Maple News reports that Canada’s immigration system is grappling with a growing backlog, with over 1.8 million applications pending as of mid-December 2021. The data, obtained through an access-to-information request to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), highlights ongoing challenges in managing a surge in applications across multiple immigration and temporary residence categories.
As of December 15, the total number of pending applications had climbed to 1,813,144 — an increase of over 21,000, or 1%, compared to figures from late October. This backlog spans across prospective permanent residents, refugees, international students, temporary foreign workers, and visitors.
The permanent residence inventory alone accounts for 525,270 applications. Within this group, the Economic Class leads with 234,770 applicants, followed by Protected Persons (157,658), the Family Class (105,298), Humanitarian and Compassionate cases (27,520), and Permit Holders (24).
Temporary residence applications continue to pile up, totaling 819,874 as of December. The largest portion of these are Temporary Resident Visa (visitor visa) applications at 403,752, while work permit (123,880), study permit (122,476), and their respective extension categories also contribute significantly.
In addition, as of October 31, nearly 468,000 citizenship applications remained in processing. No more recent update has been provided for this category, indicating a possible stagnant review timeline.
Despite the rising numbers overall, there has been notable progress in specific streams. The Express Entry backlog — Canada’s flagship economic immigration system — dropped from nearly 138,000 in October to just over 119,000 in December. The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) saw the most significant improvement, falling to around 25,000 applications from over 48,000 during the same period.
However, not all trends point toward improvement. The number of Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) applications rose to approximately 55,000 in December, up from nearly 51,000 in October. Similarly, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) backlog saw a modest rise from 38,000 to 39,000. Refugee and humanitarian applications also continued to grow.
The imbalance indicates that while some areas, particularly within economic immigration, are seeing faster processing, other essential streams — such as family reunification, citizenship, and refugee protection — are facing longer delays. IRCC has acknowledged the pressure and has previously announced plans to invest in digital modernization and improve processing capacities.
As Canada maintains ambitious immigration targets in the coming years, reducing application wait times and clearing this backlog will be central to ensuring efficiency, fairness, and continued public confidence in the immigration system.