Canada announces new measures to clear Visitor Visa backlog!

Surya Rathee
[Published 20 Jan, 2023 | 05:36 AM]
About Author - 3 min read
47936

There were more than 2 million immigration applications to be processed by Canada as of late 2022.

Canada is considering “aggressive measures” to reduce its massive backlog of immigration applications – and easing eligibility requirements for nearly half a million Visitor Visas.

A report from December 2022 reveals that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is trying to significantly reduce, or even eliminate, its inventory of Visitor Visa applications by February 2023. As of December 2022, there were 700,000 Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) applications in the system – a small portion of the massive overall sum. In total, there were more than 2 million immigration applications waiting to be processed, including those applying for Canada PR, Study Permit, and Work Permit..

IRCC is concerned that the stockpile is “eroding the public’s trust” in the department.

IRCC’s plan to clear Visitor Visa backlog

To reduce (eliminate) the number of Visitor Visa applications, IRCC is deliberating on two strategies.

STRATEGY 1: The department would bulk process an estimated 195,000 applications. This would include a large number of applicants that require a Visitor Visa to immigrate to Canada.

STRATEGY 2: Immigration Minister Sean Fraser would ease certain eligibility requirements for nearly 450,000 applications. By doing so, immigrants would not need to establish that they will leave Canada when their visa expires. However, they will still be subjected to admissibility checks.

IRCC’s considerable pressure

IRCC is clearly under considerable pressure to clear the massive backlog of applications. In Nov 2022, there were more than 2.1 million applications in the system. Most of them were in the backlog – meaning, they had been there longer than the standard Canada Visa processing time. Potential immigrants from around the world have been extremely frustrated by the processing delays.

IRCC has invested millions of dollars and hired hundreds of new employees to boost its processing capacity.

“Canada is now processing visitor visa applications faster than it did even prior to the pandemic. Despite the progress we’ve seen, there is still much more to do in order to achieve pre-pandemic processing timelines” Mr. Fraser said. “We’re actually moving cases out of our system faster than they’re coming in, which gives me faith that we’re getting back on track,” he added.

Canada Immigration in 2023

With Canada pursuing record levels of immigration, applications continue to flow in hefty volumes. One plus side of the announcement of new measures is that it would help reduce the backlog of applications in the inventory - resulting in better processing times to apply for Visitor Visa.

With its new and improved Immigration Level Plans for 2023, Canada is all set to welcome 465,000 immigrants in 2023. With ITAs being issued in large numbers – and the record-breaking low CRS scores - now is the best time to immigrate to Canada.