IRCC’s backlog falls below one million as work permit waits ease
As of January 31, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC’s) total application backlog dropped to 990,300, falling below one million for the first time since October 2025.
The most significant shifts seen in this backlog update compared to December 31, 2025, consist of the following:
- Study permit backlog: 14% increase.
- Work permit backlog: 8% decrease.
- Enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) backlog: 6% decrease.
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At January’s close, IRCC’s total application count stood at 2,092,000, reflecting a decrease of 35,500 applications over a one-month period.
Of these, the department successfully processed 1,101,700 applications in compliance with service standards.
The table below provides a snapshot of the application backlog over the last six months for comparison purposes.
| Month | Immigration backlog | Change relative to preceding month |
|---|---|---|
| August, 2025 | 958,850 | +6.33% |
| September, 2025 | 996,700 | +3.95% |
| October, 2025 | 1,006,700 | +1.00% |
| November, 2025 | 1,005,800 | - 0.09% |
| December, 2025 | 1,014,700 | +0.88% |
| January, 2026 | 990,300 | −2.41% |
Permanent residence applications
As of January 31, IRCC had a total of 995,500 permanent residence (PR) applications in its inventory—a 21,700 increase compared to the month prior.
Of these, the immigration department processed 460,200 (46%) within service standards, resulting in 535,300 applications being designated as backlog.
This category consists of Express Entry, PNP (Express Entry-aligned), and family sponsorship (outside Quebec) applications.
The Express Entry backlog continues to decline, with only 15% of such applications deemed backlog (compared to 20% the month prior)—well within IRCC’s projected backlog for January: 35%.
The backlog for Express Entry-aligned PNP applications also continued to fall, with 42% of applications deemed backlog as of January’s end (whereas as of December’s end, 48% of applications were). This is below IRCC’s projected backlog of 55%.
Family sponsorship applications, on the other hand, saw a modest increase—from 21% the month prior to 22% as of January 31. This exceeds the department’s projected backlog for January (20%).
In January 2026, IRCC
- Processed 32,400 PR applications; and
- Welcomed 24,100 new PRs to Canada.
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Temporary residence applications
The total number of temporary residence applications in IRCC’s inventory as of January’s end was 845,400, representing a decrease of 65,500 applications compared to the end of December.
Of these applications, 450,700 (53%) were processed within service standards. Consequently, 394,700 applications were considered backlogged.
Work permits, study permits, and temporary resident visas (visitor visas) are included in these figures.
The work permit backlog dropped significantly compared to the month prior—from 46% as of December’s end to 38% as of January 31. However, this exceeds the projected backlog by 7%.
While the work permit backlog has dropped, the study permit backlog has skyrocketed to 50% (overshooting the projected 38% backlog)—after sitting at 36% for November and December. This is the highest percentage of study permit applications deemed backlog since IRCC first began publishing this data in 2022.
As for the visitor visa backlog, 54% of applications were deemed backlogged by January’s end (against a 47% projected backlog). This is the lowest visitor visa backlog since June 2025
In January 2026, IRCC finalized
- 34,200 study permit applications (including extensions); and
- 136,700 work permit applications (including extensions).
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Citizenship grants
As of January 31, there were 251,100 citizenship grant applications in IRCC’s inventory. This is 8,300 less applications compared to December 31, 2025.
IRCC processed 190,800 applications (76%) of these applications within service standards—resulting in a backlog of 60,300 (24%), which is within IRCC’s projected backlog of 25%.
This is the second month in a row which saw 24% of citizenship grant applications backlogged.
Number of citizens welcomed from April 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026: 227,300.
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More on IRCC’s service standards
IRCC establishes service standards as internal benchmarks for various application types to determine how long each should take to process.
These standards define the typical timeframe for completing most cases (80%) within each category.
For example, Express Entry applications are generally processed within six months, while family sponsorship applications typically aim for a 12-month completion period.
If an application overshoots the expected time frame without a final decision being rendered, it is classified as part of the backlog.
While IRCC strives to process 80% of applications within established time frames, it recognizes that about 20% may require extra time due to complexity, additional documentation, or further screening and verification.
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