Record 4.8 mn immigration applications processed by Canada in 2022

In the same period, it processed nearly 700,000 work permits, a vast improvement from the 223,000 processed before the pandemic in 2019, the press release said.On a monthly basis, the department is now processing more visitor visa applications than it did prior to the pandemic.

Canada has processed a record 4.8 million immigration applications till the end of November, the Immigration Department said, nearly twice the 2.5 million processed during the same period last year.

''Immigration is critical to Canada's economy and our communities. Newcomers helped build our country, were on the front lines as we battled the pandemic, and remain key to our success,'' the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a press release on Monday.

"Our government has reduced its pandemic backlogs by nearly half a million, while also processing a record-breaking number of immigration applications this year," Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, was quoted as saying.

As of November 30 this year, IRCC processed over 670,000 study permits. In the same period, it processed nearly 700,000 work permits, a vast improvement from the 223,000 processed before the pandemic in 2019, the press release said.

On a monthly basis, the department is now processing more visitor visa applications than it did prior to the pandemic. In November alone, over 260,000 visitor visas were processed.

''IRCC had processed approximately 4.8 million applications—nearly twice the 2.5 million processed during the same period last year,'' the press release said.

Canada welcomed a record-breaking 405,000 new permanent residents in 2021, surpassing the previous record from 1913, and remains on track to reach its target of more than 431,000 new permanent residents.

Since August, the department has reduced its overall inventory by nearly half a million applications.

IRCC also reduced its pandemic backlog of applications for card renewals by 99 per cent and remains on track to meet its goal to process 80 per cent of new applications within service standards for most programmes.

The department digitized applications, hired and trained new employees, streamlined processes, and harnessed automation technologies to increase processing efficiency.

According to the press release, Canada has one of the highest naturalisation rates in the world, and a record number of new Canadian citizens are expected in 2022–2023, with approximately 251,000 new citizens welcomed from April to November.