Review IRCC security screening
Petitioners ask the Government to commission an independent review of IRCC's security‑screening referrals, publish clear service standards, prioritize long‑term residents, protect applicants' employment/mobility/status, and provide transparent application updates. The government responds that IRCC assesses cases individually, offers secure online accounts for updates, and that some security checks are carried out by independent partners.
Why we would sign this petition
- Would seek to stop nationality‑based referrals and ensure individualized assessments, reducing risk of unfair differential treatment.
- Publishing clear service standards and providing transparent updates would reduce uncertainty and the hardship caused by long, indefinite delays.
- Prioritizing and protecting long‑term legal residents’ employment and mobility would help retain skilled graduates, researchers and contributors to the innovation economy.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- An independent review and new procedures could consume resources and potentially slow processing further during implementation.
- Some security screenings are conducted by external partners outside IRCC's control, so changes at IRCC may have limited effect.
- Prioritizing one group could be seen as unfair to others and complicate management of overall application backlogs and inventory.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS We, the undersigned, residents of Canada draw the attention of the Government of Canada to the following, whereas: • The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act ("IRPA") establishes fairness, consistency, and efficiency as guiding principles of Canada's immigration system (s. 3(1)(f) and s. 3(1)(h)); • Iranian nationals residing in Canada, many holding Canadian Master's and PhD degrees, who are invited by IRCC to apply for permanent residence under the Provincial Nominee Program, have been disproportionately referred to extended security screening; • Iranian applicants experience significantly higher rates of security referrals than other nationalities, resulting in disproportionately higher delays far beyond processing standards; • Many of these applicants have lived in Canada for several years, maintaining lawful status, contributing to the economy and research sector, and repeatedly passing previous admissibility and security checks for study and work permits; • During these indefinite delays, Iranian applicants face hardship, including limited professional and travel mobility, difficulties renewing documents, and prolonged emotional stress; • There is no transparency regarding IRCC's criteria for referring files for "comprehensive" screening, nor any transparency for applicants to obtain updates or timelines; • Such practices raise serious concerns about unequal treatment on the basis of nationality, contrary to Canada's Charter values and the intent of IRPA to ensure a fair, non-discriminatory administration; • These delays also undermine the goals of Canada's economic-class immigration programs, designed to retain and reward highly skilled talent -scientists, engineers, and researchers - who strengthen Canada's innovation and knowledge economy. THEREFORE: We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon the Government of Canada, specifically the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Minister of Public Safety, and the Minister of Justice, to: 1. Conduct an independent review of IRCC's security-screening referral practices to ensure individualized assessment, not influenced by nationality; 2. Establish and publish clear service standards for background verification in the Provincial Nominee Program and graduate-level immigration streams; 3. Implement priority processing measures for long-term residents who have maintained continuous legal status in Canada and demonstrated compliance; 4. Create a transparent communication mechanism through which applicants can obtain meaningful updates on their application status; 5. Introduce safeguards to protect employment, mobility, and legal status for applicants; 6. Request that the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration review the disproportionate impact of extended security screening on specific nationalities to improve procedural fairness.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Signed by PETER FRAGISKATOS, M.P. As the situation in Iran remains unstable, Canada is continuing to support Iranians who are already in Canada. These measures allow eligible Iranian temporary residents to extend their work permits, providing them with continued access to employment in Canada. In regards to the processing of applications, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is committed to a fair and transparent application of immigration procedures. All foreign nationals must meet the admissibility and eligibility requirements set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, including security screening. Applications are assessed individually by immigration officers against the same criteria, regardless of country of origin. Processing times can vary for several reasons, including whether an application is complete, the number of applications currently in process, the need to verify information, and the complexity of individual cases. IRCC aims to process 80% of complete applications within established service standards. At the same time, some applications require additional review to ensure that decisions are made carefully and fairly. In recent years, the number of applications received has been higher than the number of spaces available under the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan. This has led to larger application inventories and longer wait times for many applicants. Some parts of the process, such as security screenings, are conducted by IRCC’s security partners. These partners operate independently from IRCC, which means the Department does not control the timing or results of those screenings. The Provincial Nominee Program is a jointly administered program designed to attract permanent residents who can support local labour market needs. While IRCC works with provincial and territorial partners to ensure their programs are aligned with national immigration priorities and is still responsible for ensuring the individual meets admissibility and eligibility requirements, provinces and territories (PTs) have full responsibility for assessing whether a nominee intends to reside in the nominating PT and have the ability to become economically established. IRCC provides applicants with a secure online account that offers direct access to application status updates, messages, and requests for additional information in real time. This ensures applicants have a clear and reliable way to track the progress of their file and stay informed throughout the process. Applicants can sign in or create an account at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/account.html. Applicants can also use IRCC’s online tools to check general processing times or submit case-specific enquiries through the web form if they have additional questions, or call the client support line at 1-888-242-2100 (within Canada).