The wait from getting citizenship to becoming a permanent resident in Canada is going to be long. Currently, there is a huge backlog of applications for immigration to Canada. Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada has 1,097,000 applications that are pending beyond the processing time.
A total of 24,50,600 applications for citizenship, permanent resident (PR) and temporary residence are being processed in Canada as of September 30. IRCC said on its portal on November 6 that the backlog has seen a month-on-month increase of 1.73 per cent so far in August.
Due to the ongoing diplomatic tension between India and Canada, the biggest impact of this immigration backlog is being seen on Indians. Canada has reduced its diplomatic staff in India, due to which it will take longer for Indians to get visas. Fewer diplomats means a longer wait for Indians.
How much immigration backlog in which category?
The next two months will also be overwhelming for Canada’s immigration system, as there could be as many as 17,500 applications pending in the backlog. But the government aims to stabilize the processing time by early 2025. It is not that the backlog is limited to any particular category. The maximum backlog is seen in categories like citizenship, permanent residence and temporary residence. Different pressures are being seen on each class.
Citizenship applications: Backlog of 38,100 applications, a slight decrease of 1.29% from August.
Permanent resident applications: Backlog of 3,05,200 applications, an increase of 1.46%.
Temporary resident applications: Backlog of 753,700 applications, up 2%.
A steady influx of applications from students and other temporary residents saw a sharp increase of 13.44% in temporary residents since July. The largest increase in the backlog has been seen among temporary residents. There has been an increase of 13.44 percent since July. One of the main reasons for this is the applications submitted by students and other temporary residents.
What are the disadvantages of long processing?
The growing immigration backlog in Canada has significant implications. This impact is not limited only to Indian workers and students, but its impact is also being seen on various industries. The biggest impact will be on those industries which are more dependent on foreign workers. The increase in visa processing time has made it difficult for Indian students to start their studies on time. Even Indian employees are not able to join companies on time.