This is important News for the candidates who are willing to become Permanent Residents of Canada. The Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada has released an announcement on 8th October 2025 based on the Processing of Permanent Resident streams. However, here the candidates can see the entire inventory clearly, because most of the pathways will not be in process, the Canadian government leaves backlogs for certain programs. Check your eligibility to become a PR holder in Canada.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has given top priority to these applications. It plans to clear the backlogs in the entire application category for the following economic pathways in 2025:
- The Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
- The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
- Enhanced PNP streams (Express Entry-aligned).
- Quebec Experience Class (PEQ).
- Quebec’s Pilot Programs.
- Community Pilots.
- Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ).
Other programs will continue to experience delays beyond 2025, as IRCC plans to process only a small portion of its applications this year. The details are listed below for your reference:
- Agrifood Pilot
- Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
- Caregiver Pilots
- Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP)
- Quebec Business
- Start-up Visa
Express Entry:
In the Express Entry stream, IRCC will process the entire inventory of applications for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program in 2025. As of September 11, 2024, 19,300 applications were pending under CEC and 12,500 under FSW, and these are expected to be fully processed this year. The typical application wait times over the past year have ranged from 5 to 7 months for CEC and around 6 months for FSW, indicating relatively quick processing compared to other PR pathways.
Provincial Nominee Program:
In 2025, the IRCC plans to process the entire applications for Express Entry aligned with PNP streams, also known as enhanced PNPs. As of September 11, 2024, there were 16,300 pending applications under these streams, all of which will we expected to be completed this year. In contrast, the PNP stream, which is not aligned with Express Entry, will see 35% of its applications proceed in 2025 out of 87,700 pending; 30,695 are expected to be handled.
Quebec:
As of September 11, 2024, there are 27,600 pending applications under this Quebec skilled workers pathway; all are expected to be completed this year. In contrast, the Oubec’s Business pathways will see 3% of its applications proceed in 2025 out of 4,100 pending: 123 are expected to be completed after 2025.
Atlantic Immigration Program:
In this program, 33% of its applications will be processed in 2025, out of 12,100 pending, 3,993.
Federal Economic Pilots:
In 2025, only a few portions of the application will be processed. Out of 8,900 Agrifood applications, only 445 will be handled in 2025. In Caregiver pilots, 4,816 of 34,400 applications will be processed, and for the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), 300 of 2,500 applications will be finalised.
Federal community pilot:
The Canadian federal community pilots, including the Rural Community Immigration Program (RCIP), the Francophone Community Immigration Program (FCIP), and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), which is now closed. However, in September 2025, the IRCC has planned to process all the remaining applications for these programs.
Start-up Visa:
The IRCC states that the start-up visa will be processing only 2% of the applications.
Croyez Immigration continues to support candidates exploring PR pathways and helps ensure applicants understand eligibility, timelines, and requirements for each program.
