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Canada’s Budget for 2021 has allocated $85 million to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for reducing the application processing times. In the light of this, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has informed that this allocation would allow IRCC to speed up the processing of applications for study permits, work permits and renewal of PR cards by the end of the current year. Currently, Canada has a backlog of 1.8 million applications.
As the application backlog has been delaying the immigration processing of thousands of candidates and hampering the opportunities for many to migrate to the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his mandate letter to Fraser had called on to focus on reducing the processing times. In 2021, the IRCC processed around 500000 PR applications. In the first quarter of 2022, around 147000 PR applications will be processed.
At the same time, Canada is taking measures to help those who are awaiting a final decision on their applications. In February 2022, Canada will be introducing a new Permanent Residence Application Tracker for spouses and dependents, where they would be able to track the status of their application online. Further, the online tracking tool for other applicants will be updated in the coming months so that they will be updated about how long it will take to process the applications.
The IRCC has already taken a number of measures to speed up the application processing. These include appointing around 500 new processing staff, digitizing applications and reallocating work among IRCC offices around the world. Further, IRCC made some more paper-based immigration programs online. Further, the online application portal will be fully implemented in this year itself. A new portal has also been developed for helping candidates receive their PR cards without in-person interaction. Around 225000 candidates have made use of this facility between June and December of 2021.
Canada has huge demand for foreign workers and it is expected that the country will be able to tackle the backlog problem soon. If you are thinking about migrating to Canada, this is the right time to start the process. For a smooth and hassle-free immigration process, contact the Canada immigration experts of Canapprove.
