IRCC updates application processing times

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated processing times for temporary residence applications, including study permits, work permits and visitor visas.

The immigration department’s latest processing time update reveals several key trends: visitor visas are largely stable (with some notable improvements), while work permits have generally slowed and become more volatile.

The biggest positive change is the fall in India’s visitor visa times from 99 to 83 days, while applications submitted from Nigeria and within Canada saw slight increases in waiting times.

The sharpest slowdowns are concentrated in work permit (and applications for the Super Visa), with Super Visa applications submitted from the United States seeing processing times double in just two weeks.

By contrast, Study Permit are the most stable application type overall—showing a slight decrease, rather than any major change in processing.

This article compares temporary residence processing times as at 14/01 (the date IRCC last updated processing times) with waiting times today.

Visitor visas

The largest reduction in processing times has come for applicants from India, who can now receive a visitor visa 16 days faster than before.

Submitted from	Current processing time	Processing time as at 14/01
Canada	21 days	17 days
India	83 days	99 days
Pakistan	56 days	57 days
Nigeria	40 days	36 days
United States	25 days	27 days

The service standard for visitor visas is 14 days for applications submitted outside Canada. No service standard is published for applications submitted from within Canada.

work permit

While largely stable (with some slight increases), work permit applicants from Pakistan and the United States have seen notable increases in waiting times:

Submitted from	Current processing time	Processing time as at 14/01
Canada	241 days	220 days
India	8 weeks	9 weeks
Pakistan	20 weeks	13 weeks
Nigeria	9 weeks	11 weeks
United States	10 weeks	7 weeks

The service standard is 120 days for applications submitted within Canada (both initial permits and extensions). For applications submitted outside Canada the standard is 60 days, apart from International Experience Canada (IEC)permits, which have a 56-day standard.

Study Permit

Study Permit remain the most stable of all the temporary residence categories, with only a slight one-week increase for applicants from selected countries.

Submitted from	Current processing time	Processing time as at 14/01
Canada	7 weeks	7 weeks
India	4 weeks	3 weeks
Pakistan	5 weeks	5 weeks
Nigeria	7 weeks	6 weeks
United States	7 weeks	6 weeks

The service standard is 120 days for applications submitted within Canada (both initial permits and extensions), and 60 days for applications submitted from outside Canada.

Super Visa

While some Super Visa applicants have seen moderate reductions in processing times, by far the biggest change is for applications submitted from the United States, which have seen processing times double, possibly owing to increased application volumes.

Submitted from	Current processing time	Processing time as at 14/01
India	214 days	206 days
Pakistan	126 days	133 days
Nigeria	38 days	41 days
United States	187 days	93 days

The service standard for Super Visa applications is 112 days. These applications can only be submitted outside Canada.

Understanding processing times and service standards

IRCC processing times are estimates for new applications submitted today, indicating how long it may take to receive a final decision.

Processing begins when IRCC receives the application (arrival in the mailroom for paper applications, the submission timestamp for online or in-person applications) and ends when a decision is issued. Times can vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the case, how easily the information can be reviewed, and how quickly the applicant responds to requests.

Processing estimates are based on historical performance and current inventories. These estimates take two forms:

• Historical processing times, showing how long IRCC took to finalise 80% of cases, updated weekly; and
• Forward-looking times, predicting future times using current inventories and expected monthly completions.

Forward-looking times apply only to the following application types:

• Canadian Experience Class (CEC);
• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP);
• Provincial Nominee Programme (base and enhanced);
• Quebec Skilled Worker Program (SWSP);
• Spouse or common-law partner (living trong and outside Canada);
• Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP);
• Citizenship grants;
• Citizenship certificates.

Service standards are IRCC’s internal target for finalising around 80% of applications within a given timeframe. Some cases (around 20%) take longer owing to complexity, and not all application types have a service standard; unlike processing times, they are not updated frequently.