Question Period Note: Client Service

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is committed to providing best-in-class client service.

• IRCC is committed to delivering quality client service across its global network by making sure our programs and services are efficient, clear and easy to use.
• To meet this commitment, IRCC is transforming the way it works to serve our clients more quickly, to communicate with them clearly and often, to modernize tools and increase clients’ options to self-serve.
• IRCC understands that ongoing improvement of our client service delivery is important for a world-class immigration system.
• IRCC continuously looks for ways to improve services based on insights gathered through direct feedback - from client satisfaction surveys, to usability testing, user centred research and through our online feedback tools.
• IRCC has also improved processing capacity, while continuing to focus on leveraging technology, streamlining processes, and enhancing policies to achieve greater efficiencies and service.
If pressed:
• Over the next five years, IRCC is undergoing a business transformation to modernize the Department’s suite of programs and services to significantly improve client services through its Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) programme.
• In June 2024 under the DPM, IRCC launched a new online account to a subset of eligible temporary resident visa (TRV) clients, which provides clients with a single-window to access IRCC services. As of August 2024, 75% of eligible visitor clients are being offered the option of applying through the new online account. This amount is being gradually increased over time, while closely monitoring that the new account is providing the intended client experience.
• IRCC’s Client Support Centre continues to support clients by email and telephone. It also provides dedicated communication channels for Afghanistan, Ukraine, and a new line to support measures for Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip.

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) operates a vast service delivery network, engaging with millions of clients across Canada and around the globe every year.
• Providing excellent client service ensures that Canada continues to remain globally competitive in attracting visitors, students, skilled workers and new Canadians, who directly contribute to our overall economic, cultural and social prosperity.
• IRCC’s Client Support Centre is open Monday to Friday from 6:30 am to 7 pm ET, ensuring coverage from 8 am to 4 pm from coast to coast to provide direct and personalized response to client enquiries through email and telephone, including in response to humanitarian crises.
• On December 21, 2023, a dedicated crisis line was introduced to support new measures for Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip and the CSC answered 10,923 calls from December 21, 2023 to July 31, 2024.
• As more people want to come to Canada, client enquiries continue to rise. IRCC is looking to the future to transform the way we work and find better ways to serve our clients more quickly, to communicate with them clearly and often, to modernize tools and increase clients’ options to self-serve.
• IRCC actively engages with clients to identify challenges and barriers, to support research-based decisions that lead to a better client experience. We use various data sources to gain a comprehensive understanding from the client’s perspective, including client experience surveys, usability testing, client-focused research projects, client enquiry and volume reports, web traffic trends, direct feedback , and more. Recent research shows that a good client experience depends on transparent and accurate processing times and timely application status updates.

• IRCC also conducts client surveys and research to ensure clients are aware of and benefitting from IRCC-funded settlement and resettlement services, which are delivered by third-party service provider organizations on behalf of the Department.

If pressed on what the Department has done to improve client service:
IRCC has continued to accelerate its modernization efforts and deliver timely client service improvements. For example:
• IRCC implemented the use of automation at IRCC’s Client Support Centre to support faster uploading of documents received via webform, ensuring that processing offices receive clients’ documents in a timely manner to support their decision-making processes.
• In December 2023, IRCC introduced a refreshed, modernized online self-assessment tool to make it easier for clients to find programs that best suit their needs.
• In October 2023, IRCC provided Members of Parliament and Senator offices with self-serve access to case status information in order to better support their needs. This follows the 2022 implementation of an appointment system for them to contact the Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament and Senators, ensuring reliable and consistent access to IRCC.
• IRCC is taking steps to improve operational transparency and reduce the need for clients to contact the Client Support Centre or make Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests to get information about their file:
o As a first step, IRCC will soon be proactively releasing officer decision notes to select temporary resident visa (TRV) applicants to improve clarity on reasons for refusals. This work will be expanded through the Digital Platform Modernization initiative starting in Fall 2024.
o IRCC is also working on providing clients with clearer and more concise correspondences to help clients better understand the requirements and status of their application.
o The Department enhanced the refusal letter for the temporary residence visa business line to improve plain language used in correspondence and provide meaningful information to clients. An enhanced Study Permit refusal letter is currently scheduled for release in Winter 2025.

• IRCC’s Client Support Centre is continuing efforts to improve performance to support clients by email and telephone:
o From January 1 to July 31, 2024, the Client Support Centre responded to 2.84M enquiries by phone and email, including enquiries received by the Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament and Senators and the dedicated crisis lines for Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza. This was an increase of 288K (11%) compared to the same period in 2023.
o The Client Support Centre call answer rate increased to 44% from January 1 to July 31, 2024, compared to 25% in 2023.
o IRCC is continuing to look for ways to better keep pace with the growing demand for client services, including modernizing tools and increasing clients’ options to self-serve.

If pressed on the Department’s plans to address processing issues and better communicate processing times:
• IRCC has been taking action to reduce the backlogs of applications within its inventories including: reviewing and improving its processes to streamline and use technologies that support its employees and contribute to making application processing more efficient.

• IRCC continues to work toward reducing inventories and improving processing times for all lines of business, while balancing its response to ongoing international crises and increasing levels of application intake.

• Some categories of applications are seeing an overall improvement to processing times, such as applications for certain Family Class clients, Canadian Experience Class, Provincial Nominee Program, Federal Skilled Workers, study permits and citizenship grants. However, improvements have been incremental as inventories of older cases are processed and various innovations and digital improvements have been gradually introduced, all while respecting targets set by Cabinet for immigration levels and other initiatives.

• IRCC is improving the online processing times tool to help new clients predict how long it will take to process a complete application. In May 2024, the Department started publishing forward-looking processing times for select programs. IRCC will continue to improve our online tools through testing and research, so clients can have a more transparent, predictable and welcoming experience.

• IRCC is undertaking a Service Standard Review to evaluate and establish meaningful service standards for all immigration programs by 2025. This would help set clear expectations for clients and increase transparency in performance.

• IRCC is using advanced analytics and automated technologies to automate certain tasks and activities so decision-makers can spend less time on routine clerical tasks, and more time on reviewing complex applications and making final decisions.

• While the benefits of using technology may help some clients get decisions on their applications sooner, it is important to note that the complexity of an application will always be a key factor in how long it takes for it to be processed.

• By implementing technology-based solutions and streamlining processes, improving policy, re-examining risk tolerance and collaborating with provincial/territorial and other partners, inventories across the majority of business lines have decreased.

If pressed on the Department’s future plans to improve client experience, IRCC plans to:

• In the Settlement space, the Department continues to analyze newcomer settlement outcomes to influence the design of the Settlement Program to ensure the right services are being provided to the right clients at the right time in their integration journey

Under the Digital Platform Modernization Programme, IRCC is working to modernize the Department’s suite of programs and services, including the way they are managed and delivered, to better meet the changing needs and expectations of clients.
• In the meantime, IRCC, continues to consult clients via surveys and usability testing to ensure that their feedback drives service improvements and transformation.

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