After Immigration Minister Sean Fraser presented the new 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan on February 14, 2022, many overseas applicants expressed their complaints about Canada’s backlog of applications for permanent residency (PR) as well as the processing delays.
Social media users called on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to clear existing backlogs and process all applications first, followed by an increase in immigration levels. In addition to PR applicants, temporary residents and those waiting for citizenship approval expressed their frustrations too.
The current immigration target of 411,000 new immigrants in 2022 is still very high and adequate to welcome a large share of the roughly 500,000 immigration applicants in IRCC's inventory.
The IRCC could use this year as an opportunity to catch its breath and would also be beneficial for several reasons. As a result, those who have been waiting in limbo during the pandemic will be able to secure permanent residency under this plan. As the minister suggests, if the backlog is reduced by the end of 2022, IRCC will be able to process new inventory more quickly and within the agency's service standards.
In addition, this will help to restore trust in an immigration system that is currently experiencing a crisis of confidence.