IRCC Accepts 7,307 Additional PR Applications Due to Technical Glitch
The technical glitch occurred during the intake of Canada’s TR to PR pathway applications, allowing about 7,300 international graduates to submit beyond the stream’s quota.
Since the pandemic began, Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been making strides in developing new user-friendly online platforms for immigration applications. Most were pleasantly surprised with the online platform dedicated solely to applications submitted under the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) streams.
However, any new system isn’t without its hiccups. It was recently made public that IRCC had unintentionally accepted 7,307 additional applications beyond their quota due to a technical glitch with their online portal.
Technical glitch
A government spokesperson told BleepingComputer that a technical issue caused IRCC to receive applications beyond the limit for the international graduate stream of the TR to PR pathway. The bug in the system caused it to accept multiple applications, while registering them as only one. In other words, at some point in the intake when two or more applications were submitted at the same time, the system counted them as only one individual application.
The intended intake limit of the international graduate stream was meant to be 40,000. As a result of the technical error, the online portal accepted 7,307 applications beyond the limit for a total of 47,300.
Exception made by Canadian Immigration Minister
Although current immigration policy would normally result in returning any applications accepted in excess, Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino made an exemption to allow the additional applications to be processed. This ensured applicants were not unfairly penalized for the technical glitch beyond their control.
PR to TR Pathway
The TR to PR pathway was introduced in April 2021 with the intention to creating of route to permanent residence for essential workers and international graduates currently working in Canada. IRCC published four special public policies to allow certain temporary residents in Canada to transition to permanent status:
- International Graduates in Canada
- French-speaking International Graduates in Canada
- Foreign nationals in Canada with recent Canadian work experience in essential occupations
- French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada with Canadian work experience in essential occupations
To qualify, candidates must currently be working in Canada and meet other stream-specific requirements.
The TR to PR streams targeted individuals in Canada that have either recently graduated from a qualifying Canadian institution or are currently working in a health or essential occupation.
Of the six streams introduced, two of the General streams have reached the application intake quota. The three streams specific to French-speakers will accept an unlimited number of applications.
Modernization of online platforms
In this year’s federal budget, the government allocated significant funds ($428.9 million over five years) to modernize IRCC’s platform. The amount is being used to develop a “secure, stable, and flexible enterprise-wide digital platform that protects people’s information will improve application processing and help Canada remain a destination of choice.”
Following IRCC’s announcement of the TR to PR pathway, the government worked in partnership with Amazon to create a digital portal specifically for these applications. Due to the volume of the applications expected to be submitted in a short period of time, the pathway needed a new portal with a high bandwidth. Aside from the apparent glitch, the user-friendly portal was a pleasant surprise and created a seamless experience for applicants.
Discover your Canadian immigration options. Get your free assessment now!