IRCC’s latest data shows Canada witnessed 471550 new permanent residents in 2023. The data further demonstrated that the country surpassed its target for new PRs last year. The latest backlog data of the immigration department indicates a growth with 33,950 PRs compared to 2022’s number of PRs, which was 437,600.
Canada witnessed 471550 new permanent residents in 2023
The PR target for 2023 per the Immigration Levels Plan was 465,000. However, Canada exceeded this. Canada also acknowledged candidates from the Provincial Nominee Program and Express Entry programs, as well as their partners, spouses, and children.
Furthermore, IRCC revealed the statistics for temporary residence applications. However, these numbers determine the department’s final decisions on an application. A few of these applications are rejected.
- Work Permits – The number of finalized applications accounts for 1,646,300. These also include extensions of work permits, indicating a rise of 503,330 in 2022. This implies applications from the International Mobility Program and Temporary Foreign Program.
- Study Permits – The completed study permit applications, including extensions, accounted for 1,089,600. In 2022, the immigration department finalized 917,900 study permit applications. This implies a Y-O-Y rise of 171,700. Lastly, IRCC demonstrates that 293,000 new immigrants gained Canadian citizenship between April and December 31 last year. This appears to be a rise of 13,900 between April and December 31, 2022, as the number was 279,100.
Immigration Levels Plan
The figure of new permanent residents who arrived in 2023 indicates IRCC’s determination to fulfill its set target of 4,85,000 this year. In the upcoming two years, 2025 and 2026, the immigration department seeks to take in at least 500,000 new permanent residents in Canada.
Typically, IRCC reveals its immigration admission targets in the form of the Immigration Levels Plan every three years. However, these targets don’t apply to temporary workers, such as candidates who arrive through a study or work permit.
IRCC doesn’t put a limitation on the number of PR admissions in Canada or those who will undergo their processing of applications.
However, on January 22, IRCC imposed a cap on the number of study permits that can be issued this year. The immigration department states that it will issue only 3,60,000 new study permits in 2024. However, this cap will not apply to study permit renewals or to student permits at graduation levels.
Besides, IRCC also talked officially regarding the ministerial instructions. It will put a cap on the processing of study permit applications, and this number is up to 606,250.
The existing application backlog in IRCC
Until December 31 last year, IRCC’s inventory applications accounted for 2,221,100. Out of these applications, 949,500 fell under the backlog category. IRCC must follow a mandate to process at least 80 percent of the applications for all business lines per the service standards. It will need to adhere to a decided length of time to process the applications.
However, the standard time for processing applications will differ on the basis of the type of application. For instance, Express Entry applications usually have a time period of six months, while Family Class Sponsorships can take up to at least ten months.
Unprocessed applications within the standard processing time fall under the backlog category. During the entire 2022, the department made final decisions on 5.2 million applications across all business fields.
PR Applications
Out of the total inventory applications, IRCC consists of 702,000 PR applications in inventory with an application backlog of 308,900. This indicates that 44 percent of all PR applications existing in the inventory could not be processed within the standard time.
Temporary Residence Applications
The same statistics reveal around 1,257,000 applications for study, work permits, and temporary residence visas are present in the inventory. Out of these, 590,800 applications fell under the backlog category. As of December 31, last year, 61 percent of Visitor Visa applications emerged as backlog. This is in contrast with 18 percent of study permit backlog applications. The work permit data demonstrates 49 percent of backlog applications.
Canadian Citizenship Applications
As of December, around 262,100 citizenship applications turned out to be in the inventory. Out of these, 49,800 applications were in the backlog, indicating 19 percent of applications.
If you still have questions related to the Canadian immigration process, you can access all relevant details through Make Home Canada’s immigration consultants. Write to us at [email protected]
