According to a briefing obtained by CIC News, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received 7,307 additional applications to the International Graduate Stream of the TR to PR pathways.
The country reached its intake cap of 40,000 international student graduates within 25 hours of launching its new open work permit or temporary residence to permanent residence (TR to PR) program.
The immigration department has reported to have received significantly more applications than planned.
The TR to PR pathways are six special immigration programs launched to let essential workers, French speakers, and international student graduates in Canada to apply for Canadian immigration. These one-time programs were opened on May 6, and will close on November 5 or until intake caps are reached.
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The additional applications were accepted to a technical glitch with the electronic system. Applications were counted using a live counter at the time of submission that showed the number of applications received on the governments website. However, certain applications that were submitted were counted as one application, meaning two applicants hit Submit at the same time, which the system counted as one application.
IRCC is expecting a smaller number of additional applications from those who required accommodations to apply such as people with disabilities.
Following the error, IRCC asked Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino to approve a temporary public policy to allow for the additional applications to be processed. Otherwise, the current policy would need them to be returned to the applicants along with the fees.
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Also, the briefing says that it could be perceived as unfair since IRCC sent them confirmation that their applications had been received within the set cap.
Approving the policy on June 28, Mendicino allowed for the 7,307 applications to be processed. However, this does not mean that the stream will be reopened, rather that IRCC will not penalise applicants for the error in its own system.
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The live counter is now being monitored, with applications manually synced to the database.
Canadas new pathway to offer permanent residence to 40,000 international graduates reached its quota in over a day after going live. Eligible candidates were allowed to apply for the same from May 6, 2021 at 12:00 pm through the official website of IRCC and the limit was reached on May 7 at 13:01 pm.
This opportunity was part of a bigger initiative to provide permanent residency to more than 90,000 essential workers and international students with skills and experience that Canada needs to revive its economy.
To be eligible for the international graduate stream, applicants had to have completed a post-secondary program in Canada within the last four years and not before January 2017.
Marco Mendicino, Minister of IRCC, said that the pandemic had highlighted the talents and contributions of newcomers in essential jobs, as cooks, cashiers and caregivers. With the pathway, the Canadian government wants to acknowledge their work and key role in the economic recovery.
He added that this will allow them to become permanent residents of Canada and contribute to the economy actively.
This pathway from temporary resident to permanent resident is for certain temporary residents who are currently employed in Canada along with their families.
Source: The CIC News
