IRCC Responds to Delays by Stopping Inactive Officer Assignments
IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has stopped assigning immigration applications to officers who are no longer active. This change comes after a 2022 report exposed the practice, which contributed to significant delays for applicants. These files were being assigned to officers who had either retired, left their positions, or moved to other departments within IRCC, leaving applicants in limbo without updates for months or even years.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told the media “Files do not fall through the cracks.”
Background of the Situation – December 16, 2022
A recent report revealed that IRCC had been assigning immigration applications to officers who were no longer active in the system. Thousands of applications were being assigned to “inactive users” in the IRCC’s Global Case Management System (GCMS), which is used to handle immigration and citizenship applications, according to a story published by CBC on December 12, 2022.
As of February 2023, a staggering 59,456 open, pending, or re-opened applications were assigned to 779 former employees or inactive placeholder codes, which delayed processing. The highest number of inactive codes were found in Ottawa, followed by Edmonton, Vancouver, and Sydney, Nova Scotia.
In response, IRCC began transitioning to 100 percent digital applications for most permanent resident programs by September 2023. They also plan to digitize all citizenship applications, including those for minors, by the end of the year. This shift is aimed at streamlining processing and addressing the inefficiencies exposed in the report.
Investigation Reveals Processing Failures
The 2022 investigation brought the issue to light, revealing that some applicants had their files assigned to officer IDs that were no longer being monitored. This resulted in substantial delays, with some applicants facing prolonged uncertainty regarding their immigration status. The investigation highlighted the administrative inefficiencies within IRCC’s system that led to the assignment of files to these inactive officers.
Despite officials’ initial denial that any immigration applications were in “limbo,” emails obtained during the investigation suggest otherwise. While former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser called the allegations “unequivocally false,” IRCC internal communications showed concern. On December 15, 2022, IRCC’s assistant deputy minister’s office ordered a review of files tied to inactive officers IDs, ensuring they were still being processed. A senior adviser emphasised the need to check whether these assignments “still made sense,” aiming to prevent files from being lost due to inactivity.
IRCC Transitions to Generic IDs Following CBC Investigation: A Response to Media Pressure or a Step Towards Improved Transparency?
In response to the investigation, IRCC stopped using inactive officers IDs by transitioning to “generic IDs” between April and May 2023. This system was designed to prevent files from being neglected when officers were unavailable. IRCC created 125 new generic IDs and reassigned all potentially inactive user IDs to these responsibility centers, ensuring that applications wouldn’t “fall through the cracks.” A PR applicant highlighted that they received their residency shortly after the story was published, but expressed hope for a more proactive approach from IRCC, rather than reacting to media pressure. Immigration lawyer Jamie Liew echoed this sentiment, stating, “There are real people behind these files,” emphasizing the importance of transparency. Immigration lawyer Jamie Liew, who raised the alarm about the opacity of IRCC’s system, said it’s good the department reviewed the files, even if it was reacting to media attention.
IRCC Implements Reforms to Reduce Backlog
Following the report, IRCC acknowledged the problem and confirmed that changes were being made to prevent future occurrences. By stopping the assignment of applications to inactive officers, IRCC aims to improve its processing speed and efficiency. The reform is part of broader efforts by the department to address the growing backlog of immigration applications.
