Are applicants waiting too long for Canadian residency?
The Auditor General has released a report with recommendations for Immigration Canada.
Despite the efforts of the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada to speed up the processing of applications, most people who apply for a residence permit wait months or years for a response. And the longest wait is for refugees. That's what Karen Hogan, the auditor general, revealed in her report on the work of Immigration Canada. Her office conducted a productivity audit of IRCC and came to the following conclusions.
Audit results in figures
On average, refugees wait about 30 months for a decision on their status — with an estimated 12. Between 15 and 20 months elapse between application and initial assessment. In addition, there is a significant difference in processing speed by country of citizenship (in 7 of the 8 programs studied).
Foreign spouses or common-law partners wait about 15 months to be reunited with their partners in Canada. Processing times have improved in most of the programs auditors reviewed compared to previous years — this is true for economics and family programs. But index is still below established standards, and humanities processing times have even increased.
In 2022, Canada reached the target of welcoming 431,645 new permanent residents. This number is expected to reach 500,000 in 2025. IRCC processes permanent residency applications in 87 offices with approximately 2,600 employees in Canada and abroad.
By the end of 2022, some 99,000 refugee claims were still awaiting processing. Many of these applicants will wait years for a decision under the current processing conditions.
The full article is only available to members of the Immigrant.Today community. Log in to your account to read it for free.
