IRCC backlog continues to increase, study permit backlog surges

As of August 31, 958,850 applications remained in Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) backlog.

Considering that the backlog at the end of the month prior was 901,700, this marks yet another month with the backlog increasing.

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For context, here is a look at the backlog over the last six months.

Month	Immigration backlog	Change relative to preceding month
March 2025	779,900	-5.03%
April 2025	760,200	-2.53%
May 2025	802,000	+5.5%
June 2025	842,800	+5.02%
July 2025	901,700	+6.98%
August 2025	958,850	+6.33%

As of August 31, the total number of applications in all IRCC inventories was 2,199,400, with 1,240,550 being processed within service standards.

Permanent Resident applications

As of August 31, IRCC had a total of 901,800 applications in its inventory for permanent residence (PR) immigration programs. These include Express Entry, Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams, and family sponsorship applications.

Out of these, just 431,500 applications were being processed within IRCC’s service standards. This leaves 470,300 applications as part of the backlog, an increase from the number of applications at the end of July, which was 443,500.

While the immigration department doesn’t provide specific figures, they noted that 20% of Express Entry applications were considered backlog – a decrease from the previous month’s 21%.

When it comes to PNP applications through Express Entry, the percentage of applications in the backlog remained unchanged compared to the prior month, at 49%. It's worth noting that this percentage has shot up since the end of last year when it was just 25% (in December 2024).

The family sponsorship backlog saw an uptick to 17% from the previous month’s 15%. This is the highest it’s been in two years (since August 2023).

Temporary resident permit applications

As of August end, there were 1,038,100 applications for temporary residence in IRCC’s inventory.

Of these, 600,750 (58%) were being processed within service standards. This is a drop compared to the previous month, when 62% of applications were being processed within service standards.

That leaves 437,350 applications in the backlog.

This category consists of work permits, study permits, and visitor visas.

When it comes to work permits, the percentage of applications in the backlog decreased marginally from 46% at the end of July to 45% at the end of August.

On the other hand, the percentage of study permit applications in the backlog increased from 23% at the end of July to 32% at the end of August.

The percentage of applications in the backlog for visitor visas has also increased, from 56% at the end of July to 60% at the end of August.

Citizenship Grants

The citizenship applications backlog remains consistent within the target percentage. As of the end of August, it was 20%, an uptick from the previous month’s 19%.

What is IRCC's backlog?

IRCC considers applications part of its backlog if it exceeds published service standards.

The department aims to finalize immigration applications within service standards. For example, the immigration department seeks to process Express Entry applications within six months, whereas family sponsorship applications have a service standard of 12 months.

When an application isn’t finalized within these service standards, it is classified as part of the backlog.

IRCC aims to process 80% of applications within its standard processing times, allowing that more complex applications may require longer than the usual time frame.

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