SETTLEMENT I M M I G R AT I O N L AW
Growing backlogs at IRCC
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What 2022 will bring for Canadian immigration
n 2021 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) met its incredibly ambitious target of admitting 401,000 immigrants, a record. Yet, the achievement appeared to be overshadowed by mounting frustration over processing delays, a perception that client service was decreasing, the year-long pause of invitations to apply in the Federal Skilled Worker Class and Federal Skilled Trades Class, the pause of invitations to apply to the Canadian Experience Class since September 2021, and reports of huge application backlogs. In order to understand the options that IRCC has in 2022, it is important to understand that the government has no choice but to do one of the following three things to deal with the current backlog. These are:
• Dramatically increasing immigration targets
(to reduce processing backlog and allow new people to apply); Class. During the pandemic there also appears to have been very little movement in the processing • Allowing processing times to continue to of Self-Employed Class, Start-Up Visa Program increase; and Caregiver applications.
• Reducing the number of permanent residence
permits, their duration and the speed in which they are issued. Currently, many economic class applicants can obtain one-year open bridging work permit applications while IRCC processes their permanent resident applications. Maybe IRCC should make these work permits valid for three to five years and issue them automatically as part of the acknowledgement of receipt for a permanent residence application. Foreign workers in Canada who are unable to apply for permanent residence simply because of an IRCC determined temporary need to reduce intake should perhaps also be able to apply for open work permits. Alternatively, IRCC may wish to consider automatically extending all existing work permits and making them open once their current validity periods end.
Many applicants to the Temporary to Permanent applications that the department receives Residence Pathway that the government launched (so they can process the existing applications in May 2021 have yet to receive acknowledgements without dramatically increasing targets). of receipt. If the government decides to let processing times in certain applications continue Difficult decisions to increase in order to keep intake high, then the Many immigration stakeholders will say current frustrations will likely continue to grow. that Canada should increase the number of There will also continue to be an increase in people permanent residents that it admits each year. submitting mandamus applications to the Federal This is especially the case as there are no caps Court of Canada to compel IRCC to process their on the number of temporary residents admitted applications. each year, and it seems odd to restrict the ability of people who already study and work here to Alternatively, if IRCC decides to prioritize remain permanently. Whether it is the above policy suggestion or reducing the existing backlogs and instead reduce application intake, then there could be something else, 2022 will hopefully be a year of However, a decision to dramatically increase devastating consequences for foreign workers creative ideas at IRCC to mitigate the negative immigration levels may be a politically difficult inside Canada. The lack of any invitations to apply consequences of difficult decisions. At the start one given likely concerns that doing so will lead to the Canadian Experience Class is starting to of 2020, few would have predicted that a global to increased social services costs and a shortage have consequences for foreign workers in Canada pandemic would have wreaked havoc on many of housing. However, immigration stakeholders whose work permits are expiring. The longer this Canadian immigration programs or that Canada would be prudent to plan for the possibility of continues, the more media stories will shift from would seek to resettle tens of thousands of Afghan either increased processing times or reduced application backlogs and processing delays to refugees. Who knows what 2022 will bring in application intake. foreign workers in Canada having to quit their terms of new COVID-19 waves, global conflict or environmental catastrophes that may impact an jobs, pack up their bags and return home. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Express already strained Canadian immigration system? Entry had predictable processing times of under Creative solutions The decisions may continue to become more six months. By the end of 2021 the processing The solution to many of the current frustrations difficult, and the creativity of the solutions more times had ballooned to around seven months may be an increase in the issuance of open work imperative. for Canadian Experience Class applications (although some are processed in one to three Steven Meurrens is an immigration lawyer with Larlee Rosenberg in Vancouver. Contact months) and more than two years for the Federal him at 604-681-9887, by email at steven.meurrens@larlee.com, or visit his blog at Skilled Worker Class and Federal Skilled Trades smeurrens.com. CANADIANIMMIGRANT.CA |
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