Since August of this year, IRCC has reported a decrease of over half a million applications. This is nearly double the amount of applications processed during the same period in 2021, when the agency handled 2.5 million applications.
As per the recent reports, IRCC is now planning to admit a record-breaking 431,000 new Permanent Residents to Canada by the end of 2022.
IRCC has 2.2 million applications in inventory as of 2nd December 2022. According to IRCC data as of November 30, 1.09 million applications, or slightly more than half of all applications, are deemed backlogged, or not handled within service standards.
According to IRCC, all new spousal sponsorship applications are now processed within 12 months of the pre-pandemic service standard, and new Express Entry applications are completed within 6 months. In addition, IRCC has reduced the pandemic backlog of permanent resident card renewal applications by 99%.
Further decreased number of draws and the introduction of the TEER system is expected to pave the way for more Express Entry ITAs in 2023.
Have a look at the CRS cut-off trends for 2022:
The lowest CRS cut-off score in the most recent Express Entry draw was 491. Since the resumption of EE draws, there has been a 66-point drop in ten draws. The CRS cut-off score for the first EE draw held on July 6 was 557.
After the draws restarted on July 6, the minimum score decreased with each succeeding draw. The first several draws witnessed drops ranging from six to eight points. The dips in the previous three draws ranged from four to two points.
Following an 18-month suspension that began in December 2020, IRCC restarted its Canada Express Entry Draws in July 2022. The return of all-program draws has allowed Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to work towards pre-pandemic objectives of Express Entry invites.
The agency has been working for years to remove the backlog of applications and raise immigration objectives for the next few years.
According to ministerial directives, 46,538 ITAs were given to Express Entry candidates during the 23 draws in 2022. This figure covers draws held between January and July for candidates in Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). The total ITAs for all-program draws, which began in July and continued for the remaining year, were 35,750.
The first draw was held on July 6, and 1,500 applicants were invited. Because of the break in draws during the first six months of the year, the overall number of ITAs is smaller than in the past. The draw on July 6 was the smallest. Over the next 10 draws, the number of ITAs was increased in increments of either 250 or 500 applicants until it reached its peak on October 26, November 9 and 23, with 4,750 candidates invited in each draw.
Canada Immigration Outlook for 2023
On November 16, IRCC changed its immigration system from NOC 2016 to NOC 2021 (TEER System). The IRCC’s transition to NOC 2021 has resulted in a move to the Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) system.
Earlier, Express Entry candidates required job experience designated as NOC skill classes 0, A, or B under NOC 2016 which is now replaced with TEER Codes 0,1,2,3,4,5.
The new system’s goal is to assist employers better comprehend a candidate’s skills and expertise in a certain occupation so that they can integrate more readily into Canada’s labour market. In addition, the TEER system has made 16 new occupations eligible for Express Entry programs.
In a new development, Bill C-19 gained Royal Assent in Canada’s Parliament in June. The immigration minister now has the ability under the Bill to invite Express Entry candidates based on economic necessity rather than their CRS score as the primary criterion.
In the spring of 2023, the IRCC is planned to start organising draws for specific jobs.
