Maple News reports that Canada’s Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has released a critical audit examining the persistent delays in processing permanent residence (PR) applications by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The audit aimed to assess whether IRCC has been handling PR applications efficiently and in a timely manner. Despite recent efforts, the OAG found that significant backlogs and extended wait times continue to impact applicants, particularly those applying through refugee pathways.
The backlog was largely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which IRCC’s application inventory—including permanent residence, temporary stays, and citizenship cases—surged to over two million. Although IRCC has introduced measures to improve processing times since the pandemic, the audit indicates these have not delivered sufficient results.
The report reviewed several immigration streams, including economic class (like the Federal Skilled Worker and Provincial Nominee Programs), family class (such as spousal sponsorships), and humanitarian class (including refugee resettlement programs).
Refugee applicants were the most affected by delays. Privately sponsored refugees waited an average of 30 months for a decision, while sponsored overseas spouses or common-law partners faced average wait times of 15 months.
According to the OAG, IRCC did not consistently match application workloads with the operational capacity of its offices. For instance, the Dar es Salaam office in Tanzania was managing a workload five times greater than the Rome office, despite both having similar staffing levels.
The audit recommends that IRCC adopt better workload distribution strategies and align staffing with application demands to ensure fair, timely immigration processing.
This report adds to growing scrutiny over IRCC’s ability to meet its service standards and may prompt further reforms aimed at modernizing Canada’s immigration system. Maple News will continue to provide updates on how these findings influence future immigration policy and operations.