Immigration Minister Declares New Reforms to Modernize the System

Canadian Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser announces exemptions from medical exams, online immigration applications and application trackers are on the horizon for the newcomers. On September 1, the minister introduced the latest digital services across Canada’s immigration system, envisioned improving client experience and minimizing backlogs. The pandemic highlighted the requirement for a modernized immigration system. From the processing centre of IRCC in Nova Scotia, Fraser declared the latest updates on how the digitization of the operation will help the immigrants. Here are the latest developments for newcomers.

In-Canada Candidates Exempt from Medical Exams

In a quest to minimize the waiting time, the Canadian immigration minister announced to exempt of permanent and temporary residence candidates who are in Canada from the immigration medical exam requirement. This reform implies to people who meet certain criteria. The latest update did not mention the criteria, nor when the reform would come into effect. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada expect it to affect about 180,000 newcomers. Previously, Canada dropped the medical exam requirement between June 2021 and March 2022. Minister highlighted the fact that the reform is intended to reduce wait times and build on the hiring of 1250 new employees to increase processing capacity.

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Immigration Applications going Online

On September 23, IRCC announces transitioning to 100% digital applications for most permanent residence programs. Alternative arrangements will be available for people who require accommodations.

The immigration department is devoted to making immigration applications digital and working hard to execute the operations by fall 2022.

Programs will have Application Status Trackers

By Spring 2023, seven more permanent and temporary residence programs will have application status trackers similar to the one launched in February for Spousal, Partner, and Dependent Child sponsorship applicants. The citizenship application status tracker that was launched in May 2021 will be expanded to include access to representatives sometime. Moreover, IRCC is working to improve the online processing times tool to offer more accurate information. Starting in the fall, Canada will publish a forward-looking approximation of how long it will take to process an application.

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Reforming Canadian Citizenship

In August 2021, IRCC launched a tool that permits citizenship applications to be submitted online. This tool allows groups of adults of a minimum age of 18 years or above to apply together. IRCC intends to add an extension to this tool to include minors by the end of 2022.

So far, Canada has surpassed its citizenship goals for 2021-2022, by inviting more than 217000 newcomers. In this fiscal year, from April 1 to July 31, Canada welcomed more than 116000 newcomers as compared to 35000 in the same duration in 2021.

300,000 New Permanent Residents are invited in 2022

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Last year, Canada established a historic record by inviting more than 405,000 new permanent residents to Canada. The main target is to welcome 431000 permanent residents in 2022 and we are well on the way to meeting the goal. As of August 2022, Canada invited over 300,000 permanent residents to Canada exceeding the milestone set in the previous year.

“Certainly, immigration is all about people. It’s about looking out for a new job, reuniting with a family, and creating a new life in a new country, Sean Fraser mentioned in the recent release. “IRCC is striving to strengthen the immigration system by effectively updating the technology. By implementing the right resources as needed and leveraging technology to help make the processing faster for the clients, we are preparing to give newcomers and new citizens the best of experience.” Mentioned by the Immigration Minister of Canada.

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