Maple News reports that Canada’s immigration system is currently facing a significant backlog, with nearly 1.8 million applications pending as of late October 2021. Data obtained from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals the growing strain on the department as it processes a surge in demand across several immigration streams.
As of October 27, the IRCC had approximately 1,792,000 applications in its processing inventory. This includes 548,000 permanent residence applications, 776,000 for temporary residence such as work and study permits or visitor visas, and 468,000 Canadian citizenship applications.
This marks a sharp increase of around 344,000 applications since early July 2021, when the total backlog stood at 1.45 million. Permanent residence applications have risen by more than 170,000 since July, while citizenship applications have surged by nearly 100,000 during the same period.
IRCC has attributed the backlog to widespread disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions, limited operations of overseas visa offices, and applicants’ struggles to obtain necessary documentation have slowed processing timelines substantially. “These delays are beyond our control,” noted an IRCC spokesperson, while acknowledging the challenges facing applicants and expressing gratitude for their continued patience.
Despite these difficulties, IRCC has made efforts to accelerate processing. Between January and September 2021, the department finalized over 337,000 permanent residence applications—more than 50% higher than the 214,000 processed in all of 2020. Likewise, 1.5 million temporary residence applications were finalized in the first nine months of this year, nearing 2020 levels. Citizenship processing also improved significantly, with 134,000 applications completed by September, compared to 80,000 in 2020.
The IRCC’s internal data highlights the distribution of pending cases across various immigration classes. The economic class represents the largest portion of permanent residence applications, followed by family reunification and refugee categories. Temporary application backlogs are dominated by visitor visa extensions and work or study permit requests.
As Canada continues to re-open its borders and aims to meet ambitious immigration targets, IRCC is under pressure to improve service delivery. Officials say they are investing in digital modernization and hiring additional staff to tackle delays and improve client experience across the board.
Maple News will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on Canada’s evolving immigration landscape as new data becomes available.