Current Backlogs
Despite holding all the necessary documents and approvals to begin their life in Canada, many immigration applicants are stuck in limbo as the Canadian border closure has brought their plans to a direct halt.
Presently, there are over 370 000 pending applications for permanent residences, over 700 000 pending temporary residence applications, and over 360 000 pending citizenship applications.
Other hurdles to reducing the backlog lie in the paper-intensive application procedures and the existing infrastructure that is poorly suited for immigration employees to work remotely. Plans are in the works to have the immigration system become completely digital but these plans are not expected to be completed before 2023.
Backlog Reduction Offices
Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has received additional funding to reduce the current backlog in pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) applications for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Three backlog reduction offices were created in Vancouver, Niagara Falls, and Montreal to help accomplish this goal. These offices will hopefully help the IRCC render decisions more quickly to reduce application processing times.
READ MORE: Backlog Reduction Offices
The Need For Reasonable Processing Time Frames, For Example, H&C PR Applications
However, the government needs to provide more accurate and reasonable timeframes for applications, such as humanitarian and permanent residency applications. It is unfortunate that individuals applying for humanitarian and compassionate relief often have to wait more than one year or a year and a half for a first-stage decision and more than 3 years for a final decision. In the meantime, those individuals who file a humanitarian application are not eligible to work or study until they receive a positive first-stage decision. This places humanitarian applicants in a status of limbo for far too long, something that causes significant hardship and is not humane, despite this being a humanitarian and compassionate application.
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Arghavan Gerami
Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Law Professional Corporation ('PC'), a full-service immigration law firm in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has focused her practice on immigration and refugee litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Gerami worked at the Ministry of Attorney General and the Department of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal on immigration and administrative law appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has also published numerous journal articles and presented at various immigration and refugee law conferences and events across Canada.