How often does Canadian security screening actually fail an applicant?
Every applicant stuck in security screening asks the same question: what share of files actually fail? Until now there was no published answer. IRCC records released under the Access to Information Act provide one. The short version: about one percent. The numbers IRCC reports “Non-Favourable” results, and the document states plainly that non-favourable means failed. […]
Iran leads the world in Canada’s security screening referrals
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has released, under the Access to Information Act, a dataset that has not been analysed publicly until now: between January 2019 and 31 July 2025, 47,635 applications from Iranian nationals were referred to security screening. Across every nationality in the world over the same period, the total was 297,080. That […]
What Canadian security screening actually is
“Your application is undergoing security screening” is a line thousands of applicants have found in their GCMS notes without ever being told what, specifically, is being screened. Records released by IRCC under the Access to Information Act set out the internal structure of that process. “Security screening” is not one thing. It is several distinct […]
Security screening referrals peaked in 2019, not 2024
The common claim is that Canadian security screening gets heavier every year. IRCC’s own data does not support that. The real picture is more complicated, and ultimately more encouraging. Seven years at a glance Total applications referred to security screening, permanent and temporary residence combined: 2019: 68,515 2020: 18,680 2021: 23,190 2022: 34,250 2023: 61,320 […]
Mandamus: when the burden shifts to the government
Most discussion of mandamus focuses on whether a delay is unreasonable. But there is a point in Federal Court jurisprudence that gets far less attention and can decide the case: once an applicant establishes entitlement, the burden shifts. The burden shift Relying on Benison, the Federal Court has made clear that where an applicant has […]
Start-Up Visa: approvals fell from 87% to 26%, on IRCC’s own data
IRCC’s own operational data tells a story about the Start-Up Visa that almost nobody is reporting: the approval rate has fallen from 87% to 26%, and at the current pace of decision-making the existing queue would take more than two decades to clear. The figures below come from IRCC operational data — decisions to 31 […]
Ministerial relief: a 16-year median wait, on IRCC’s own decision data
For someone found inadmissible to Canada on security or organised criminality grounds, ministerial relief is the last door. IRCC’s own decision data shows what sits behind it: a median wait of 16 years — and in ten of 33 cases, more than twenty. The figures below come from IRCC’s list of ministerial decisions as at […]
Why some applicants are refused with no chance to respond
Two applicants, both refused. One received a procedural fairness letter first and had a chance to respond. The other was refused with no warning at all. The difference isn’t arbitrary — officers apply a rule, and knowing it changes how you build a file. The dividing line: insufficient evidence, or doubted credibility IRCC’s operational guidance […]
Super Visa: the new income rule that reopened a door for parents
With the Parents and Grandparents Program paused, the Super Visa is currently the only practical route for bringing parents to Canada. And the requirement that refused more of these applications than any other — the host’s income — became easier to meet on 31 March 2026. The change opens two new doors. It also has […]
Express Entry Categories: The Current List and the Shift Behind It
The current list of Express Entry categories, why four of them now require Canadian work experience, and which category-based draws are still realistic if you are applying from outside Canada.