Question Period Note: Client Service

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is committed to providing quality client service.

• IRCC operates a vast service delivery network, engaging with millions of clients across Canada, and around the globe.

• IRCC is committed to delivering modern client-centric services that are more efficient, transparent and easy to use.

• A strong digitally-enabled immigration system is critical to attract global talent and ensure Canada’s long-term success.

• New digital technologies are transforming IRCC’s services by simplifying online application processes, enhancing clients’ access to real-time application status, increasing operational efficiency, and strengthening program integrity and border protections.

If pressed on Office decisions
• We are committed to providing transparent and timely information to clients.

• IRCC proactively provides officer decision notes to most clients who are refused temporary or permanent residence to provide a meaningful explanation in plain language of why the application was refused.

• Proactively including officer decision notes with the refusal letter improves transparency and client service by giving applicants access to additional information about their application, without needing to request it separately from IRCC.

Modernizing Services at IRCC
• IRCC is modernizing how it delivers its services.

• The Digital Platform Modernization programme is transforming how we do business, leveraging new tools and technologies that will help IRCC deliver significant benefits for clients, employees, partners and all Canadians:
o A new online account for clients is being rolled out initially to certain visitors and adult passport renewal clients, which will eventually become the single-window to all IRCC services, offering clients easier to use services, a fully digital experience with more self-serve options, and better access to real-time application status information.
o New client support tools are being rolled out that will provide employees with a 360 degree profile of clients, to help them respond to client enquiries more efficiently and effectively across all support channels, increasing client satisfaction.
o Digital visas are being piloted as of November 2025 to shape how IRCC will deliver digital immigration documents in the future. Digital visas are designed to make travel to Canada faster, safer and more convenient. They reduce the need to mail or submit a passport for a visa counterfoil; they improve verification and security; and they allow clients to share only the information that’s needed. They can also make program delivery more efficient and lower the costs of printing and mailing. A pilot for digital visas has begun for Moroccan citizens approved for a visitor visa.
o And finally, new streamlined and digitally-enabled processes will soon begin to be rolled out on cloud-based technology, starting with Express Entry, which will allow the Department to more nimbly make policy changes, meet immigration targets, reduce backlogs and protect the integrity of the immigration system.

• At the same time as we are transforming, we continue to make iterative improvements to our services. For example, we’ve improved our online processing times tool to provide up-to-date information so clients can have a more transparent and predictable experience. For some types of applications, applicants can get a better estimate of how long it should take to process their application, the number of people in the inventory, and approximately how many are ahead of them. Additionally, as of July 2025, IRCC has been proactively releasing officer decision notes (ODNs) to most clients who were denied temporary residence. ODNs are meant to give clients meaningful and plain language reasons for their refusal. Releasing these notes improves client experience and supports IRCC’s transparency to clients. It reduces the number of Access to Information Program (ATIP) requests IRCC receives. IRCC will make ODNs available to additional client groups in phases.

• Ensuring efficient and effective approaches to service delivery helps ensure that Canada can fully reap the benefits of a well-managed and sustainable immigration system.

Key facts and figures

• IRCC is committed to improving our services and regularly learns from client feedback from multiple sources, including user testing and surveys, to identify challenges, address accessibility barriers, and develop service innovations that enhance the client experience.

• IRCC is leveraging advanced analytics and automation to improve operational efficiency and reduce client wait times, all while maintaining high standards of service, integrity and transparency. New tools and technologies are continuously reviewed to ensure they are working as intended, and without the introduction of bias, while ensuring accessibility.

• IRCC’s digital transformation has already achieved results for our clients, with a new online account being rolled out in stages. As of November 30, 2025:
o Over 108K clients have used it to apply for a visitor visa.
o Over 53K Canadians have used it to apply for an adult passport renewal, the first time an online channel has been available for passports.
o Clients who have used the new online account report a high level of satisfaction with it (88% satisfaction for TRV clients and 87% satisfaction for Passport clients as of September 2025). Clients have also told us they are more satisfied with the clarity of information they get about their application status in the new account.

• IRCC received incremental funding of $134.8M through the 2025–2026 Main Estimates to advance the Department’s modernization efforts.

• The 2025 results of IRCC’s annual client satisfaction surveys[1] generally show high overall client satisfaction rates across most services. However, clients identified three key areas for improvement: faster processing times, clearer updates on application status and refusals, and proactive communication about delays.

2025 Annual Survey

Client Satisfaction Rates
Permanent Resident Streams
Federal Skilled Economic (Express Entry) 92%
Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry) 90%
Family Reunification—Sponsored Spouses, Partners and Children 86%
Temporary Resident Streams
Work Permits 86%
Study Permits 72%
Visitors 88%
Citizenship and Passport Programs
Citizenship Proof 90%
Citizenship Grants 94%
Passport 86%

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