Canada is rapidly reducing its immigration backlog.
In the last two and a half months, the country has processed more skilled work visas than it did in the entire year of 2021. According to sources, statistics supplied by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) revealed that the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) inventory decreased by over 9,000 applications between December 15, 2021, and February 28, 2022.
This indicates that IRCC processed more FSWP candidates in two and a half months than it handled in the entire year of 2021. IRCC handled approximately 600 FSWP applicants each month in the second half of 2021. The waiting list for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) has shrunk by nearly 12,000 people.
In total, about 24,000 visas were processed through the Express Entry procedure. Express Entry administers three immigration programmes:
- Class for Canadian Experience
- The Federal Skilled Worker Program and
- The Federal Skilled Trades Program
At the start of 2021, Canada chose to adjust its focus, slowing FSWP processing and transitioning more temporary residents to permanent residents, mostly through the CEC, in order to better meet its objective of 401,000 immigrants. Prior to the pandemic, nearly half of successful Express Entry candidates were from the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP).
The Express Entry application management system is used by Canada for three skilled worker programmes, including the FSWP. If you have never lived in Canada and are not a skilled crafts professional, the FSWP is the best Express Entry option for you.
In a February meeting with the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Canada’s Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser, reiterated his earlier promise to improve work permit processing speeds.
Since the end of October, the number of economic class applicants in the backlog has decreased by 24,400. Increases under other economic class channels delayed these advances. There were some gains in non-Express Entry PNP streams as well as the TR2PR programme (Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence).
The IRCC’s inventory of base Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applicants increased by 4,685. Because base PNPs are paper-based, processing applicants takes longer than in enhanced PNP streams, which are aligned with Express Entry and so often enjoy shorter processing times because applications are submitted online.
Express Entry has had the most improvement of any economic class pathway, with a decrease of 23,748 people since December. The Express Entry inventory stood at 119,389 people in December but had dropped to 95,641 by the end of February.
The Canadian Experience Class inventory declined by 3,051 people in February alone, while the Federal Skilled Worker Program inventory fell by 4,314 people. Future immigrants are keeping a careful eye on these figures, as Express Entry draws have been suspended for all but PNP hopefuls.
The application backlog has increased processing timeframes substantially beyond the threshold of six months, despite the fact that the IRCC’s website still reports the processing standard at six months. The number of Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates awaiting judgments fell by 12,587 between December 15, 2021, and February 28, 2022.
The inventory of Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) applicants has decreased by 9,092. This indicates that IRCC processed more FSWP candidates in two and a half months than it handled in the entire year of 2021.
IRCC handled approximately 600 FSWP applicants each month in the second half of 2021, but recent numbers indicate a nearly eight-fold rise in the number of FSWP applicants presently processed per month. If IRCC maintains its present processing rates, the CEC backlog will be gone by the summer, and the FSWP backlog will be gone by the end of the year.
Fraser stated that the IRCC would use its $85 million budget to decrease processing times, which had been exacerbated by the pandemic. Canada has rapidly become a popular destination for Indians looking for chances abroad, both for school and for employment after graduation.
According to a recent study conducted by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), the number of Indians who became permanent residents in Canada surged by 115% between 2016 and 2020 and 2021.
Canada had a 1.8 million-person immigration backlog as of last month, which included applications from future citizens, permanent residents, international students, temporary workers, and visitors.
Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for information purposes only.
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