IRCC’s February processing times: Family sponsorship wait times drop, study and work permit applications spike
Canada’s immigration department has released its latest processing times update for various application types, including permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship applications.
Many temporary resident applications have seen increases in processing times, based on the type of application and/or the location from which submissions are being made. Among the most notable are:
- All study permit applications (regardless of location);
- Work permit applications from Pakistan (17-week increase in wait time); and
- Super visa applications from the US (112-day jump in processing time).
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Processing times for citizenship grants and proof of citizenship certificates have climbed as well, which may possibly be attributable to a growing demand.
On the other hand, family sponsorship submissions are seeing a decline in wait time—in particular, those made under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).
This article compares how processing times have changed in the span of one month, from January 15 to February 17, 2026.
Permanent residence applications
Processing times for permanent residence applications remain largely unchanged overall, though decreases in wait time can be seen among various family sponsorship application types.
Express Entry
A minor bump in processing time can be seen for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) submissions.
| Application type | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 7 months | 6 months |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) | *N/A | *N/A |
*Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does not release processing time estimations for the FSTP due to insufficient data.
IRCC service standard: For all Express Entry programs, it is six months.
Total number of people waiting for a decision on their application:
- CEC: 34,200 (+8,800)
- FSWP: 43,000 (+8,400)
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Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
Processing times for PNP applications remain unchanged compared to a month ago.
| 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 |
Service standard: For Express Entry-aligned applications it is six months, for base applications it is 11 months.
Total number of people waiting for a decision on their application:
- Enhanced applications: 12,400 (+1,600)
- Base applications: 108,300 (+5,700)
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Quebec Immigration
Processing times for PR applications through Quebec’s skilled worker pathway have remained steady over the last month.
| Stream | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) | 11 months | 11 months |
Service standard: Six months.
Total number of people waiting for a decision on their application: 26,400 (-300)
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Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
Submissions under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) continue to see sky-high wait times.
| Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
|---|---|
| 33 months | 33 months |
Service standard: 11 months.
Total number of people waiting for a decision on their application: 13,700 (+100)
Family sponsorship
Wait times for family sponsorship applications have remained the same or decreased—with the biggest drop seen for those made under the PGP (to reside outside 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) |
Service standard: IRCC only publishes service standards for the sponsorship of a spouse or common-law partner living outside Quebec, which sit at 12 months.
Total number of people waiting for a decision on their application:
- Partner living in Canada, intending to reside outside Quebec: 52,600 (+500)
- Parter living in Canada, intending to reside in Quebec: 12,100 (0)
- Partner living outside Canada, intending to reside outside Quebec: 47,300 (+400)
- Partner living outside Canada, intending to reside in Quebec: 19,100 (-200)
- PGP, intending to reside outside Quebec: 48,300 (-2,000)
- PGP, intending to reside in Quebec: 12,000 (-400)
Dependent child sponsorship
Within Canada
No changes in processing times have occurred within the last month for in-Canada dependent child sponsorship applications.
| Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
|---|---|
| 19 months | 19 months |
Service standard: Unpublished.
Outside Canada
A one-month drop can be observed for Nigeria-based submissions.
| Applying from: | Current processing time | Processing times as of January 15, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| India | 16 months | 16 months |
| Nigeria | 19 months | 20 months |
Service standard: 12 months.
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Temporary residence applications
Visitor visas
India and the US both saw drops in visitor visa processing times, while other countries experienced increases—the highest being Nigeria.
| 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 |
Service standard: Only outside-Canada applications are published by IRCC, for which the standard is 14 days.
Work permits
While most countries showed a relatively steady decrease or incline in wait time, processing times for work permit applications made from Pakistan shot up significantly—by a staggering 17 weeks in just a one-month time frame—to nearly 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 |
Service standard: Within-Canada applications (initial and extensions) have a 120-day standard, while outside Canada applications have a 60-day standard. This excludes International Experience Canada (IEC) permits (56-day standard).
View our coverage on occupations that IRCC is currently prioritizing for work permit processing.
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Study permits
Processing times for study permit applications are up across the board, increasing by one to two weeks for all countries featured.
| 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 |
Service standard: 120 days for applications submitted from within Canada; 60 days for outside-Canada applications.
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Super Visas
Pakistan is the only country featured which saw super visa processing times go down rather than up—with wait times for US submissions more than doubling.
| 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 |
Service standard: 112 days.
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Citizenship applications
For both citizenship application types, the immigration department reports prolonged wait times—each up one month, likely due to the number of individuals seeking Canadian citizenship following the passing of Bill C-3 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 |
Service standards: Only citizenship grant service standards are published, which is set at 12 months.
Total number of people waiting for a decision on their application:
- Citizenship grant: 313,000 (+7,600)
- Citizenship certificate: 47,900 (+5,500)
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Processing times and service standards
Oftentimes mistaken for one another, processing times and service standards are not synonymous nor interchangeable.
IRCC’s published processing times indicate the expected duration to render a decision on an application, if it were submitted that day.
For online applications, processing is marked by the submission timestamp; for paper applications, processing starts once an application arrives in the mailroom.
There are two types of processing times, including:
Historical: Based on how long it took to process 80% of a given application type in the past.
Forward looking: Based on future estimates, which are dependent on the department’s current inventory (considering pending submissions and expected finalization rate).
On the other hand, service standards are IRCC's internal, self-assigned benchmarks for the length of time it should take to process any given application type.
They are reflective of the completion rate for 80% of said application type—with the remaining 20% reserved for more complex cases.
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