Processing times drop for work permit and Express Entry applicants
Newly released figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveal the total application backlog has continued its downward trend, decreasing by 48,900 since last month.
As of February 28, IRCC’s overall backlog consisted of 941,400 applications. Compared to January 31, the most notable shifts (in order) included
- An 11% decrease for the work permit backlog;
- A 6% drop in the visitor visa backlog; and
- A 4% decline for both the Express Entry and study permit backlog.
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In total, there were 2,092,700 applications in IRCC’s inventories as of February 28, representing a modest increase of 700 applications within a one-month period.
The department processed 1,151,300 of these applications within its established service standards.
As shown in the table below, IRCC’s application backlog is now at its lowest point since July 2025:
| Month | Immigration backlog | Change relative to preceding month |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| November, 2025 | 1,005,800 | - 0.09% |
| December, 2025 | 1,014,700 | +0.88% |
| January, 2026 | 990,300 | −2.41% |
| February, 2026 | 941,400 | −4.94% |
Permanent residence applications
By February’s end, the total number of permanent residence (PR) applications IRCC had in its inventory exceeded one million (1,007,400), an increase of 11,900 applications compared to January 31.
The immigration department processed 470,600 (47%) of these within service standards; consequently, 536,800 PR applications were deemed backlogged.
IRCC counts Express Entry, enhanced Provincial Nominee Program, and family sponsorship (outside Quebec) applications in this category.
The number of Express Entry applications considered backlogged dropped from 15% the month prior to 11% as of February 28. This marks the lowest share of Express Entry applications in the backlog since IRCC began publishing these figures.
The enhanced PNP application backlog continued to decline as well, dropping to 40% (from a previous 42%)—remaining within the projected backlog (45%).
As for the family sponsorship backlog, it remained at 22%, the same as it was by January’s end. That said, IRCC’s projected backlog for this category has increased, from 20% the month prior, to 25% at the end of February.
From January 1 to February 28, 2026, IRCC
- Processed 70,400 PR applications; and
- Welcomed 53,400 new PRs to Canada.
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Temporary residence applications
There were 824,500 temporary residence applications in IRCC’s inventory as of February 28. That’s 20,900 less applications compared to the month prior.
The department processed 480,400 (58%) of these within its service standards. As a result, 344,100 applications were designated as backlog.
This category factors in work and study permit applications (excluding extensions), and visitor visa applications.
The end of February saw 27% of work permit applications classified as backlog (against a projected 30%)—a significant drop compared to January 31 (38%).
The study permit backlog also declined compared to the month prior, going from 50% as of January’s end to 46% as of February 28. Despite this decline, it exceeds the 41% projected backlog for the month.
As for visitor visas, the application backlog dropped from 54% the month before to 48% by the end of February—continuing to IRCC’s projected backlog (43% for the month of February).
From January 1 to February 28, 2026, IRCC finalized
- 302,800 work permit applications (including extensions); and
- 74,300 study permit applications (including extensions).
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Citizenship grants
By February’s end, the immigration department had a total of 260,800 citizenship grant applications in its inventory—an increase of 9,700 compared to January 31.
Of these applications, 200,300 (77%) were processed within IRCC's service standard, meaning 60,500 (23%) were deemed backlog—down from 24% the month before. This is well within the projected backlog for the month (27%).
Number of citizens welcomed from April 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026: 509,100.
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About IRCC’s service standards
IRCC uses internally defined service standards to set expectations for how long various temporary residence, PR, and citizenship applications should normally take to be processed.
These standards are designed to reflect the period within which most applications (80%) are finalized under normal conditions.
For instance, Express Entry applications are typically benchmarked at approximately six months, while family sponsorship applications are generally associated with a 12-month expected timeframe.
When an application surpasses its expected service standard and remains without a final decision, it is included in the backlog count.
At the same time, IRCC acknowledges that a portion of cases—roughly 20%—may take longer than the standard benchmarks due to increased complexity, additional document requirements, or further eligibility, security, or background checks.
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