Last Updated On 28 May 2024, 9:44 AM EDT (Toronto Time)
Canada’s immigration backlog rises slightly, as per the new IRCC updated data, with a total of 2,220,200 citizenship, permanent residence, and temporary residence applications under processing as of April 30.
On May 27, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated this information.
Out of over 2.2 million applications under processing, 897,100 were in backlog, exceeding the usual IRCC service standards.
This number was 892,000 for the month of March.
While 1,323,100 were being processed within IRCC service standards, the backlog increased only for temporary residence applications.
Applications for temporary residency backed up from 538,600 in March 2024 to 548,100 in April of the same year.
On the other hand, in March, there were 665,400 applications that met service standards; in April, there were 661,300.
The backlog of citizenship and permanent residence applications was actually reduced on a month-on-month basis by nearly.
47,400 citizenship applications were backlogged in March 2024; by April 2024, they had slightly decreased to 46,600.
This decrease reflects the ongoing efforts to simplify the citizenship application procedure.
For permanent residence, there were 302,400 applications in backlog as of April 30 as compared to 304,300 at end of March 2024.
Detail of the Backlogs
| Application Type | Backlog As of April 30 | Backlog As of March 31 | Backlog As of Feb 29 |
| Citizenship | 46,600 | 47,400 | 48,400 |
| Permanent Residence | 302,400 | 306,000 | 304,300 |
| Temporary Residence | 548,100 | 538,600 | 546,500 |
| Total | 897,100 | 892,000 | 899,200 |
The goal of IRCC is to process 80% of applications within their service standards at any given point in time.
However, IRCC is unable to meet the service standards for express entry PNPs, study permits, and work permits.
IRCC is meeting service standards for 80% of citizenship, express entry, and spousal sponsorship.
Below are the IRCC projections as compared to the actual backlog for the month of April 2024.
| Category | Actual Backlog | What IRCC Projected by End of April 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Citizenship | 18% | 18% |
| Express Entry | 14% | 15% |
| Express Entry PNP | 23% | 19% |
| Spouses, partners, and children (except for Quebec) | 14% | 15% |
| Temporary Resident Visas (TRV) | 57% | 61% |
| Study Permits | 31% | 19% |
| Work Permits | 49% | 35% |
IRCC Backlog Updates (Last 12 months)
The monthly IRCC updates on backlog data are provided below. A comprehensive breakdown of backlog data can be accessed by clicking on the dates.
| Backlog Update Date | Applications In Backlog | Total Applications Under Processing | Backlog Net Age Change month-on-month |
| April 30, 2024 | 897,100 | 1,323,100 | +0.57% |
| March 31, 2024 | 892,000 | 1,320,000 | -0.80% |
| February 29, 2024 | 899,150 | 1,227,050 | -3.32% |
| January 31, 2024 | 930,000 | 2,188,400 | -2.05% |
| December 31, 2023 | 949,500 | 2,221,100 | +6.65% |
| November 30, 2023 | 890,300 | 2,092,700 | -4.93% |
| October 31, 2023 | 936,500 | 2,166,800 | 0.86% |
| September 30, 2023 | 928,500 | 2,194,900 | 9.9% |
| August 31, 2023 | 844,700 | 2,198,700 | 5.2% |
| July 31, 2023 | 802,600 | 2,274,600 | 0.2% |
| June 30, 2023 | 801,000 | 2,264,000 | -2.3% |
| May 31, 2023 | 820,000 | 2,248,000 | 1.4% |
| April 30, 2023 | 809,000 | 2,006,000 | -9.7% |
What are IRCC’s service standards?
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has set a deadline for processing various types of immigration, visa, and citizenship applications, with the goal of processing 80% of files within that timeframe.
These deadlines are referred to as IRCC service standards.
What are the annual Canadian immigration targets for 2024?
485,000 as per the most recent Canadian immigration levels plan announced for 2024-2026.
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