Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada | |
Department overview | |
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Formed | 1994 |
Type |
Department responsible for
|
Jurisdiction | Canada |
Employees | 7,000 |
Minister responsible | |
Website | www |
Department responsible for
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for matters dealing with immigration to Canada, refugees, and Canadian citizenship. Formerly known as Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the department was established in 1994 following a reorganization within the federal government and was renamed to its current name with the swearing in of the 29th Ministry in 2015.
Prior to 1994, immigration was placed under several ministries:
Following amendments to the Canadian Passport Order which dissolved Passport Canada as an independent agency, IRCC took over responsibility for issuing Canadian passports effective July 1, 2013.
On November 10, 2016 the Toronto Star reported that the IRCC website crashed when it was flooded with a large increase in traffic on the night of the United States presidential election. The increase in traffic was said to be 5 times larger than normal, and the percentage of users from the United States increased from the normal ten percent to fifty percent of all users.
IRCC operates a large network of "Citizenship and Immigration Centres" throughout Canada and in an important number of embassies, high commissions and consulates abroad. Service Canada recently started to take over some of the domestic field operations of the department, while with its creation in 2003, the Canada Border Services Agency took over the control of enforcement and entry control at land borders and airports.
IRCC remains responsible for the establishment of policies and processing of permanent and temporary residence visa, refugee protection and citizenship applications.