IRCC’s backlog exceeds one million, Express Entry backlog swells
Canada’s immigration backlog has topped one million applications, and the proportion of backlogged Express Entry applications has grown by 29% relative to the preceding month.
The study permit backlog decreased for the first time since July 2025.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published the latest numbers for the month of October on its website on December 16, 2025.
As of October’s end, the total number of applications in IRCC inventories was 2,182,200, with 1,175,500 being processed within service standards.
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IRCC classifies an application as backlogged when it goes past the service standard published for that category.
To put October’s backlog count into perspective, the table below tracks how many applications were in IRCC’s backlog in each month of 2025:
| Month | Immigration backlog | Change relative to preceding month |
|---|---|---|
| January, 2025 | 891,100 | -5.33% |
| February, 2025 | 821,200 | -7.95% |
| 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% |
| September, 2025 | 996,700 | +3.95% |
| October, 2025 | 1,006,700 | +1.00% |
Permanent residence applications
There were 928,800 applications in IRCC's inventory for permanent residence (PR) immigration programs as of October 31— this is 15,000 more than there were as of September 31.
This category includes Express Entry, Express Entry-linked Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and family sponsorship applications.
According to IRCC’s data, 427,500 (or 46%) of these applications were being processed within service standards. This means 501,300 PR applications remained as backlog.
Departmental figures show that 27% of Express Entry applications were considered backlog (against a projected 20%), a significant jump from just 21% the month prior.
For Express Entry-aligned PNP applications, the percentage designated as backlog also went up from 47% at the end of September to 51%. This is the highest seen since April 2022.
As for family sponsorship applications, 20% are considered backlog, which aligns with the government’s projected backlog. This figure stood at 19% at the end of September.
From January 1 to October 31, IRCC made 377,100 decisions and welcomed 343,400 new PRs.
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Temporary residence applications
IRCC figures show that, as of October 31, the number of temporary residence applications in its inventory decreased to 999,100, compared to 1,028,500 as of September 31.
Of these, 548,500 (55%) were being processed within departmental service standards. That means 450,600 temporary residence applications (which include work permits, study permits, and visitor visas) remained in the backlog.
The work permit backlog increased marginally from 48% at the end of September to 50% at the end of October, overshooting the department’s projected backlog of 39%.
The study permit backlog, on the other hand, decreased modestly to 41% (from 42% the month prior), exceeding the month’s projected backlog of 30%.
As for visitor visa applications, the proportion of backlogged applications remained the same as last month (57%), precisely in line with projections.
IRCC notes that between January 1 and October 31, it finalized 1,111,000 work permit applications and 501,800 study permit applications.
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Citizenship grants
As of October 31, the immigration department had a total of 254,300 citizenship grant applications in its inventory, of which 78%—or 199,500—were being processed within service standards.
As a result, 22%, or 54,800 applications, are in the backlog. This is the fourth consecutive month in which the backlog climbed by 1%.
The immigration department notes that 156,500 new citizens were welcomed from April 1 to October 31, 2025.
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Law Firm
What is an IRCC service standard?
Service standards function as target processing timeframes for different application types. This is the time frame in which IRCC aims to get most applications of a certain category (referred to as a "line of business") processed.
For instance, IRCC’s service standard is six months for most Express Entry applications and 12 months for family sponsorship.
IRCC’s stated objective is to finalize 80% of applications within service standards, while recognizing that the remaining 20% often involve more complex situations that can require additional documents, closer assessment, or extra time to make a decision.
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