Canada’s Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has reduced the immigration application backlog by over 64,000 applications between November and December 2024.
The latest data, released on January 27th, 2025, shows a decrease in the total number of applications under processing, marking a step forward in addressing the country’s ongoing immigration challenges.
According to data from Immigration News Canada (INC), the IRCC managed to decrease the total number of immigration applications under processing from 2,267,700 in November 2024 to 2,119,900 by December 31st, 2024.
This decrease represents a concerted effort to reduce the immigration backlog that has been a persistent challenge for Canada.
Notably, Canada had 836,900 permanent residency applications under processing by the end of 2024, sufficient to meet the targets of welcoming 775,000 permanent residents in 2025 and 2026 combined.
Detailed breakdown of application backlog data
The latest data highlights several important trends across different application categories:
- Citizenship applications: The citizenship backlog increased slightly by 3.84%, from 39,100 in November 2024 to 40,600 in December 2024, reflecting a rise in new applications.
- Permanent residency applications: The permanent residency backlog saw an increase of 8.4%, rising from 318,000 to 344,700. Despite the overall decline in the total backlog, this category continues to experience pressure.
- Temporary residency applications: A significant decrease of 14.23% in the backlog of temporary residency applications was observed, dropping from 649,400 to 557,000, indicating the IRCC’s efforts to address the high demand for work and study permits.
The overall backlog across all categories decreased by 6.4%, from 1,006,500 to 942,300 applications.
Improvement in processing within service standards
The IRCC also reported improvements in the processing of applications within established service standards, which are key benchmarks for timely processing:
- Citizenship: There was a small increase of 1.19% in the number of citizenship applications processed within service standards, rising from 188,000 in November to 191,600 by December 2024.
- Permanent residency: The number of permanent residency applications processed within service standards declined slightly by 3.6%, from 510,600 to 492,200.
- Temporary residency: The number of temporary residency applications processed within service standards saw a notable drop of 12.22%, from 562,600 to 493,800, likely due to policy changes aimed at limiting temporary entries.
The total number of applications processed within service standards decreased by 6.63%, from 1,261,200 to 1,177,600.
Projections for 2025 backlog reduction
Looking ahead, the IRCC has set ambitious targets for 2025, with expectations for further reduction in specific categories:
- Citizenship: The backlog is expected to remain around 17%, with slight improvements in processing times.
- Express entry and provincial nominee program (PNP): These categories are projected to maintain a 20% backlog, focusing on stability.
- Spousal sponsorship: The backlog is expected to remain steady at 15%.
- Temporary resident visas (TRVs): The TRV backlog, which currently stands at 75%, is projected to drop to 50% by February 2025.
- Study and work permits: The backlogs for these applications are expected to decrease to 24% and 32%, respectively.
IRCC’s strategic measures to manage Backlog
To meet these targets, the IRCC is implementing several strategies:
- Staffing adjustments: The reduction of 3,300 staff members is expected to simplify operations and focus on efficiency.
- Policy changes: There may be further caps on temporary resident applications to manage demand.
- Technology utilization: The IRCC plans to expand the use of digital tools to process straightforward applications, freeing up resources for more complex cases.
- Seasonal adjustments: The department is planning for increased capacity during peak application periods to manage workload effectively.
The recent reduction in Canada’s immigration backlog is a step toward more efficient processing of immigration applications, encouraging many individuals awaiting approval for permanent residency, citizenship, and temporary residency. The IRCC’s strategies and projections for 2025 suggest continued progress in Canada’s immigration system.
