IRCC's Growing Backlog and Plans to Cut Immigration in 2025

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is facing a growing backlog of immigration applications. As of September 30, 2024, there were 1,097,000 applications in the backlog, a 1.73% increase compared to the previous month. In August, the backlog stood at 1,078,300 applications, while July had 1,002,400 applications—marking the first time in months that the figure surpassed one million.

Current Application Numbers

IRCC's total inventory includes 2,450,600 applications, with 1,353,600 being processed within the expected service standards. While this is a 0.83% improvement from August (1,342,500 processed), the backlog continues to increase.

What Does "Backlog" Mean?

An application is considered part of the backlog if it isn’t processed within IRCC’s service standards, which vary depending on the type of application. For example, IRCC aims to process most Express Entry applications within six months of receiving a completed application. The goal is to process 80% of all applications within service standards. However, if the number of applications exceeds available spots, processing times may be affected.

Permanent Resident Applications

As of late September, IRCC had 816,000 permanent resident applications in its inventory. Of these, 510,800 (63%) met service standards, leaving 305,200 in the backlog. This includes programs like Express Entry, Express Entry-aligned streams of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and family sponsorship for spouses, partners, and children.

• Express Entry Backlog: 17%, slightly above the 15% projected target but below the 20% target backlog.
• Express Entry-Aligned PNP Backlog: 23%, exceeding the projected 20%.
• Family Sponsorship Backlog (Spouses, Partners, and Children): 15%, aligning with projections.
  
  

Temporary Residence Applications

In contrast, temporary residence applications have seen a sharp rise in backlogs over the past few months. Out of 1,411,700 applications, only 658,000 were processed according to service standards, leaving 72% in the backlog—a significant increase from July’s 49%.

• Study Permits Backlog: 36%
• Work Permits Backlog: 47%
  
  

Citizenship Applications

The citizenship application backlog has remained steady at 17% since November 2023, staying within IRCC's target range.

Efforts to Reduce the Backlog

IRCC recently announced its Immigration Levels Plan, which aims to lower targets for permanent resident admissions over the next three years. This plan, unveiled on October 24, is the first to include targets for temporary resident admissions, which may help reduce the backlog in this category.

Additionally, in October, Canada’s Federal Court introduced the Study Permit Pilot Project to streamline judicial reviews for rejected study permit applications. While standard judicial reviews take 14 to 18 months, this pilot allows applicants to complete the process within five months.

Other steps to tackle the backlog include prioritizing applications from workers in essential occupations and extending Post-Graduation Work Permits for master’s degree graduates from two to three years.