Immigration
Immigration Canada’s backlog grows to 1.84 million
As of mid-March, IRCC reports a backlog of 1,844,424 persons across all lines of business.
IRCC reports there are 1.84 million people waiting on decisions in its inventory as of mid-March.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided its latest inventory data to CIC News through a media request. The inventory comprises applications submitted by future Canadian citizens, permanent residents, international students, temporary workers, and visitors.
The backlog has progressed as follows since the summer:
- March 15 and 17, 2022: 1,844,424 persons
- February 1, 2022: 1,815,628 persons
- December 15, 2021: 1,813,144 persons
- October 27, 2021: 1,792,404 persons
- July 6, 2021: 1,447,474 persons
Note on data reporting
The data represents the number of persons currently awaiting processing by IRCC.
CIC News is reporting the data exactly how IRCC provided it. Permanent residence inventory data is from March 15 and temporary residence inventory data is from March 17. The reason for the difference is when IRCC provided the March 15 temporary residence data initially, the “visitor record” data was missing. As IRCC does not keep snapshots of their inventory, except when requested, it was not possible for the media representatives to verify the March 15 visitor record data. The March 17 temporary residence data was provided when requested.
The comparison data from February 1 matches what IRCC provided at that time. In some cases, marked “N/A,” IRCC did not offer the information.
Where has IRCC made progress since last month?
Significant progress is being made on Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) applications. There are just 10,400 CEC persons left to be processed, which suggests IRCC could wind down this backlog by the spring. Meanwhile, tremendous progress is being made on FSWP applications. In the last two weeks, IRCC has processed more FSWP applicants than it did over a seven-month period in 2021. The department processed 4,000 FSWP persons between February 28 and March 15. At this current rate, the department could also wind down the FSWP backlog in the second half of this year.
Express Entry inventory
| Immigration category | Persons as of Mar. 15 | Persons as of Feb. 1 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (EE) | 41,336 | 49,751 | -8,415 |
| Canadian Experience Class (EE) | 10,388 | 15,139 | -4,751 |
| Provincial/Territorial Nominees (EE) | 36,590 (EE) + 34,621 (No EE) | 68,682 (EE + No EE) | +2,529 |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (EE) | 589 | 805 | -216 |
| Grand total | 123,524 | 134,337 | -10,813 |
The family class inventory has shown some progress in the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), as well as the humanitarian and compassionate category. Although there was some growth in the spouses, partners, children and other categories, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has said that processing standards for new applications are back to the 12-month standard. The government offers a tool for spousal sponsorship applicants to monitor their application status.
Family class immigration
| Immigration category | Persons as of Mar. 15 | Persons as of Feb. 1 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCH-Family relations – H&C | 3,320 | 3,350 | -30 |
| Parents and Grandparents | 35,324 | 36,046 | -722 |
| Spouses, partners, children, other family | 55,301 (spouses) + 9,166 (children and other) | 62,826 | +1,641 |
| Total Family Class | 103,112 | 102,222 | +890 |
Where has the backlog grown since February?
As of the end of February 2022, the citizenship inventory is 453,265. This figure includes all prospective, mailroom estimates and unopened electronic applications.
IRCC previously reported the backlog for citizenship applicants was standing at about 448,000 on December 31, 2021.
There were about 5,000 more citizenship applications in the inventory at the end of February, compared to the end of December.
The Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) pathway also saw an increase of about 5,400 applicants. Even though IRCC received all applications for this program between May 6 and November 5, 2021, these applications were saved in a cloud environment and not yet considered part of the inventory, an IRCC spokesperson said in an email to CIC News. The applications were then transferred to the Global Case Management System and counted in the inventory. IRCC received about 91,000 applications in total for the TR2PR program. As of March 15, 35,341 persons were reported in the inventory.
Other permanent residency program inventories that saw significant increases include the paper-based Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the Caring for Children Program, and the Quebec Skilled Worker Program.
Permanent residence
| Immigration category | Persons as of Mar. 15 | Persons as of Feb. 1 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Class | 230,767 | 230,573 | +194 |
| Family Class | 103,112 | 102,222 | +890 |
| Humanitarian and Compassionate/Public Policy | 27,218 | 27,436 | -218 |
| Permit Holders Class | 18 | 21 | -3 |
| Protected Persons | 157,552 | 158,778 | -1,226 |
| Grand total | 518,667 | 519,030 | -363 |
Economic class immigration
| Immigration category | Persons as of Mar. 15 | Persons as of Feb. 28 | Persons as of Feb. 1 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agri-Food Pilot Program | 649 | 653 | N/A | -4 |
| Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs | 2,672 | 2,577 | N/A | +95 |
| Canadian Experience Class (EE) | 10,388 | 12,088 | 15,139 | -4,751 |
| Canadian Experience Class (No EE) | 107 | 84 | N/A | +23 |
| Caring For Children Program | 17,585 | 16,316 | 16,085 | +1,500 |
| Federal Self Employed | 5,263 | 5,181 | 5,396 | -133 |
| Federal Skilled Workers (C-50) | 190 | 197 | N/A | -7 |
| Federal Skilled Workers (EE) | 41,336 | 45,437 | 49,751 | -8,415 |
| Federal Skilled Workers (Pre C-50) | 23 | 23 | N/A | 0 |
| High Medical Needs Program | 16 | 15 | N/a | +1 |
| Live-in Caregiver Program | 1,268 | 1,328 | N/A | -60 |
| Provincial/Territorial Nominees (EE) | 36,590 | 37,484 | 68,682 (EE + No EE) | -894 |
| Provincial/Territorial Nominees (No EE) | 34,621 | 32,106 | N/A | +2,515 |
| Quebec Entrepreneur | 408 | 416 | N/A | -8 |
| Quebec Investor | 14,309 | 13,845 | 14,117 | +464 |
| Quebec Self Employed | 121 | 89 | N/A | +32 |
| Quebec Skilled Workers | 26,997 | 26,217 | 25,263 | +1,734 |
| Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot | 870 | 897 | N/A | -27 |
| Skilled Trades (EE) | 589 | 632 | 723 | -134 |
| Skilled Trades (No EE) | 3 | 3 | N/A | 0 |
| Start-up Business | 1,421 | 1,295 | N/A | +126 |
| TR to PR | 35,341 | 34,304 | 29,864 | +5,477 |
| Ministerial Instruction Economic Programs | N/A | N/A | 5,553 | N/A |
| Total Economic Class | 230,767 | 231,187 | 230,573 | +194 |
There were also a number of increases in temporary residence applications. Work permits saw the largest increase up by about 14,700 between February 1 and March 17. Extensions for both work and study permits as well as visitor records were also on the rise.
Temporary residence
| TR category | Persons as of Mar. 17 | Persons as of Feb. 1 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study Permit | 111,192 | 112,185 | -993 |
| Study Permit Extension | 30,533 | 26,479 | +4,054 |
| Temporary Resident Visa | 419,243 | 420,097 | -854 |
| Visitor Record | 68,528 | 65,093 | +3,435 |
| Work Permit | 100,205 | 85,526 | +14,679 |
| Work Permit Extension | 142,791 | 139,218 | +3,573 |
| Grand total | 872,492 | 848,598 | +23,894 |
Major changes since autumn 2021
IRCC has stopped holding Express Entry draws for CEC candidates since the fall of 2021, and for FSWP candidates since December 2020. The reason was to clear the large inventory of applications that caused processing times to increase. Pausing Express Entry draws for these programs means no new applications are coming in for them, allowing officers to process the backlog. IRCC has, however, been holding PNP draws biweekly in record numbers.
Public IRCC records suggest that Express Entry draws for FSWP and CEC candidates will resume in 2022, once the backlogs are reduced and the six-month processing standard can resume.
In the 2021 Budget, Canada allocated $85 million to reduce processing times across all IRCC lines of business. Minister Fraser has said this budget will allow Canada to return to processing service standards for study permits, work permits, and permanent resident card renewals by the end of the year. The temporary reduction in Express Entry admissions is so IRCC can wind down the processing of its TR2PR program.
Canada released the 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan in February. The government plans to admit record numbers of newcomers every year for the next three years. The Express Entry targets are significantly reduced for 2022 and 2023 but return to over 110,000 immigrants in 2024.
Canada has also introduced the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), an accelerated temporary residence pathway for Ukrainians fleeing war. IRCC has said these special measures for Ukrainians will not impact the processing of refugee applications.
Kareem El-Assal
Shelby Thevenot
