Obviously, the broader migration trends that have been highlighted by my colleague and highlighted earlier by the UNHCR have impacts for Canada. They also present opportunities. At IRCC, we are seeing higher volumes in virtually all areas that we manage.
In terms of permanent residents, those who apply to be immigrants to Canada—that includes resettled refugees who are selected to come to Canada—the government announced last year a three-year plan for immigration levels growth. The plan grows to 310,000 permanent resident admissions this year. Next year, it goes to 330,000 permanent resident admissions, and then in 2020 to 340,000.
Despite that increased growth, the applications demand outstrips the space afforded in that levels plan in virtually all categories. I'll give one example. In our express entry application management system—that's the system that manages our high-skilled economic programs—we have a pool of candidates that sits at about 90,000 today. Every two weeks, there's a round where there are invitations to apply. That's a round of about 3,000, but there are twice the number of profiles filled out every two weeks. You can see that the demand is significant for our immigration pathways.
The increased mobility that my colleague spoke about a bit earlier is also contributing to significantly higher volumes of applicants for temporary visas. These are visitors to Canada, like tourists and business travellers, but also student permits and temporary workers. This year, we expect to process about 3.4 million of these visas. This is up from 3.1 million last year, and 2.7 million the year before. By next year, we're likely to be at roughly 3.9 million applications. Again, this is not out of step with international trends, but Canada is increasingly a popular destination of choice.
Also, as this committee knows well, asylum claims have increased in recent years, some from the irregular movement, but overall as well. In 2017, there were 50,000 asylum claims made, which is the highest we've seen in about 15 years. About 60% of that was in the regular manner at regular ports of entry.
Canada, like most of the world, is seeing higher volumes from these immigration trends. One of the advantages that Canada has in the face of this is that we have—I think it's fair to say—a long history and a well-established system for managing migration. By system, what I mean is that we have a defined set of legal pathways through which applicants are assessed and enter our country.
As the committee proceeds—and it was helpful, Chair, to hear of the scope of your study—you might want to consider the extent to which having a system like this can be an opportunity for Canada, both in helping the government manage and adjust the changes for the benefit of Canada, but also internationally, as one of many examples of how other countries might want to advance their approaches.
Thank you, Chair. We welcome your questions.