Tackling immigration backlogs to help Canadian businesses grow

Date Announced:

August 24, 2022

Overview:

The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today highlighted ongoing work to strengthen Canada’s immigration system and reduce application backlogs, with a focus on addressing labour shortages, improving client experience, and reuniting families. As part of this plan, the Minister announced that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will have hired up to 1,250 new employees by the end of the fall to increase our processing capacity and tackle the backlogs in the short term, while we take action to make our system more sustainable in the long term.

These new hires, as well as support provided through the $85 million from the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021, have allowed us to reduce wait times and return to pre-pandemic service standards for new clients in critical areas, including the six-month service standard for the Express Entry permanent residence pathway, the 12-month service standard for family reunification through spousal sponsorship, and permanent resident cards.

Departments and Agencies:

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Type of Administrative Action:

Immigration Category:

Everyone

Keywords:

immigration processing backlogs

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