The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Department of Canada has published its latest processing times update for the application types listed below :
- Permanent residence
- Temporary residence
- Citizenship applications
The recent study shows that multiple temporary resident applications take more time to process. It depends on the type of program and the country of the application. Some notable points are :
- Most of the Study permit applications get delayed worldwide.
- The work permit applications coming from Pakistan take 17 weeks longer to process.
- The Super Visa applications from the United States have increased by 112 days.
Processing times for citizenship grants and proof of citizenship certificates have also been increased due to higher applications. On the other hand, Family sponsorship applications get processed more quickly, under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).
This latest update has been observed from a time period of January 15 to February 17, 2026, based on comparison.
Latest Permanent Residence Processing Changes
The permanent residence application processing times are not altered much. But some family sponsorship applications are now being processed quickly with shorter waiting times.
Express Entry
The applications submitted under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) have seen an increase in processing time.
| Application type | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 7 months | 6 months |
| 7 months | 7 months | |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) | *N/A | *N/A |
The IRCC department will not release official processing time limits for the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) because of insufficient data.
The IRCC department maintains a 6-month service standard period for applications that are submitted from Express Entry programs.
In the Canadian Experience Class category, 32,400 applicants are waiting for decisions, indicating an increase of 8,800 cases.
In the Federal Skilled Worker Program, 43,000 applicants are waiting in the queue, indicating an increase of 8,800 cases.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
The processing times for PNP applications have remained unchanged when compared to the previous month.
| Application type | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| Through Express Entry (enhanced) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Non-Express Entry (base) | 13 months | 13 months |
The service standard for Express Entry–based applications is six months, while for non-Express Entry applications, the processing standard is 11 months.
In the Express Entry–aligned category, 12,400 applicants are currently waiting for decisions, indicating an increase of 1,600 cases.
In the non-Express Entry category, 108,300 applicants are waiting in the queue, indicating an increase of 5,700 cases.
Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
The applications that are being submitted in the Atlantic Immigration Program continue to face long processing times.
| Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| 33 months | 33 months |
The service standard for this program is 11 months.
According to the recent data, 13,700 applicants are waiting for decisions, showing a minor increase of 100 cases.
Family sponsorship
For family sponsorship application the processing times have either changed or been stable.
The most notable change has been recorded under the Parents and Grandparents Program for applicants who are deciding to live outside of Quebec.
| Application type | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| Spouse or common-law partner living inside Canada | 21 months (intending to reside outside Quebec) 35 months (intending to reside in Quebec) | 21 months (intending to reside outside Quebec) 36 months (intending to reside in Quebec) |
| Spouse or common-law partner living outside Canada | 15 months (intending to reside outside Quebec) 35 months (intending to reside in Quebec) | 14 months (intending to reside outside Quebec) 35 months (intending to reside in Quebec) |
| Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) | 35 months (intending to reside outside Quebec) 47 months (intending to reside in Quebec) | 37 months (intending to reside outside Quebec) 48 months (intending to reside in Quebec) |
- The IRCC publishes a service standard for sponsoring a spouse or common-law partner who is staying outside Quebec.
- The processing standard time is 12 months.
The number of in-Canada partners who prefer to live outside Quebec has increased by 500 cases, with 52,600 applicants waiting for decisions.
Regarding the number of partners outside Canada for settlement outside Quebec, the process is underway, indicating a 400% increase. It is also known that 19,100 Quebec-bound cases have rejected by 200.
Under the Parents and Grandparents Program, 48,300 applications for residence outside Quebec are pending, down by 2,000, while 12,000 Quebec-destined cases have decreased by 400.
Dependent child sponsorship
Within Canada :
In this category, there have not been any changes in the processing times for dependent child sponsorship applications
| Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| 19 months | 19 months |
- The official updates for the service standard have not been published for this type.
Outside Canada :
Applications that have been submitted from Nigeria have recorded a one-month reduction in processing time.
| Applying from: | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| India | 16 months | 16 months |
| Nigeria | 19 months | 20 months |
The service standard for this category is 12 months.
Temporary residence applications
Visitor visas
The processing time has dropped for applicants fromIndia and the United States, when compared with other countries. Nigeria has seen the highest increase.
| Applying from: | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| Canada | 21 days | 17 days |
| India | 78 days | 99 days |
| Pakistan | 58 days | 57 days |
| Nigeria | 51 days | 36 days |
| United States | 25 days | 27 days |
For applications submitted from outside Canada, the IRCC has given a 14-day time period.
Work permits
While the processing time has remained constant for other countries, Pakistan alone saw a gradual increase in processing time. It increased to 17 weeks in one month, adding total wait time to seven months.
| Applying from: | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| Canada | 246 days | 220 days |
| India | 8 weeks | 9 weeks |
| Pakistan | 30 weeks | 13 weeks |
| Nigeria | 9 weeks | 11 weeks |
| United States | 10 weeks | 7 weeks |
- IRCC has set a 120-day standard for work permits filed inside Canada.
- Applications that are submitted from outside Canada have a 60-day standard.
- For International Experience Canada permits, the service standard is 56 days.
Study permits
For study permits, the waiting time has been increased by one to two weeks.
| Applying from: | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| Canada | 8 weeks | 7 weeks |
| India | 4 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Pakistan | 7 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Nigeria | 8 weeks | 6 weeks |
| United States | 7 weeks | 6 weeks |
IRCC has a minimum of 120-day service standard for applications filed within Canada and 60 days for those submitted from outside the country.
Super Visas
Among all countries, Pakistan alone had a drop in processing times, while wait periods for U.S. applications more than doubled.
| Applying from: | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| India | 213 days | 206 days |
| Pakistan | 124 days | 133 days |
| Nigeria | 46 days | 41 days |
| United States | 205 days | 93 days |
The service standard for Super Visa applications is 112 days.
Citizenship applications
The processing times for both citizenship grants and citizenship certificates have increased
by one month.
The reason for the increase is that many applicants are applying for Canadian citizenship after Bill C-3 was passed two months ago.
| Application type | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
| Citizenship grant | 14 months | 13 months |
| Citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship) | 11 months | 10 months |
The service standard has now been published only for citizenship grants for a period of 12 months.
Currently, 313,000 citizenship grant applications are waiting for a decision, up by 7,600. In addition, 47,900 citizenship certificate applications are in process, an increase of 5,500.
Processing times and service standards
Processing times and service standards are often confused by applicants, but both have different meanings.
If someone submits an application today, the published processing time will display how much time it might take for a decision to be made on that application.
- For online applications, processing time starts during submission
- For paper applications, processing time starts when the application is received at the mailroom.
The two types of processing times are:
- Historical: Based on how much time it took to complete 80% of similar applications in the past.
- Forward-looking: Based on future estimates that consider the current number of pending applications and expected completion rates.
Service standards, however, are internal targets set by the department. These standards aim to process 80% of applications within a specific timeframe, while the remaining 20% may take longer due to complexity.
