Chinook Canada – IRCC Decision-Making System
Canada has considerably increased the number of international students and workers for several years. There were 352,330 Study Permit holders across the country in December 2015, compared to 621,565 in December 2021, which was almost double. Similarly, the IRCC issued 315,370 LMIA-Exempt Work permits in 2021 and 176,280 in 2017. So, it is clear why the IRCC has been challenged with more than 800K TRVs (Students, Workers & Visitors) applications in the queue. But the question is how these hundreds of thousands of annual TRVs applications are received, sorted, and analyzed by the IRCC. A great puzzle covered, until recently, came to light the use of a tool called “Chinook Canada,” an IRCC Tool To Speed Up Processing.
Canada TRV visa overview:Â
A Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or Canada Visitor Visa is an official record in your passport that indicates airlines allow you to board a plane and Canadian authorities to enter Canada at the port of entry. The TRV shows that you have met the requirements of admission into Canada as a visitor, student, or worker. So, you must apply a TRV application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which will issue this document before coming to Canada.Â
Canada visa refusal reasons overview:Â
If an applicant is found to be ineligible, the application will be refused, and the visa refusal will be made at one of the following times:
- After examination of a written application, without the candidate having an in-person interview,
- following an interview with the visa applicant
If it is evident from a review of the application that the applicant is ineligible and more information would not affect a denial decision, the applicant should never be asked to attend an interview.
In Canada, decisions on immigration cases are usually made under the particular immigration programme or a category an applicant applies (Temporary residency or Permanent residency application). The eligibility criteria, requirements, and evaluation processes are specific to each programme or category. IRCC visa officers who assess applications and make judgements take into account things like:
- Eligibility Criteria: Candidates must be eligible according to the programme or category of immigration they are seeking for. Age, education, employment history, linguistic aptitude, and flexibility are examples.
- Documentation: Applicants must provide supporting documentation to prove their eligibility, such as transcripts from their schools, letters from employers attesting to their work experience, the results of their language tests, and other pertinent records.
- Evaluation Process: Immigration visa officials evaluate applications and supplementary materials to see if a candidate satisfies eligibility requirements. Assessing aspects including document legitimacy, information correctness, and conformity with immigration laws might be part of this process.
- Selection Factors: Selection considerations: The decision-making process may consider selection considerations depending on the programme. Some of these considerations are language proficiency, education, professional experience, and in certain cases, job offers.
- Medical and Security Clearances: To guarantee they fulfil the health and security standards set by the Canadian government, applicants are often expected to go through medical exams and produce police clearance certificates.
In the end, the immigration authorities in Canada decide on an immigration case based on the requirements of the particular programme, the proof and documents offered by the applicant, and the evaluation of the applicant’s eligibility. For accurate and current information on your particular immigration case, refer to the official information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or seek professional assistance from an expert RCIC.
What is Chinook Canada?
Chinook Canada is a Microsoft Excel-based program created by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for processing temporary resident applications. Its goal is to improve client service and boost efficiency by reducing the effects of system and broadband latency.
How does the Chinook software work?
Depending on the module chosen, Chinook’s modular construction enables it to administratively support various levels in the application evaluation process. The numerous modules can help the IRCC with tasks, including managing files, indicators, and pre-and post-decisions.
Is IRCC using Chinook System in Decision-Making?
The very first information about the use of this tool was revealed in a recent case of “Ocran v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 175”. It is a case between the IRCC and Abigail Ocran; a refused student from Ghana who noticed uncommon language that seemed inhuman in the refusal note, causing her to open the first window on Chinook IRCC that its existence was not disclosed to applicants until then.Â
Chinook Canada, the automated decision-making system, was set up in March 2018 by the IRCC to speed up the processing of study permits from India and China, for which the number of applications has increased over the recent decade. Â
A group of Canadian immigration officers with backgrounds in Temporary Resident Visas (TRVs) applications and processing and in-house technical experts well versed in Computer Sciences created the first version of Chinook IRCC. They used Visual Basic for Applications in Microsoft Excel to review many applications simultaneously. So, they can accelerate the processing of immigration applications, particularly TRV applications. This is outside of the official Global Case Management System (GCMS) to decide on applications, and the reasons for decisions are generated in this tool. Â
The IRCC backlog of TRVs & PRs applications grows to 1.8 million people waiting on decisions in its inventory as of March 2022. To manage this backlog, the IRCC started using the Chinook system for the other countries’ TRVs applications.Â
What Was Disclosed So Far About Chinook Canada?
Chinook Canada was formed without legal oversight during its initial development. It has been used to process TRV applications since March 2018 because IRCC officers face significant delays when using their secure web portal. The affidavit of Andie Daponte, an IRCC official, in the Federal Court confirms that the new system does not indicate that all the information provided has been opened and considered.
This tool collects immigration files and allows officers to flag what the IRCC considers high-risk or low-risk immigration applications. The system facilitates administrative steps and assists officers in processing up to 35% more applications than other IRCC offices can. It reduces administrative steps to save time for decision-makers. In some IRCC offices, this tool’s web- or cloud-based version is now used. However, not all immigration officers use this tool because it is at the discretion of the immigration officer to use it. Â
Additionally, the IRCC has asked its visa officers to remove their file-specific notes generated on Chinook for privacy concerns. These notes cannot then be found. They are deleted daily because each spreadsheet would require significant editioning before external disclosure. Instead of saving the files, officers copy and paste any reasons, risk indicators, or flag words into the GCMS, excluding one column of the spreadsheet, “The officers’ working notes.” Therefore, it is not possible to have access to the information extracted by using this tool.Â
Despite having a decision-maker module, Chinook Canada is not a decision-making tool. The decision-makers must review all applications and generate decisions based on the information presented. The Chinook IRCC does not fundamentally change how applications are processed; the officer always gives the grounds for the decisions, not the Chinook.Â
IRCC recently requested a Professional Service Provider (Accenture) to develop and implement a Power Platform Minimum Viable Product to replace Chinook for $1,826,981.49.Â
How Does Chinook Evaluate The TRV Application?Â
Chinook has several modules which allow visa officers to note certain information from the applicant, such as name, age, financial ability, travel history, and purpose of travel from the GCMS for multiple applicants, up to 1,000 applications. In it, Chinook brings together other files on a single screen and puts forward risk indicators to allow them to simultaneously operate “bulk application processing” to make a final decision for a whole batch of files. An artificial intelligence system is also used during this process. A visa officer can review the information, make decisions, and “Generate Notes” using a Built-In note generator. Â
At this stage, an assistant summarizes the evidence received for the decision-maker. Still, the application may consist of many pages of proof outlined in two or three lines in Chinook Canada. After an application is assessed, the visa officers (In case of refusal) can either choose a note with a reason from Chinook for their rejection or make a note as they review files. These working notes are not transferred back to the GCMS system once the decision is finalized. The Excel sheets are deleted at the end of each session, which is one of the primary reasons the applicant or his counsellor should not rely solely on GCMS notes for their future decision.  Â
What Are Concerns About Chinook IRCC?
There have been a lot of inquiries and concerns regarding Chinook concerning fairness and accountability in Canada’s immigration system. The data indicates that there has been an increase in the number of immigration applications being rejected without any rational reason. The average refusal rate for study permit applications from all countries has jumped from 33% in 2017 to 50% in 2020. The concern for applicants and their counsel is for IRCC to develop tools that allow decision-makers to make reasonable decisions. Most of the refusals are just getting a template message which may be irrelevant to the individual’s case.Â
How Can We Address All These Concerns?Â
All the information sounds fair until the affidavit explains that “Risk Indicators” and “Local Word Flags” can be connected to each application. But What are these Risk factors and Flags?Â
These days the TRV applications are more than just filling out the forms and showing enough funds to cover your expenses. Accordingly, preparing a solid application from the beginning will place a step forward and strong precedent even to prevent an application from being judicially reviewed.
The visa officers know when the applications are well-prepared, which means they would follow through all the stages, including Judicial Review (JR) at Federal Court, so they would think twice before making a visa refusal decision. It has been widespread that ghost consultants file TRV applications, although it is illegal since they have no license to do so. By doing so, you miss the second chance to be accepted at the Federal Court level, as the application wasn’t prepared in a way to address all legal IRCC concerns. Thus, Arnika Visa recommends seeking legal guidance from an Expert RCIC to have a better chance of successful TRV applications.Â
How Can We Help You?
At ARNIKA VISA, we help you to find the most tailored strategy to achieve your immigration goals. From filing the immigration forms to guiding you through supporting documents, we take care of it all. We can assist you entirely or partially based on our different packages. We can advise you professionally regarding the required personalized supporting documents to increase the chance of your approval and, finally, submit your application to IRCC on your behalf as an authorized representative. Suppose you want to discover how the RCIC can help you. In that case, the first step is to complete the Assessment Form (To detail your personal, educational, and employment information) available on the site.
I applied for a Canada visa using the new portal and was refused two weeks later. Does this new portal refuse application by Chinook Canada? I need to figure out what’s going on with applications! My friend applied for a visa using the GCKey portal and got approved, meaning there is no assistance from Chinook in the old portal! Please let me know your comments. Thanks alot
In the new portal, the Chinook system of Canada is used, which reduces the time of reviewing cases, but the risk of rejection is higher than the old portal.
The new portal allows you to download the summary of the entered information, but you need this possibility in the old GCKey portal. Once the file is sent, the data cannot be accessed anymore.
The old portal does not allow applicants to download or view uploaded documents. In contrast, the new portal will enable applicants to download the summary of entered information and view the list of documents but does not allow downloading.
If the risk of your case is high, we recommend you use the old portal
Regards, Reza Eslami, RCIC, R710241
I applied for my visitor visa on December 23, 2023, and I got a refusal on January 15, 2024. My consultant ordered GMC Notes, and it was mentioned that it had been refused or analyzed by the hip of Chinook software. We have provided all the necessary documents. Therefore, she advised me to go through the reconsideration process. Now my question is, does it really help to get a positive result? It’s been two months now for reconsideration, and there has been no update yet.
Reconsideration may offer a chance to address issues cited in the initial refusal. However, success isn’t guaranteed. Response times vary; patience is key. Continue communicating with your consultant for updates and explore alternative options if necessary.