Final Audit Report - Audit of Pretoria Immigration Program

Final Audit Report
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Internal Audit and Disclosures
October 2003

Table of Contents

• 1.0 BACKGROUND
• 2.0 AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 2.1 MANAGING THE CASELOAD
    • 2.1.1 Case Processing for Non-Immigrants
    • 2.1.2 Case Processing for Immigrants
    • 2.1.3 Case Processing for Refugees
    • 2.1.4 Case Processing for Skilled Workers
  • 2.2 PROGRAM INTEGRITY AND COMPLIANCE
  • 2.3 COST RECOVERY
  • 2.4 CONTROL OVER KEY DOCUMENTS
  • 2.5 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
• APPENDIX A: Management Action Plan

1.0 BACKGROUND

We carried out the audit of the Immigration Program at the Pretoria Mission between April 29 and May 7, 2002. It coincided with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) Mission Audit.

The purpose of the audit was to assess program management and delivery, the quality and consistency of decisions involving immigrant and non-immigrant cases, and the extent to which cases were managed in compliance with legal and policy requirements. The audit also both identified opportunities to improve the delivery of the program and assessed the management control framework.

The audit scope included management of the Mission’s immigration functions, caseload management, program integrity and compliance, cost recovery and control over key documents, and human resource management. The audit focussed only on operations at the Pretoria Mission.

Pretoria is one of the seven full-service centres in the Africa / Middle East region. It offers all immigrant and non-immigrant services, including refugee processing. The Immigration Program employs 16 staff, including three Canada-based officers. In 2001, Pretoria received 1,448 immigrant applications, issued 1,629 immigrant visas and processed 10,465 non-immigrant visitor cases. Cost recovery revenue is over $3 million annually.

2.0 AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

We found that the Immigration operations at Pretoria were effectively managed by an experienced Immigration Program Manager (IPM). He had taken a number of steps to ease the workload of staff, improve client service, strengthen controls and prepare the Mission to implement new legislation.

Pretoria’s objectives and targets for 2001-2002 were in line with the International Region Immigration Management Plan (IRIMP) guidelines and priorities, which are sent to all missions abroad each year. The Immigration Program Manager monitors operational productivity closely, and control over the operating budget (including travel and hospitality items) was satisfactory.

A sound communications regime has contributed to efficiency at the Pretoria Mission. Internal communications with personnel and DFAIT staff at the Mission have contributed to a collegial and effective working environment. Pretoria’s external communications with the South African government and the NHQ geographic desk for the Africa / Middle East area have also fostered good working relationships and have helped the Mission in achieving its objectives in this area.

Accordingly, we have concluded that the Mission is generally well managed, and we have no recommendation with respect to the management function. However, as discussed below, under Managing the Caseload, management at the Mission level could improve certain procedures for processing applications from skilled workers.

2.1 MANAGING THE CASELOAD

2.1.1 Case Processing for Non-immigrants

From our audit, we have concluded that the non-immigrant program was generally well organized and efficiently run. In particular, we noted that telephone interviews for visitor visa applications had recently been introduced. They have sped up the process and have proven very convenient for both immigration staff and clients.

We compared the time the Mission took to process non-immigrant applications for 2001 with both the time taken at other missions in the Africa / Middle East geographic region and Pretoria’s own standards for processing times. These statistics on regional processing-completion times are readily available to Immigration Program Managers, and the data can be used to monitor processing times in comparison with other locations. We found that the Mission’s processing times for visitor visas was satisfactory. However, for students and temporary workers, processing times were slower than average, partially due to requirements for medical examinations.

2.1.2 Case Processing for Immigrants

The immigrant program is generally efficient and meets all its final disposition (FD) targets. Strengths include experienced and skilful program officers and good working relationships with various stakeholders involved with refugees, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and sponsoring organizations. Further efficiencies are possible in the skilled worker immigrant category through improving certain processes. Any improvements here will produce tangible benefits for the Mission, given that 50 percent of the applications it receives, and about 70 percent of immigrant visas it issues, relate to skilled workers.

With respect to office space, it generally met the needs of staff in carrying out their work. We noted that it was difficult to manage crowds at peak times in the visa waiting room. At the time of our audit, Mission administration was working to find a solution to the overcrowding problem.

2.1.3 Case Processing for Refugees

Despite the challenge of co-ordinating efforts among various countries and their officials, the Government Assisted Refugee (GAR) portion of the refugee program exceeded its 2001 target of 134 landings (the original target was 100 landings). Contributing to this success were the Mission’s ongoing efforts to maintain effective networks for consulting with National Headquarters and other parties.

Pretoria had 855 Privately Sponsored Refugee (PSR) cases in process at the time of our audit and had finalized 118 cases in 2001. The PSR program is more challenging for Pretoria because sponsoring groups, CIC offices in Canada and, often, relatives or friends are added to the layers of stakeholders requiring co-ordination. Pretoria has developed a plan along with its NHQ geographic desk to reduce or eliminate the inventory of unprocessed PSR cases.

2.1.4 Case Processing for Skilled Workers

Although Pretoria met its final disposition targets for skilled workers, we found areas where the Mission could improve its procedures and reduce delays. These delays have contributed to a front-end inventory of cases (currently estimated to be about 1,000 cases, or about 1.4 years of intake).

Various procedural factors have led to the delays in processing. First, we found that waiver decisions—decisions to approve applications without first interviewing the applicant—were being delayed, except for validated job offer cases. Tombstone information from paper applications is input to the computer immediately. However, this information remains there—often for as long as 18 months—before staff retrieve it, along with the related manually filed paper documentation (e.g., police reports and education documents). Only then do staff examine the documentation to decide whether to either approve an application without first interviewing the applicant or interview that applicant before proceeding. Management pointed out that delays of this length could influence the desire of some qualified immigrants to migrate to Canada. We estimate that the Mission could clear the backlog of cases awaiting a waiver decision in about 66 working days if it assigned a qualified locally engaged program officer to this task.

Our review also indicated that processing applications involved an undue paper burden for clients, and that it consumed more time than appeared necessary. We suggested a number of steps to streamline procedures. Before we left, the Designated Immigration Officer (DIO) had begun to make changes that would lead to faster processing of applications.

Finally the audit found that the DIO was handling too much routine casework (particularly incoming correspondence) that should have been handled at the locally engaged staff level. This problem was compounded at Pretoria because of staff turnover. Without experienced LES, it is difficult to delegate work that requires judgment. However, efforts were underway to train new staff to handle much of this routine casework. The Human Resource Management section of this report discusses the turnover issue in more detail.

Recommendation:
Management at the Mission should assign dedicated resources to reduce the front-end inventory of skilled workers awaiting processing.

Management Response:
Dedicated resources have been assigned to eliminate the front-end inventory of skilled workers awaiting processing. A plan with targets per officer was implemented in early 2002 to ensure that half the front-end case inventory was screened and put into the process by June 30, 2002. The final stage of this plan is in place, including funding for LEP and CBO overtime (three Saturdays from January to March 2003). As of March 31, 2003, the inventory had been reduced by 90 percent. In light of the remarkable commitment displayed by those who put in so much overtime to meet this objective, on May 2, 2003 the High Commissioner approved merit awards for the officers concerned.

Recommendation:
Management at the Mission should examine the procedures for handling applications from skilled workers and improve them as needed.

Management Response:
Significant improvements have been made to the way Pretoria handles applications from skilled workers. Incoming mail is triaged. Junior staff members now handle routine casework. If possible, it is acted upon without pulling the paper file. Copies of outgoing mail are no longer kept on file unless essential. Incoming and outgoing mail is noted electronically in CAIPS and only documents required for the decision-making process are requested of clients. The problem of staff turnover has abated. During 2002 three new LES were hired in the Immigration Section through a full competition process, namely, the new Cost Recovery Clerk as well as one LE-4 and one LE-5 to fill vacant positions. There has been no staff turnover in the Immigration Section since the audit.

2.2 PROGRAM INTEGRITY AND COMPLIANCE

The cases that we reviewed indicated that the immigrant and non-immigrant programs at Pretoria generally met the criteria relating to integrity and compliance. The quality of documentation was very high and offered logical support for decisions on admissibility. There were no cases of inappropriate delegation of authority, and support staff were well supervised.

With respect to admissibility information, the Immigration Control Officer (ICO) has developed useful profiles to assist with vetting non-immigrants and makes good use of the standard tools available.

The Mission’s Quality Assurance (QA) activities were still in the early stages. As part of our audit, we suggested some steps that the Mission could take to build on the existing QA program.

2.3 COST RECOVERY

The Pretoria Mission operates with one Cost Recovery Clerk (CRC), who has been in this position for more than two years. The CRC undertakes the work in a responsible and competent manner. We found no indication of incorrect fees, loss of public funds or misuse of documents at the Pretoria Mission. Staff (including staff backing up the CRC) are competent, and the cost recovery function is closely monitored.

Some measures are needed to strengthen the cost-recovery framework, such as pursuing the direct deposit banking option for Immigration revenues. Under a 1992 MOU between DFAIT and CIC, DFAIT is responsible for the receipt and deposit of Immigration revenues. The DFAIT auditor recommended the Mission negotiate with the bank the establishment of an Immigration fee direct deposit system.

Direct deposit can produce useful benefits such as more efficient processing because less time is spent on counting and controlling funds. We estimate that direct deposit could reduce the time that each person involved in cost recovery spends on this task each day by at least a half hour or as much as one hour, as there would be no need to count and recount cash. Direct deposit also reduces the risk of funds being lost or stolen. It is already in place in a number of missions throughout the world and is commonly used within South Africa. We note that the Mission already uses electronic transfer for at least half of its payments.

Recommendation:
The Immigration Program Manager should continue to support Mission administration’s efforts to establish a direct deposit account for Immigration revenues.

Management Response:
The Immigration Program Manager is committed to supporting Mission administration’s efforts to establish a direct deposit account for Immigration revenues. The International Region and Finance will follow up with DFAIT in support of this initiative.

2.4 CONTROL OVER KEY DOCUMENTS

Instituting tight management controls over key documents such as visitor visas and immigration seals is essential at the Mission level. The Immigration Section has made a concerted effort since the fall of 2001 to improve its processes for managing key documents. The audit team commends the Immigration Program for its efforts, although some control weaknesses still needed attention.

We noted that, at the time of our audit, the Mission did not have separate control registers for each type of key document, along with a record of their corresponding serial numbers. This gap in control makes it difficult to maintain an accurate inventory of documents and serial numbers, and it could increase the risk that key documents could go missing, without the loss being detected.

Recommendation:
All key documents and their corresponding serial numbers should be recorded in separate control registers.

Management Response:
All key documents and their corresponding serial numbers are now recorded in separate control registers.

2.5 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Generally, staff had the competencies needed for Immigration operations to function effectively. More than half of the appraisals rated employees’ job performance as outstanding to superior. Staff training needs had been identified and linked to reviews of their job performance. LES security clearance documents were on file, and job descriptions had recently been updated. We noted that at least 60 percent of the LES staff had been working in Immigration operations more than five years.

The one human resource challenge that faces Immigration operations at Pretoria is recruiting and retaining staff at the LES-4 level. The Mission had difficulty in hiring and retaining LES at this level (e.g., LES-4, Program Registry). This issue affects the Immigration operation because these jobs are key to handling cases efficiently at the front end of the process. Attracting and retaining LES-4 employees is also important because, with experience and training, they will progress to more responsible positions. It should be noted that DFAIT determines salary levels for LES.

Appendix A: Management Action Plan