Study in Canada: HoC Asks IRCC to Set a Deadline for Clearing Application Backlogs 

House of Commons in its recent meetings has addressed the issue of pending visa applications at IRCC. Subsequently, the body has asked Immigration and Refugees Citizenship Canada to set a deadline for clearing these backlogs. 

Chair of the standing committee on citizenship and immigration, Sukh Dhaliwal has even called for establishing this as a ‘Special Task’ that needs to be prioritised. IRCC was facing a backlog of 936,500 applications as of 31st October 2023. 

Furthermore, this year’s outpaced Canadian visa applications have resulted in this backlog. Furthermore, the transition of the process to digitalised processing of applications has made the process even more complicated for the authorities. 

How Will IRCC Cover the Canadian Visa Application Backlog?

Since this problem has become an issue, IRCC has been taking up measures in the form of meetings and discussions charting various ways out of this situation. 

According to the recent House of Commons meeting, there are various suggestions made by the committee to tackle the issue. Here is a list of the suggested solutions; 

• IRCC should automatise the process of issuing a post-study work visa to those who complete their studies. 
• It should also develop plans with the provincial governments and organisations such as Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to address labour market needs. 
• For an online application, IRCC should generate a digital acknowledgement receipt.
• The organisation should also address the Program Integrity Framework. 
• It should rethink and redesign the process of citizenship ceremonies. 
• The visa processing capacity and communication with the clients should also be improved at all centres. 
• For overseas visa application centres, IRCC should choose departmental employees over third-party contractors.

Other suggestions included improving the internet and the processing system of visa processing. Changes regarding the refugee application were also on the list. For a complete list of changes suggested to IRCC by the HoC, you can visit the official website of IRCC. If you want to read more such exciting information, make sure you follow Leverage Edu News Updates.