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Canada which remained highly receptive to foreign skilled migration before the pandemic now experiences high Canada immigration application backlogs. While the reason for backlogs in immigration applications are multiple, the spike is certainly caused owing to frequent travel restrictions across the world.
As per an information request to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the total Immigration backlogs stands at 1,813,144 applications, as of December 2021. In October, IRCC reported a backlog of 1,791,936. The backlog includes future citizens, applicants for Canada permanent residency, international students, temporary workers, and visitors. About 10 per cent of total backlogs belong to refugees under Humanitarian and Compassionate/Public Policy.
Despite the pandemic, Canadian immigration is going strong. It has reinvented itself temporarily to specifically target immigration aspirants with prior Canadian work/study experience. IRCC says 42 per cent of invitations in 2020 went to candidates who had Canadian education, up from 28% in 2019.
Before the pandemic, candidates qualifying for Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) remained the most invited category to apply for Canada permanent residency. However, no ITAs for Canada PR have been issued to FSWP candidates for the last 18 months or more. Usually, Canada immigration application under FSWP belongs to off-shore aspirants with no prior work/study experience in Canada.
Economic-Class & Family-Class Immigration Stay Strong
As of December, the Express Entry backlog was around 119,000, compared to October when it was nearly 138,000.
The difference was largely seen in Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applications, which was down to nearly 25,000 applications in December compared to more than 48,000 in October. The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) backlog also went down, 805 in the December queue compared to 931 in October.
The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) backlog increased to about 55,000 in December, whereas it was at nearly 51,000 in October. There was also an increase in the enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) backlog, 39,000 in December compared to 38,000 in October.
Overall family class applications were down to about 105,000 this past December, compared to more than 111,000 in October. This includes programs like spousal sponsorship, which was down slightly but remains around the 55,000 application mark, and the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), which was down to about 38,000 compared to more than 43,000.
| So, is now a good time to apply for Canadian immigration, despite the bulging backlogs? Get your profile analyzed by our immigration experts today. |
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Mass immigration-friendly countries like the USA, Australia has not fully embraced the immigration of new candidates post-pandemic. Smaller, developed countries like Singapore have tiered visa programs suitable only for work permits and temporary resident status. On the other hand, Canada has publicly declared its intention to increase mass immigration of skilled workers, international students in 2022 & beyond to settle there permanently.
The government of Canada treats all immigration applications alike. Applying for Canada immigration on your own can invite a higher risk of visa rejection. Click here to know why.
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