This marks the smallest application backlog recorded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) since June 1-6, 2022, when the total number of applications backlogged within the system was reported at 2,387,884 persons.

After hitting 2.6 million in September, IRCC's total application backlog is down to 2.2 million as of December 2, 2022.

This is the second consecutive period during which IRCC is reporting a decrease in the number of outstanding applications after the backlog was reduced to 2.4 million in November. 

Current IRCC application inventories by immigration category

The following is a breakdown of IRCC's application inventories, separated by lines of business, as of December 2, 2022. 

IRCC's inventory of citizenship applications is down from 331,401 on October 31 to 314,630 as of November 30 (-5.06%). 

The permanent residence (PR) application inventory is up by 1.16%, from 506,421 (November 3) to 512,342 (December 2). 

Temporary residence (TR): Combined application inventory between all TR programs has gone down by 7.89%, from 1,537,566 in November to 1,416,125 in December

Express Entry: 43,326 applications remaining in IRCC's system (+3,737 since November 3)

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): Total inventory of 62,343 applications (base + enhanced)

Spouses and Partners sponsorship program: Standing at 62,106 applications among all lines of business

Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP): Down 1,883 total applications, from 55,653 in November to 53,770 in December 2022

Plans to further decrease the backlog

IRCC reports that it produced 2 million more combined final application decisions on PR, TR and citizenship applications between January and October 2022 (4.2 million) than it did during the same period last year (2.3 million total final decisions made between January and October 2021). 

To help continue reducing the nationwide application backlog, IRCC began its move toward completely digitizing its PR application management systems on September 23, 2022. 

This digitization of applications for PR programs ended with the Atlantic Immigration program in October 2022, part of a larger three-phase plan to modernize Canadian immigration and help Canada hopefully eliminate the backlog altogether. 

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