, ends when a decision is made.

Increased Federal Funding

• The Government of Canada is continuing to invest in processing capacity to ensure that all applications are processed as quickly as possible and to eliminate backlogs. However, additional FTE hiring will only be approved in exceptional circumstances given the current fiscal context and, various processing efficiencies innovations.

Mitigation Strategies

• Through innovations and digital modernization, IRCC is reducing its reliance on hiring additional staff across the organization, particularly in application processing.
• The recent introduction of automation (e.g., advanced analytics models deployed on extensions, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to support real-time digital intake of applications, call-centre enhancements and improved client self-serve tools) has allowed IRCC to increase its productivity and redirect staff to value-added processing. Over the longer term, the Government’s investment in IRCC’s Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) is expected to result in more comprehensive and sustained service and operational improvements, founded on new digital platforms that will bring more flexibility as well as system stability.

Immigration and Citizenship Processing

Permanent Residents (PR)

• PR admissions are 5% higher in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 (371,000 versus 354,000 over the period of January 1 – September 30 which is 80% of the 2023 Cabinet-approved target of 465,000). As of September 30, 2023, approximately 429,000 applications have been processed.

Express Entry under Provincial Nominee Program:

• The inventory has decreased from almost 21,000 in September 2022 to approximately 16,800 as of September 30, 2023. IRCC is on track to continue reducing the inventory of applications to a healthy level.
• Processing times have decreased from 15 months in September 2022 to 8 months as of September 30, 2023. Since August 2022, the Department has been processing most new applications (80%) received within the 6-month service standard.

Spouses, Partners and Children (Overseas and Domestic - Destined to Rest of Canada (excl. Quebec):

• The inventory has decreased from over 87,300 in September 2022 to 67,500 as of September 30, 2023 (including prospective applications). The Department has achieved its target of having 80% of this inventory within service standard. As a result, since July 2022, new applicants in this category are being processed within the 12 month service standard.

Federal High Skilled (FHS):

• As of September 30, 2023, there are 46,400 applications in the FHS inventory. Although intake has increased, the Department is within the 6 month service standard.

Temporary Residents (TR)

Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) :

• The TRV inventory (TRV, Super Visa and extensions) has dropped from 996,000 in July 2022 to 787,100 as of September 2023. The Department has been making efforts to reduce the inventory of TRV applications. As part of these efforts, more than 93% of approximately 240,000 TRV applications received before January 2023 have now been finalized.
• As of September 30, 2023, processing times for all TRVs (including CUAET) were at 80 days, down from 109 days for the same time period in 2022.

Study Permits:

• The Study Permit inventory has decreased from 187,000 in July 2022 to 113,000 as of September 30, 2023. The Department has processed 27% more applications as of September 30, 2023 compared to the same nine month period in 2022.
• Processing times have returned to service standards since the first week of April 2023, ahead of projections. As of September 30, 2023, processing times were at 59 days for applications finalized in the past 8 weeks - i.e. within the service standard of 60 days.

Work Permits (non-CUAET):

• Inventory was 101,000 in July 2022 and has decreased to 88,200 as of September 30, 2023 in spite of greater processing productivity. Part as a result of the introduction of a new temporary H-1B Visa Program in July.
• Approximately 817,000 work permits were processed between January 1 and September 30, 2023, an increase of 60% from the same period in 2022.
• As of September 30, 2023, those who apply now can expect their application to be processed within about 70-80 days (non-CUAET applications). The Department estimates it will take at least until the end of 2023 to return to processing by the service standard of 60 days on a consistent basis.

Citizenship

• Approximately 192,000 new Canadian citizens have been welcomed from April 1 to September 30, 2023.

Citizenship Grants:

• The Citizenship Grant inventory has decreased from 352,000 on September 30, 2022 to 248,000 as of September 30, 2023. The Department has largely eliminated the backlog accumulated due to processing challenges during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic.
• Processing times have decreased from 25 months on September 30, 2022 to 17 months as of September 30, 2023. Current applications are being processed within the 12 month service standard.

Citizenship Proofs:

• The Citizenship Proof inventory as of September 30, 2023 is 26,600 applications.
• The Department continues to take steps to increase proof output and further improve processing times which are currently at 9 months although no service standard exists for proofs. Only 10% of current applications in the inventory are older than 12 months.