Since December 2017 the ICC has been actively involved with the Iranians students facing delays and met with officials from the Ministry of Immigration and Ministry of Public Safety to discuss this problem.  We are glad to announce that over 80% of the the original 400 Iranian applicants who were impacted by the delays have been approved

Statement from the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship on processing times for Iranian applications

Ottawa, October 17, 2018—The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today issued the following statement:

“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is committed to delivering quality client service across its global network by improving processing efficiencies for all of our programs and services.

 “Recognizing that processing times for Iranian permanent resident applications have been longer than the international average, we have made significant improvements. For example, in 2015, the average wait time for Iranian permanent resident applications from individuals residing in Iran was 32.6 months longer than for citizens of all other countries. By July 2018 the difference was down to 10.5 months. In addition, as of May 1, 2018, the average processing time for outstanding Iranian security screenings for permanent resident applications was in line with all other nationalities. From January 1 to June 31, 2018, 3,657 Iranian citizens were approved for permanent residency in Canada.

“The reality is that processing times are complex. Every application is handled on a case-by-case basis and there’s no one simple explanation for how long it takes. Any application can be subject to longer processing times regardless of the country of origin. Security screening was one, but not the only factor that resulted in higher processing time than average for Iranian nationals last year.