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IRCC could perhaps consider a blanket freeze on all new applications (after a cut off date) till the backlog is cleared to pre Covid levels.

Maths 101 would say that if your application acceptance rate is higher than your processing rate, the backlog will continue to grow irrespective of the mode of application - digital or paper. I'm not sure if IRCC's processing capability is increasing in the same proportion as the announcement of immigration targets.

Maybe, they have done that with express entry where it was put on hold for 2 years. But Maths 101 would also say that if the capacity isn't increased then when the faucet is opened again they're going to hit the same problem of not being able to ensure proper timely outflow of applicants. The crux of the problem is the lack of staff to process both paper and online applications. Putting things on hold only benefits applicants that are already in the system
 
Question out of curiosity: what are the offices which are currently capable and staffed to process online applications? I don't think IRCC has staff trained at every site. I feel that every online applications in the greater Toronto area ended up at Scarborough office. And the workload at office is probably one of the worst, as it is even behind other offices in processing paper applications.
 
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IRCC could perhaps consider a blanket freeze on all new applications (after a cut off date) till the backlog is cleared to pre Covid levels.

Maths 101 would say that if your application acceptance rate is higher than your processing rate, the backlog will continue to grow irrespective of the mode of application - digital or paper. I'm not sure if IRCC's processing capability is increasing in the same proportion as the announcement of immigration targets.

Or, like what they had done under the Harper government, cancel all existing/submitted applications and start anew? How'd you like that?
 
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They are just adding the time of most files that were waiting pre-pandemic shutdown. I hope you are smart to understand nuances. Lets say 100 people who applied on paper are waiting on IRCC then pandemic happens, so 50 people apply during the shutdown on paper and 50 apply during the shutdown online. Even if both are processed at the same speed, the paper applicants would appear to have a longer processing time than the online apps. But you should also consider that a lot of people are waiting forever since before the pandemic.
How do you explain May 2022 paper apps already received their citizenship certificate while Jan 2022 are just getting first ghost updates and test invites?
I applied Sept 2000 on paper and the only thing that is completed is the test nothing else. I think there are many factors, which city you are in and what type of application you submit urgent or normal
 
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If they are doing FIFO most people wouldn’t mind. The only reason we are upset is that 2022 paper applicants are already doing their oaths, while online applications are languishing.

It’s not the paper applicants’ fault, but it’s grossly unfair to everyone else.
 
If they are doing FIFO most people wouldn’t mind. The only reason we are upset is that 2022 paper applicants are already doing their oaths, while online applications are languishing.

It’s not the paper applicants’ fault, but it’s grossly unfair to everyone else.

What I think is even more unfair is that they really aren't doing the modified FIFO they claim. They are doing what they claim, but they are also neglecting to add that their priorities are roughly as follows, prioritizing almost all 2022 and 2021 applications before 2020 and prior:
1. 2022 paper applicants
2. 2021 paper applicants
3. 2021 and 2022 online applicants
4. 2020 applicants (all paper)
5. 2019 and prior applicants (all paper of course)
 
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I applied Sept 2000 on paper and the only thing that is completed is the test nothing else. I think there are many factors, which city you are in and what type of application you submit urgent or normal

Another big factor is that 2020 applications are 2nd to last in priority, ahead only of 2019 applications. Many people here are 2021 online applicants who have forgotten that 2020 and 2019 applicants are even worse off. I guess IRCC measures its performance by the percentage of applications processed within a certain amount of time, like 12 months, so that once an application has exceeded 12 months, the hit to their metrics is the same whether it's 13 months or 50 months, so they just let the older applications languish while they process newer ones to boost their metrics.
 
What I think is even more unfair is that they really aren't doing the modified FIFO they claim. They are doing what they claim, but they are also neglecting to add that their priorities are roughly as follows, prioritizing almost all 2022 and 2021 applications before 2020 and prior:
1. 2022 paper applicants
2. 2021 paper applicants
3. 2021 and 2022 online applicants
4. 2020 applicants (all paper)
5. 2019 and prior applicants (all paper of course)

One constant theme here is that based on their mood (for public stats), they would randomly decide to process certain applications and leave others. and repeat...
 
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Looks like whoever approves their plans don't ask any questions and seems to sign on the dotted lines blindly. Next time they would go with a modified "modified FIFO" and would get it approved anyway...
 
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I wish they had stuck with the policy of "only randomly selected few people can apply online", and increase that number slowly as and when more officers available/capable to process online applications. This way, they would have had control on intake of online applications. It would have been a simple and effective solution.
 
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They should immediately suspend intake of online applications until they can do a true FIFO.
 
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I applied online a couple of months ago. I am extremely apprehensive of changing it to paper app now because as my luck would have it, as soon as I do something like that, IRCC would probably change its stance again and neglect paper apps and focus on online apps. That is how (un)lucky I am. In this document, they have mentioned somewhere that the targets are subject to change based on the number of apps. I hope they will sensibly follow that.

PS: Other than webform, is there a way to contact IRCC? I tried the numbers listed in the forum, but they don’t work.
 
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Not sure if the news media is aware of these plans, but if the issues in their proposed plan gets attention, I wonder if that would push IRCC to change their stance to a fairer approach for both paper and online applicants (especially since they have a habit of changing their approach suddenly).

It would be good if this issue could catch media attention. If enough people catch wind of this plan to prioritize paper applications, they will all submit paper applications and IRCC will never clear the paper backlog that they are using to justify prioritizing paper applications. That might finally push IRCC to stop prioritizing one or the other (or at least tell people in advance which is being prioritized so that they can make an informed decision!)
 
It would be good if this issue could catch media attention. If enough people catch wind of this plan to prioritize paper applications, they will all submit paper applications and IRCC will never clear the paper backlog that they are using to justify prioritizing paper applications. That might finally push IRCC to stop prioritizing one or the other (or at least tell people in advance which is being prioritized so that they can make an informed decision!)

Totally agree. Do you know how to make that happen? Like how can someone escalate their case to media?
 
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When does a fiscal year starts for IRCC, anyone? When they talk about FY2022-23, wondering whether it is April to March. Certain companies start their fiscal year from Sept, so not sure about IRCC.