Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) plans to end flagpoling.
“Flagpoling will no longer be an option,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller, in a televised speech on Tuesday, 17 December.
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People will no longer be able to flagpole to obtain same-day service for immigration applications.
Once this change comes into effect, temporary residents will have to apply online to extend their stay, Miller says.
According to Miller, eliminating flagpoling will alleviate the pressure on the border by allowing border officials to focus on other things.
He added that “closing the loophole” is one of the ways the department is strengthening the integrity of the immigration system.
The minister hasn’t announced when the change will come into effect, but said IRCC is looking to implement it “as soon as possible.”
“Flagpoling” occurs when newcomers bypass regular wait times associated with applying online for a work or study permit, by leaving Canada, and then immediately re-entering the country to receive same-day immigration services at a port of entry. This was a viable and legal process that newcomers could use to receive faster immigration services from the Canadian government.
In May of this year, Canadian and U.S. border authorities made the first changes to the practice, limiting newcomer’s ability to flagpole—reducing service hours across 12 Canada-U.S. border crossings.
In June of 2024, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that he would be ending flagpoling services for Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) applicants, citing the extra work load for border officials, and delays related to travel and the transportation of goods and services across the border. In the year prior to this announcement PGWP applicants were cited as roughly 20% of all flagpolers.
Throughout 2024, IRCC has built up a large backlog of applications, with many applicants waiting months for their applications to be processed.
IRCC defines a backlogged application as one that exceeds its published service standards for processing times. IRCC aims to process 80% of its applicants within service standards.
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