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 |
---|
Grand total | 123,524 | 134,337 | -10,813 |
---|
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 |
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 |
---|
Total Family Class | 103,112 | 102,222 | +890 |
---|
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 |
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 |
---|
Grand total | 518,667 | 519,030 | -363 |
---|
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 |