Today, Minister Fraser announced measures to improve the applicant process and modernize the immigration system. These measures are part of a broader process to address key challenges faced by applicants. We are working to digitize our systems and reduce inventories of applications that grew during the pandemic, including for visitor visas, study permits, work permits, proof of citizenship, and permanent residence card renewal. These improvements will build on what Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has already done to reduce client wait times, such as adding 500 new processing staff.

The $85 million investment proposed in the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021 will allow us to return to service standards in various programs by the end of the year, including study permits, work permits, and permanent residence card renewal.

The modernization of the immigration system will address several aspects:

• This includes expanding the use of Advanced Analytics to help case officers make quicker decisions on Temporary Residence Visas. A pilot of this system has allowed IRCC to process these cases 87% faster. An IRCC officer will always make the final decision, but this system will improve client service and help IRCC manage the increasing volume of visitor visa applications going forward.
• In February 2022, a new Permanent Resident Case Tracker will also be introduced for spousal sponsorship applicants, to allow clients to easily access their application information online.
• IRCC has increased its capacity to process permanent residence applications and is committing to finalizing 147,000 permanent residence applications in the first quarter of 2022 – doubling what was done in the same period last year.
• We will also be expanding the online application portal to numerous immigration business streams by summer 2022. This will minimize COVID-related delays associated with processing paper applications, and will provide clients with immediate confirmation that their application was successfully submitted.
• Processing times for spousal sponsorship applicants have returned to the service standard of 12 months.
• We are looking at ways of providing an option for those who wish to quickly self-administer their Citizenship Oath by signed attestation, and celebrate their citizenship via ceremony at a later date.
• IRCC has also developed a portal to allow permanent residence applicants who are already in Canada to finalize their process and receive their permanent residency cards without any in-person interaction. Already, 225,000 permanent residents have used this portal from June 2021 to December 2021.

We will continue to focus on ways to modernize how we deliver our programs and services, so Canada can continue to be a destination of choice for people all over the world.

You can learn more about this announcement here.

If you have questions about the updates being made to Canada’s immigration system, you may contact our office at 604-501-5900 or by email at [email protected].