Unintended 7300 more applications accepted by Canadian immigration under foreign grads stream

A technical fault led to the submission of additional 7300 grad applications under Canada’s new TR to PR programs

Canada achieved its admission quota of 40,000 international student graduates within 25 hours of beginning the temporary residency to permanent residence (TR to PR) program. According to an internal document, the immigration agency received many more applications than anticipated.

According to a briefing acquired by CIC Times through an access to information request, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received 7,307 more applications under its International Graduate stream of the TR to PR routes. The Canadian TR to PR pathways are a set of six streams targeted to attract critical workers, French speakers, and international student graduates for Canadian immigration. These one-time initiatives began on May 6 and will end on November 5 or until intake caps are met, whichever comes first.

Due to a technical mistake with the electronic system, the additional applications for the international graduate program were approved. Applications were counted at the time of submission using a live counter on the government's website that indicated the number of applications received. However, several applications that were filed at the same time were only counted as one. In other words, if two applicants press the “Submit” button at the same moment, the system might occasionally treat it as a single application. IRCC also expects fewer extra applications from persons who need accommodations to apply, such as those with impairments.

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Following the mistake, the immigration service asked Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino to establish a temporary public policy that would allow the applications to be completed. Otherwise, they would have to be returned to the applicants, along with the money, under the existing procedure. Furthermore, the briefing adds that it would be viewed as unfair because IRCC provided them confirmation that their applications were accepted within the intake quota. On June 28, Mendicino accepted the policy, allowing the 7,307 applications to be processed. It does not mean that the stream will be reopened; rather, it means that the government will not punish applicants as a result of a glitch in its own system.

However, as IRCC had not anticipated the increased demand, certain resources will have to be redirected from other lines of business. The memo had no more information. CIC Times has contacted IRCC media relations for further information. The department does not expect an overabundance of applications in the other TR to PR streams. The live counter is currently being watched, and applications submitted at the same time are manually synchronized to the database. The administration expects a mixed reaction from the people. While some may be pleased that applicants will not be refused this opportunity for permanent residency, others may consider it unfair or outside the scope of the policy's original goal.

The new paths received a lot of media attention. While some media sites reported that the deployment proceeded rather successfully considering the project's magnitude, others expressed worries about technical difficulties with the electronic payment system and the speed with which the intake cap was reached.

Furthermore, several foreign student graduate candidates were concerned that they couldn't revise their application after submitting it and they may be penalized if they made a mistake. Previously, an IRCC spokesman told CIC Times that immigration officials will contact TR to PR applicants personally to obtain missing or incomplete papers.

In an email, IRCC stated, “Incomplete applications will be considered based on the information provided.” “If papers or information are missing or incomplete, the processing officer will contact customers personally to request them throughout the evaluation process. However, we will not accept unsolicited documentation. Applicants are asked not to provide any paperwork to the department until expressly instructed to do so by a processing officer.”