In response to concerns of out-of-control processing times for spousal sponsorship applications, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced plans to increase the number of sponsorship applications to be processed in 2016, and dramatically reduce waiting times.
As part of this initiative, the quota of spousal sponsorship applications to be processed will increase 25% to 62,000 in 2016. The government will also prioritize straight-forward cases filed before June 2016.
The aim is to eliminate the processing backlog that has accumulated under the watch of the former Conservative government. As of June 1, 2016, the government estimates the overseas processing backlog of spousal sponsorship cases to be approximately 48,500 people, while the in-Canada backlog is about 34,000. This backlog is a result of quotas set by the Harper government that limited the number of sponsorship applications which would be processed each year, even though the government was receiving far more applications than their quota could accommodate.
IRCC’s plan is to eventually return processing times to an average of 6 months for spousal sponsorships. This was the long-term policy of the Liberal government when it previously ran the immigration department, and was the usual processing time up until the Conservative “Harper government” took power in 2006. Under the management of former Conservative immigration minister Jason Kenney, processing times ballooned until they have come to average over two years in many visa offices and for in-Canada applications. This is an unacceptably long processing time that has resulted in a severe strain on the relationships between Canadians and their foreign spouses and partners, as they must endure years of forcible separation simply because of bureaucratic inefficiency. It is therefore welcome news to Canadians who have married abroad that the Trudeau government and Immigration Minister John McCallum have recognized the need for far faster processing times for spousal sponsorships.
recent posts
- Better Screening of Foreign Visitors Can Help Reduce Birth Tourism
- Matthew Jeffery: Immigration Department’s use of AI to make decisions ‘unfair’ and ‘unlawful’
- Government Should Scrap Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Quota Altogether: Matthew Jeffery
- The First Australian Refugee Sues Canadian Officials After Winning Asylum
- Illegal or Irregular? Debate Over What To Call Migrants Crossing The Canadian Border Without Permission
categories
- Appeals
- Apply for a Canada TRP
- Blogs
- Business Immigration
- Canadian Citizenship Act
- Canadian Immigration
- Canadian Visa
- Citizenship
- Express Entry
- French Speaking
- General Category
- Hire A Lawyer
- LMIA
- Permanent Residence
- Refugee
- Refugee Health Care Program
- Spousal Sponsorship
- super visa
- Syrian Refugee Program
- Temporary Residence
- Videos
- visa rejections
- Worker Immigrant Visa
archives
- January 2019
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014