Backgrounder - Update on the Action Plan for Faster Immigration

Hundreds of thousands of people apply to immigrate to Canada every year. The Government of Canada selects immigrants who have the skills that match Canada’s labour market needs and a better chance of realizing their dreams of success in Canada. Despite the economic downturn, Canada still needs foreign workers to fill shortages in some regions and professions.

In 2008, as part of the Action Plan for Faster Immigration, the Government of Canada made changes to the way we select skilled workers. Applicants in the federal skilled worker category must now meet a set of eligibility criteria before they can be processed. The criteria correspond to Canada’s economic immigration needs. If applicants don’t meet the criteria, they are not processed and their application fees are refunded.

The changes were made to meet three main goals:

1. Reduce the backlog of applicants in the federal skilled worker category
2. Reduce wait times
3. Improve labour market responsiveness

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has made significant progress toward meeting these goals since the first set of eligibility criteria was issued on November 28, 2008.

Reducing the backlog

When the criteria took effect on February 27, 2008, more than 630,000 people in the federal skilled worker category were waiting for a decision on their application. As of the end of September 2009, this number stands at just under 425,000, a reduction of 33%. This reduction is significantly higher than planned as the Department had originally forecast a 33% reduction over five years.

Approximately 240,000 people have applied since February 27, 2008, and are subject to the new eligibility criteria. Of these, about 135,000 have not yet received a decision on their application. Taken together, the current number of applicants in the federal skilled worker category (those who applied before and after February 27, 2008) is now 12% lower than when the criteria took effect.

Since February 27, 2008, the changes brought about by the Action Plan allow CIC to limit the processing of federal skilled worker applications to those that meet the eligibility criteria. Because not all 135,000 people will meet the criteria, not all will be processed.

Under the old system, every application had to be processed. Now that we are no longer obliged to process every application received, the key factor leading to backlog growth has been eliminated. At the same time, the backlog of applicants who applied before February 27, 2008, and who are not subject to the criteria has stopped growing, and will continue to be drawn down over time.

Reducing wait times

In the 2008 budget, CIC received additional resources of $109 million over five years for the implementation of the Action Plan. With these funds, the Department created the Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia, which is helping to reduce the administrative burden on visa offices abroad and free up their resources for processing.

As a result of these and other changes to increase efficiency, under the Action Plan, people get an initial idea of their eligibility within months instead of years. Within this time frame, applicants who meet the criteria are instructed to send a completed application for processing at the visa office that serves their country of origin. Applicants who don’t meet the eligibility criteria are not processed and are issued a refund.

Before the changes were introduced, federal skilled worker applicants waited as long as six years for a decision on their application because of the large number of people in the processing queue. People applying now under the federal skilled worker program can expect to receive a decision within six to twelve months.

Improving labour market responsiveness

The eligibility criteria established under the Action Plan reflect Canada’s labour market needs and were developed in consultation with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, provinces, territories and other economic experts. This means that skilled workers are selected based on their ability to work in Canada, either because of arranged employment or prior experience in Canada as students or temporary foreign workers, or as professionals in one of 38 in-demand occupations.

By the end of September 2009, more than 8,000 visas had been issued to federal skilled workers who responded to the criteria and thus to an identified Canadian labour market need.

On January 16, 2009, the First Ministers agreed to provide for the timely assessment and recognition of foreign credentials through the development of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. The Government of Canada is developing the framework in partnership with the provincial and territorial governments.