Canada is planning to use its the budget of $85 million to get back to the normal process standards for different immigration programs before the at the end of the year.
The Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has brought forth Canada’s plans to bring the immigration system back in order.
The 2021 Budget, Canada allocated $85 million to cut the processing time across all IRCC areas of business. The Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also called on Fraser to speed up processing within the letter of mandate to minister. Fraser has now stated that the budget will permit Canada to go back to the standard of processing for study permissions, permits for work and permanent resident renewals before the at the end in the calendar year. A press release states that Canada is working to cut down processing times for visas for visitors as well as proof of citizenship.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) took decisions on more than 500 000 permanent residence applications in 2021. Fraser stated that Canada will make 147,000 final decisions on permanent residence during the initial quarter of 2022, which is more than double that of the same timeframe in 2021. Canada will also launch an updated permanent residence Application tracker beginning in February of 2022, for spouses and dependents which will allow applicants to view their application details along with their current status.
Recently, documents from within IRCC files have exposed that the department’s actual processing times for the economic immigration program are considerably longer than what it states on its government’s website. Fraser added that Canada will be updating its online tool to calculate processing times in the coming months , to provide IRCC clients with more accurate estimates of the time it takes to process their applications.
According to a November 24, memo that memo stated at the time IRCC had been expecting Foreign Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) application processing to take up to 20 months, which is far beyond the normal processing time that is six months in Express Entry managed programs. The memo also stated that processing would take close to 8 months to Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants.
Canadian Immigration is currently facing an unending backlog of over 1.8 million applicants waiting for the outcome of their cases. This includes applicants for citizenship and temporary foreign workers families and students, refugees and even visitors.
“I recognize that processing delays are extremely frustrating for many people. Facilitating clients to come to Canada swiftly, with predictability of processing times and swift communication with IRCC remains an absolute priority for me,” Fraser said in a press release. “Immigration is beneficial to all Canadians, it can boost our economy and helps strengthen our communities across the nation. Many are opting to choose Canada as a destination to live and create their future. In order to make sure that we remain in the game, we’ve implemented certain measures to ensure people who wish to move to Canada enjoy the service they deserve.”
What is the process? IRCC has begun to reduce processing times
The outbreak highlighted the necessity to IRCC operations to upgrade. In response to the challenges of the pandemic, IRCC has hired about 500 processing personnel as well as digitized applications and moved work between IRCC offices across the globe.
Since the public health reforms have reduced the availability of in-person services, IRCC has brought some paper-based immigration programs online. IRCC previously informed in an email it expects its web-based application system to fully operational by the summer or spring of 2022. IRCC states that so far, these initiatives have enabled the processing time of applicants for spousal sponsorship to return to the standard period of twelve months to process new application.
IRCC has also designed an online portal that allows permanent residents in Canada to complete their application and obtain their permanent residency cards with no in-person interaction. From June 2021 until December 2021 the IRCC has received 225,000 applications from permanent residences who have utilized this website.
IRCC recently released a media announcement that said it’s using advanced data analysis to accelerate Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) applications. The system doesn’t deny or recommend the rejection on applications. IRCC declares that it is only immigration officials can make that decision. The first time it was implemented was in the year 2018 and permits applicants to be assessed at a speed of 87%.
To help applicants apply for citizenship, IRCC has introduced online tests, developed an application tracking system online and also launched online citizenship ceremonies. Canada has been sworn to 170,000 brand-new Canadians on April 1, 2020. Canada continues to expand the use of ceremonies that are virtual.
Travelers must have a complete vaccination in order to travel to Canada
In the near future, Canada will let citizens self-administer their Oath through a signature attestation and then celebrate their citizenship later. This will reduce the wait time for people who are in the final phase the process of obtaining citizenship.
