441-02578 (Citizenship and immigration)

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has undertaken a comprehensive approach to addressing service standards and backlogs within its various immigration and citizenship programs. This included an increased focus on innovation, digital modernization and the recent introduction of automation (e.g., advanced analytics models deployed on extensions, Robotic Process Automation to support real-time digital intake of applications, call-centre enhancements and improved client self-serve tools) which has allowed IRCC to increase productivity, distribute workloads more efficiently, and redirect staff to value-added processing. In addition to these technological investments, IRCC hired over 1,200 employees during 2022-23 to bolster its processing capabilities. The Department is also working towards developing intake and inventory control measures for lines of business where backlogs remain and controls do not yet exist as part of its overall approach for reducing backlogs and meeting processing time objectives.

As of May 2024, 60% of all applications in our inventory were within service standards, where one has been established, with many lines of business back or close to being back to service standards. To note, 60% of the permanent resident inventory is also now within service standards. This is an increase from 52% for the same period in 2023. Additionally, 83% of citizenship inventory is now within service standards, compared to 73% at the same time last year. As of May 31, 2024, seven out of 13 key lines of business were within the service standard including the Federal High Skilled (FSH) program, the Provincial Nominee Program, Express Entry (PNP-EE), and Spouses, Partners and Children (except Quebec). For passports processed by IRCC, the Department is proud to report that we have cleared the majority of Certificate of Identity and Refugee Travel Document applications accumulated through the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 2024, IRCC has processed 77% of applications within service standards, compared to 34% at the same time last year.

IRCC continues to effectively manage its workload with 3.2 million applications across the Permanent Resident, Temporary Resident, and Citizenship lines of business processed from January 1 to May 31, 2024, which is 7% higher than the output during the same period in 2023 (2.9 million). During this same period, IRCC processed 2.8 million temporary resident applications (excluding electronic travel authorizations), also representing an increase of 12% compared to 2023 (2.5 million).

In contrast to the Permanent Resident Program, the Temporary Resident Program is mostly demand-driven. However, in January 2024, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced a commitment to manage study permit processing, specifically a temporary two-year cap on new study permit applications. For 2024, the cap is expected to result in around 360,000 new study permits approved, representing a 35% reduction from 2023. A portion of this cap will be allocated to provinces and territories, which are then responsible for distributing the allocation among their designated learning institutes.

IRCC is also targeting a decrease in our temporary residents population to 5% over the next three years to work toward maintaining a healthy and manageable level of inventory. Combining these approaches with processing networks workload management will permit IRCC to increase productivity and improve efficiency and as a result deliver its services faster to help reunite families, and better support business travel, tourism, and workers.

IRCC will continue to work towards achieving the stated service standards, so that applicants can obtain an immigration decision in a timely and predictable manner. Furthermore, IRCC is committed to reviewing current service standards and with a human-centric lens, to ensure that Canada remains competitive globally.