The specifics and timeline of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) action plan to implement the suggestions in an Office of the Auditor General (OAG)
The specifics and timeline of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) action plan to implement the suggestions in an Office of the Auditor General (OAG) report from October of last year have been made public.
The information was disclosed in a recently received Access to Information Request and provides a glimpse into the IRCC’s plans to clear the backlog of immigrant applications for permanent residency across all business lines.
The OAG serves a variety of purposes. Its main functions are to hold the federal government responsible for how it uses public funds and to carry out audits that give Canada’s parliament unbiased data, recommendations, and facts. These aid the parliament in gauging the effectiveness of government operations.
According to the initial OAG report, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, the backlog of applications for permanent residency (PR) greatly surpassed permissible limits. It was noted that the backlogs had disproportionately affected refugees.
Important suggestions for the IRCC to expedite applications for permanent residence in the future were included in the study.
By creating precise service standards for all immigration programs, IRCC hopes to improve transparency. They want to establish guidelines by December 31, 2024, for family class sponsorship, resettled refugee immigration, and federal and regional economic class immigrant programs.
These guidelines will provide applicants reasonable processing times for their applications. Furthermore, by March 31, 2024, revised service requirements will be suggested for family class sponsorship applications and economic class permanent resident programs. The goal of this project is to increase overall immigration process efficiency and guarantee prompt decision-making.
