Just a thought: Why does Canada not offer premium service at extra cost?

[Das67]

People often compare immigration timelines for the UK when complaining about Canadian processing times. What is advertised and what actually happens are rarely the same. Canada and the UK have different programs on top of recently going through Brexit so impossible to say which are worse but both countries had significant lockdown periods so it is pretty safe to assume that both countries experienced significant service disruptions.

It's always good to argue by using actual numbers or facts not just express your opinion in such matter. Let see the actual numbers
.
4.1 Applications for British citizenship
There were 165,693 applications for British citizenship in the year to March 2020, 6% fewer than the previous year.

Grants of British citizenship
There were 163,624 grants of British citizenship in the year ending March 2020, 9% more than the previous year.

Year ending	Total decisions	Total grants	Residence	Marriage	Children	Other	Refusals & withdrawals
March 2019	158,661	149,601	81,777	23,605	34,665	9,554	9,060
March 2020	171,046	163,624	82,818	32,446	37,496	10,864	7,422
Change: latest year	+12,385	+14,023	+1,041	+8,841	+2,831	+1,310	-1,638
Percentage change	+8%	+9%	+1%	+37%	+8%	+14%	-18%

source : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/how-many-people-continue-their-stay-in-the-uk#citizenship
Between March 2019 and March 2020 163,624 people were granted citizenship in UK and if you do the math you will notice 95.6 % of applications was finalized between march 2019 and march 2020.
Note that most of country enter into lockdown by march 2020.

See what Canada did between April 2019 and March 2020.
Citizenship grant applications – Adults and minors

• Our service standard: process applications within 12 months
• Our target: meet the standard for at least 80% of applications submitted
• Our performance in 2019‒2020: processed 65% of applications within the standard

source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/mandate/service-declaration/service-standards.html#citizenship
We can all see how bad they were already doing before even the pandemic hit the country, they did not even meet the 80% of processing application in 1 year.

Applications for British citizenship
There were 176,910 applications for British citizenship in the year ending March 2021, 7% more than in the year ending March 2020.
Grants of British citizenship
There were 125,691 grants of British citizenship in YE March 2021, 23% fewer than the previous year.

Year ending	Total decisions	Total grants	Residence	Marriage	Children	Other	Refusals and withdrawals
March 2020	170,319	163,624	82,818	32,446	37,496	10,864	6,695
March 2021	130,947	125,691	70,764	23,253	25,168	6,506	5,256
Change: latest 12 months	-39,372	-37,933	-12,054	-9,193	-12,328	-4,358	-1,439
Percentage change	-23%	-23%	-15%	-28%	-33%	-40%	-21%

Source:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2021/how-many-people-continue-their-stay-in-the-uk-or-apply-to-stay-permanently#citizenship
Once again if you do the math you will notice that 71% of applications was processed between March 2020 and March 2021, and yes the number is 23%
lower than in March 2020 because of covid but they are still over preforming compare to IRCC. They even manager to process more applications than IRCC did between march 2019 and march 2020 ( not covid excuse here though). We all love Canada but pointing what is wrong with the system doesn't mean people don't love this country, numbers don't lie.

 

[canuck78]

It's always good to argue by using actual numbers of fact not just express your opinion in such matter. Let see the actual numbers
.
4.1 Applications for British citizenship
There were 165,693 applications for British citizenship in the year to March 2020, 6% fewer than the previous year.

Grants of British citizenship
There were 163,624 grants of British citizenship in the year ending March 2020, 9% more than the previous year.

Year ending	Total decisions	Total grants	Residence	Marriage	Children	Other	Refusals & withdrawals
March 2019	158,661	149,601	81,777	23,605	34,665	9,554	9,060
March 2020	171,046	163,624	82,818	32,446	37,496	10,864	7,422
Change: latest year	+12,385	+14,023	+1,041	+8,841	+2,831	+1,310	-1,638
Percentage change	+8%	+9%	+1%	+37%	+8%	+14%	-18%

source : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/how-many-people-continue-their-stay-in-the-uk#citizenship
Between March 2019 and March 2020 163,624 people were granted citizenship in UK and if you do the math you will notice 95.6 % of applications was finalized between march 2019 and march 2020.
Note that most of country enter into lockdown by march 2020.

See what Canada did between April 2019 and March 2020.
Citizenship grant applications – Adults and minors

• Our service standard: process applications within 12 months
• Our target: meet the standard for at least 80% of applications submitted
• Our performance in 2019‒2020: processed 65% of applications within the standard

source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/mandate/service-declaration/service-standards.html#citizenship
We can all see how bad they were already doing before even the pandemic hit the country, they did not even meet the 80% of processing application in 1 year.

Applications for British citizenship
There were 176,910 applications for British citizenship in the year ending March 2021, 7% more than in the year ending March 2020.
Grants of British citizenship
There were 125,691 grants of British citizenship in YE March 2021, 23% fewer than the previous year.

Year ending	Total decisions	Total grants	Residence	Marriage	Children	Other	Refusals and withdrawals
March 2020	170,319	163,624	82,818	32,446	37,496	10,864	6,695
March 2021	130,947	125,691	70,764	23,253	25,168	6,506	5,256
Change: latest 12 months	-39,372	-37,933	-12,054	-9,193	-12,328	-4,358	-1,439
Percentage change	-23%	-23%	-15%	-28%	-33%	-40%	-21%

Source:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2021/how-many-people-continue-their-stay-in-the-uk-or-apply-to-stay-permanently#citizenship
Once again if you do the math you will notice that 71% of applications was processed between March 2020 and March 2021, and yes the number is 23%
lower than in March 2020 because of covid but they are still over preforming compare to IRCC. They even manager to process more applications than IRCC did between march 2019 and march 2020 ( not covid excuse here though). We all love Canada but pointing what is wrong with the system doesn't mean people don't love this country, numbers don't lie.

Canada’s system allows a shorter residency requirement but a longer processing time which I assume is likely partially by design. You will still end up with Canadian citizenship is a shorter timeframe in Canada. The system is far from perfect but do I empathize with people having to wait to get citizenship after only 3 years (with no yearly residency requirement) and potentially being outside Canada? It is still much easier to get Canadian citizenship.

 

[Das67]

Canada’s system allows a shorter residency requirement but a longer processing time which I assume is likely partially by design. You will still end up with Canadian citizenship is a shorter timeframe in Canada. The system is far from perfect but do I empathize with people having to wait to get citizenship after only 3 years (with no yearly residency requirement) and potentially being outside Canada? It is still much easier to get Canadian citizenship.

Nice shift of the issue, right now the subject is not about how long you need to wait before to be eligible for citizenship but how good is IRCC managing the pandemic vs processing time.

 

[canuck78]

Nice shift of the issue, right now the subject is not about how long you need to wait before to be eligible for citizenship but how good is IRCC managing the pandemic vs processing time.

You can’t really separate both issues because many complaining are not in Canada, are waiting for citizenship to leave Canada, etc. and the delays are impacting their plans. There is certainly room to criticize IRCC but in general most applying for citizenship are not significantly impacted by the delays in citizenship due to covid. They have had access to all covid support programs, healthcare, have been able to continue their employment, etc.

 

[ybjianada]

You can’t really separate both issues because many complaining are not in Canada, are waiting for citizenship to leave Canada, etc. and the delays are impacting their plans. There is certainly room to criticize IRCC but in general most applying for citizenship are not significantly impacted by the delays in citizenship due to covid. They have had access to all covid support programs, healthcare, have been able to continue their employment, etc.

Rubbish reply. This thread is not about whether people (inside or outside Canada) are affected by the delays in citizenship applications. Nobody is arguing that permanent residents don't already enjoy the majority of the rights in Canada. We are not debating this issue. And how do you know there are no applicants in the UK waiting to leave the UK once the obtain their British citizenship? That should have no bearing on the efficiency of processing the applications.

 

[Das67]

You can’t really separate both issues because many complaining are not in Canada, are waiting for citizenship to leave Canada, etc. and the delays are impacting their plans. There is certainly room to criticize IRCC but in general most applying for citizenship are not significantly impacted by the delays in citizenship due to covid. They have had access to all covid support programs, healthcare, have been able to continue their employment, etc.

yeah, yeah, yeah we have been hearing that song for the last 15 months now and it blow my mind when people can find any excuse to justify their incompetency(because right now this is what it is). Somehow only IRCC is affected by this pandemic in Canada, what about we all stop working and cross our hands and blame the pandemic ? I just shared numbers from UK's immigration and by the way UK was hit even harder than Canada but their immigration somehow find a way to process even more applications than IRCC did in no pandemic time.

 

[CaBeaver]

Have you ever worked in government? Nothing happens fast. I am sure initially everyone thought this would be a temporary lockdown and then the world would return to normal. After it became clear that it was unlikely to be the case then there had to be a discussion about whether there should be a way to do the test online without fraud and how this could be done. Then there had to be the request for bids from contractors and then discussions about the various bids. After selecting the bids they waited for the platform to be built, tested, reviewed by IRCC, tested by a limited amount of applicants, etc. This isn‘t the private sector where the company can be nimble and doesn’t have to be accountable except to maybe shareholders. Doesn’t have strict processes to adhere to, doesn’t have unions to deal with, etc. For most having their citizenship delayed would have minimal impacts on their life if they intend on remaining in Canada. For those few who need citizenship to access certain jobs I agree that priority processing should have been available. For those who just want to leave Canada permanently and are delayed I don’t think anyone will have much sympathy that they are being delayed. I am sure that was considered and priority was health and safety in Canada.

You excluded those who want to stay in Canada, but they can't secure an adequate job. What should they do? Instead of not sympathizing with those who leave Canada, why not address the problem of why they leave Canada in the first place. There is a reason why people leave Canada. Sure some may have intended to get the citizenship and leave from the beginning, but I doubt this is the majority's plan when they leave Canada. If Canada wants Uber drivers and burger flippers, don't bring highly skilled workers with PhDs to do these jobs. Bring experienced Uber drivers and burger flippers. Even with those who leave Canada, Canada will remain a potential home in the future. I left Canada before because I couldn't find an adequate job to my credentials, but returned when I had the chance because I have a PR status. I could have gone anywhere else with better opportunities, but I didn't.

 

[CaBeaver]

But what I was talking about was about the secrecy approach IRCC takes. We know that there are things other than the pandemic that affect our applications' processing time, yet we don't know what they are. Transparency is not in IRCC's dictionary. They use covid-19 as a vague and general cover for their (intentional or unintentional) delays. As if covid-19 was gift to them from the sky to implement something they couldn't before.

 

[CaBeaver]

It's always good to argue by using actual numbers of fact not just express your opinion in such matter. Let see the actual numbers
.
4.1 Applications for British citizenship
There were 165,693 applications for British citizenship in the year to March 2020, 6% fewer than the previous year.

Grants of British citizenship
There were 163,624 grants of British citizenship in the year ending March 2020, 9% more than the previous year.

Year ending	Total decisions	Total grants	Residence	Marriage	Children	Other	Refusals & withdrawals
March 2019	158,661	149,601	81,777	23,605	34,665	9,554	9,060
March 2020	171,046	163,624	82,818	32,446	37,496	10,864	7,422
Change: latest year	+12,385	+14,023	+1,041	+8,841	+2,831	+1,310	-1,638
Percentage change	+8%	+9%	+1%	+37%	+8%	+14%	-18%

source : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/how-many-people-continue-their-stay-in-the-uk#citizenship
Between March 2019 and March 2020 163,624 people were granted citizenship in UK and if you do the math you will notice 95.6 % of applications was finalized between march 2019 and march 2020.
Note that most of country enter into lockdown by march 2020.

See what Canada did between April 2019 and March 2020.
Citizenship grant applications – Adults and minors

• Our service standard: process applications within 12 months
• Our target: meet the standard for at least 80% of applications submitted
• Our performance in 2019‒2020: processed 65% of applications within the standard

source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/mandate/service-declaration/service-standards.html#citizenship
We can all see how bad they were already doing before even the pandemic hit the country, they did not even meet the 80% of processing application in 1 year.

Applications for British citizenship
There were 176,910 applications for British citizenship in the year ending March 2021, 7% more than in the year ending March 2020.
Grants of British citizenship
There were 125,691 grants of British citizenship in YE March 2021, 23% fewer than the previous year.

Year ending	Total decisions	Total grants	Residence	Marriage	Children	Other	Refusals and withdrawals
March 2020	170,319	163,624	82,818	32,446	37,496	10,864	6,695
March 2021	130,947	125,691	70,764	23,253	25,168	6,506	5,256
Change: latest 12 months	-39,372	-37,933	-12,054	-9,193	-12,328	-4,358	-1,439
Percentage change	-23%	-23%	-15%	-28%	-33%	-40%	-21%

Source:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2021/how-many-people-continue-their-stay-in-the-uk-or-apply-to-stay-permanently#citizenship
Once again if you do the math you will notice that 71% of applications was processed between March 2020 and March 2021, and yes the number is 23%
lower than in March 2020 because of covid but they are still over preforming compare to IRCC. They even manager to process more applications than IRCC did between march 2019 and march 2020 ( not covid excuse here though). We all love Canada but pointing what is wrong with the system doesn't mean people don't love this country, numbers don't lie.

Does Canada have such detailed statistics for their immigration?

 

[Das67]

Does Canada have such detailed statistics for their immigration?

I don't know I couldn't find any, maybe we need to request them and wait undefined period of time (here too covid is the monster to blame) instead of just making them public. With a single click on google I was able to find UK's immigration's statistics. Transparency seems not to be IRCC's strength.

 

[CaBeaver]

I don't know I couldn't find any, maybe we need to request them and wait undefined period of time (here too covid is the monster to blame) instead of just making them public. With a single click on google I was able to find UK's immigration's statistics. Transparency seems not to be IRCC's strength.

The statistics would show how they are performing over time, which as we know wouldn't serve them. But there is no shame in not doing well, just put it out there, and be honest about it, and try to do better by fixing the problems after you admit them. What I don't understand is IRCC's secrecy and doing things in the dark As if they don't want to be held accountable by admitting what they are doing.

 

[Das67]

The statistics would show how they are performing over time, which as we know wouldn't serve them. But there is no shame in not doing well, just put it out there, and be honest about it, and try to do better by fixing the problems after you admit them. What I don't understand is IRCC's secrecy and doing things in the dark As if they don't want to be held accountable by admitting what they are doing.

Do you think they really care? Someone said in different threat that they serve immigrant who cares if the service isn't deliver on time? See how they resume in person passport service almost in all provinces in the country, because that service is for canadian and they can be held accountable if the service is interrupted or malfunctioned.

 

[novascotia27]

Would essentially prioritize wealthy people and especially those with no intentions of remaining in Canada. Can only imagine how many applications from people planning on applying for TN visas would be paying for priority processing. It is crazy enough that Canada processes citizenship applications for people who no longer live in Canada and have no intention of returning.

You don’t need to be wealthy to afford premium processing… if you can pay for it, you should have the option, if not, keep waiting. But there should be an option for expedited services, just like the US, UK, and Australia.

What people do with their Canadian Citizenships is up to their own individual decisions and not the Canadian government. So who cares? Clearly not the Canadian government and neither should you

 

[novascotia27]

You can’t really separate both issues because many complaining are not in Canada, are waiting for citizenship to leave Canada, etc. and the delays are impacting their plans. There is certainly room to criticize IRCC but in general most applying for citizenship are not significantly impacted by the delays in citizenship due to covid. They have had access to all covid support programs, healthcare, have been able to continue their employment, etc.

You are wrong! You analysis is very narrow! Not everybody that complains about the citizenship process wants to leave Canada or is already outside of Canada. There are refugees applying for Citizenship (who currently don’t hold a passport from their home country), others want to get a Government job, other needs it because a Canadian passport provides more freedom to travel, others wants to resign their current nationality and others simple deserve to make closure with such a long process … people complaint because THE SYSTEM IS INEFFICIENT AND LACKS TRANSPARENCY!!! People can’t wait forever for a process that is relatively straightforward…

 

[novascotia27]

I don't know I couldn't find any, maybe we need to request them and wait undefined period of time (here too covid is the monster to blame) instead of just making them public. With a single click on google I was able to find UK's immigration's statistics. Transparency seems not to be IRCC's strength.

Lack of transparency is an issue of the Trudeau’s government!!! It happens across the board in the federal government