THIS WAS THE REPLY
Dear Mr. XXXX
I am replying to your e-mail of June 6, 2011, addressed to the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, concerning your application for permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Program.
All candidates who have submitted their applications look forward to being granted permanent resident status within a reasonable waiting period after applying. I assure you that we make every effort to deal with the applications we receive in the most efficient and effective way. However, Canada's attractiveness to immigrants means that each year, we receive applications from more people than we are able to process.
With a growing backlog, particularly in the FSW category, individuals with the skills and experience that Canadian employers want, wait years to be admitted. We must have an immigration system that effectively balances Canada's own needs with its popularity as a destination. That is why the Government of Canada proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). On June 18, 2008, these changes became law.
Until these amendments to IRPA, applications in the largest backlog—federal skilled workers—used to be processed in the order they were received, regardless of whether the applicants' skills or professions would enable them to find a job in Canada.
As you may be aware, on November 28, 2008, Minister Kenney announced an Action Plan for Faster Immigration. It included issuing instructions to visa officers reviewing new applications under the FSW Program. The first set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-1) applied to applications received on or after February 27, 2008, up to June 25, 2010. On June 26, 2010, Minister Kenney announced changes to the FSW Program and a new set of instructions (MI-2).
Under MI-1, CIC used this new authority under immigration law to control the type of applications received, but not the number. The number of applications received exceeded the ability to process them in a timely way. CIC introduced caps on June 26, 2010 on the FSW program as part of MI-2. We have limited the intake of new FSW applications to better match the number that we can actually process within the annual levels plan tabled in Parliament. FSW applications under MI-2 are processed on a priority basis.
CIC has received enough FSW applications since February 27, 2008, to reach immigration levels for the next two years. Unfortunately, it will take longer to process those submitted under the first set of instructions (between February 27, 2008 and June 25, 2010) than originally projected. This number represents more than twice the number of projected admissions under the program in 2011.
The Department's goal is to make the immigration system more responsive to labour market needs. By giving priority to FSW applications received on or after June 26, 2010, CIC is responding to the most urgent labour market needs first. The length of time it takes to finalize an application under this program varies from one visa office to another since visa offices face different challenges. CIC continues to work towards global service standards and the use of departmental standard forms to minimize such regional variations as much as possible.
I want to assure you that the Department closely monitors backlog and processing times, and continues to explore new ways to improve service while maintaining the integrity of Canada's immigration program.
Thank you for taking the time to write. I trust that this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
xxxx
Ministerial Enquiries Division
