IRCC to exempt some individuals from immigration medical examination
Currently, there are 2.4 million applications in all IRCC inventories. 1.1 million of these applications are being processed in accordance with service standards while 1.3 million applications are backlogged. Applications falling short of expectations include the Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Skilled Trades Program, the citizenship grant, and the issuance of initial permanent resident cards.
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Hon. Sean Fraser, recently explained via a series of Tweets the steps the IRCC has taken – and is going to take – to address these backlogs and further reduce wait times. Much of the same information is included in a September 1st, 2022, IRCC news release, “A stronger immigration system that better serves newcomers.”
The majority of these updates are related to the online application portal for many permanent residence programs. As promised in January of 2022, access to online applications and online tracking of such applications was made available to most permanent residence applicants. In February of 2022, a new application status tracker was launched allowing applicants, their sponsors, and their representatives to check the status of their applications online. By the spring of 2023, the IRCC aims to include seven more permanent and temporary residence programs in the tracker.
IRCC leadership seems optimistic that such automation will greatly decrease the backlogs and wait times for processing applications. On September 23rd of 2022, most permanent residence programs will only be available for application online, with accommodation available if needed. Every week until late October, more program applications will be added. Currently, both work and study permits are being processed and finalized at a faster rate than last year. If the IRCC is correct, this pace will increase with the new measures to be implemented.
Aside from increasing the availability of applications and updates online, the IRCC will exempt approximately 180,000 individuals from immigration medical examination requirements. Permanent and temporary residence applicants who are already in Canada and “meet certain requirements” will be able to avoid spending additional time and money. This should aid IRCC in reducing wait times. However, neither the IRCC news release nor the Minister’s Twitter thread specify what these “certain requirements” are, nor have they released any details as to if or when this information would be made public.
More generally, the IRCC has announced that it will be hiring more employees and will continue improving processes by eliminating steps and using technology where possible. This autumn, the public can expect published estimates for how long applications are taking to process with the intention of allowing applicants to plan for their future.
