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Improvement in Canada's Immigration Backlog Persists

Number of job candidates in inventory has diminished by approximately 110,000 since December, according to Migration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The total number of candidates now stands at around 2.1 million, a decrease from over 2.2 million reported last December. This...

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Backlog in Canada's immigration system continues to gradually diminish
Backlog in Canada's immigration system continues to gradually diminish

Improvement in Canada's Immigration Backlog Persists

Immigration Update: January 2023

As we begin the new year, here's a snapshot of the latest immigration-related figures in Canada.

Express Entry

As of January 2, a total of 48,409 applicants are waiting in the Express Entry queue. This number represents an increase of nearly 5,000 since December 2, with a rise of 1,869 candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and 3,733 for the Canadian Experience Class over the past month. For those applying through an Express Entry program, the service standard for permanent residence applications stands at 6 months.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

The PNP currently has a stock of 62,720 complete candidates. This figure indicates a relatively stable PNP inventory, with processing times for non-Express Entry PNP streams slightly lengthened.

Family Class

The family class inventory for all migration programs has decreased slightly to 125,631. This decrease may be attributed to updates in open work permit eligibility for temporary residents' family members, which suggest ongoing program adjustments.

Spousal and Child Household Sponsorship

For spousal and child household sponsorship, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) aims to process applications within a service standard of 12 months.

Temporary Residence

As of January 3, the temporary residence supply stands at 1,329,280 individuals, compared to 1,416,125 persons as of December 3. Temporary residence applications have service standards that vary between 60-120 days depending on the type of application and whether it was sent within Canada or from abroad.

Citizenship and Permanent Residence

The citizenship inventory stands at 301,388 candidates as of January 3, compared to 314,630 on November 30. The permanent residence inventory stands at 521,552 individuals as of January 2, compared to 512,342 since December 2.

Backlog and Clearance

IRCC aims to process 80% of applications across all lines of business within service standards that vary depending on the type of application. In November, IRCC cleared 110,000 candidates from the backlog, a smaller decline than the 350,000 seen between September and October.

Long-term Trends

From July 2021 to January 2023, the trend in immigration candidate inventory across all lines of business showed varying patterns among different immigration streams. The Express Entry and PNP inventories showed active management and incremental changes in processing times but generally maintained a steady flow of candidate invitations. Family class and temporary residence lines experienced program changes into 2025, with less detailed inventory trend data available for the 2021-2023 timeframe.

Overall, the Canadian immigration system has been adjusting to labour market needs and policy priorities over this period, affecting candidate inventories differently across program lines.

Total Candidate Count

As of January 2-3, 2023, there are 2,152,220 individuals in total across all lines of business. This figure represents a decrease of 86,845 candidates in the temporary residence supply since December 3.

[1] IRCC. (2023). Express Entry. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry.html

[2] IRCC. (2023). Provincial Nominee Programs. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/provincial-nominee-programs.html

[3] IRCC. (2023). Family sponsorship. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship.html

[4] IRCC. (2023). Temporary residence. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/temporary-residence.html

[5] IRCC. (2023). Citizenship. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/citizenship-application-process.html

  1. In the realm of general-news, it was reported that IRCC aims to process 80% of applications across all immigration lines of business within service standards, demonstrating the ongoing management of the Canadian immigration system.
  2. A recent politics and policy-and-legislation update revealed that updates in open work permit eligibility for temporary residents' family members may have contributed to a slight decrease in the family class inventory in January 2023, as reported by IRCC.

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