The COVID-19 global pandemic temporarily slowed the processing of applications for the Express Entry visa to Canada, due to the disruptions caused by the occasional “lockdowns” which kept Canadian immigration officials out of their offices and also by travel restrictions that were in place for several months. In order to speed up the processing times and reduce the large backlog of applications for the Express Entry visa to Canada, the Canadian government spent around $80 million CAD and hired hundreds of new workers in 2022. By July 2022, processing times for Express Entry returned to the standard of six months or less.