IRCC’s latest update reveals Express Entry application backlog at all-time low

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC's) application backlog has continued its downward trajectory, according to newly-released figures covering the period ending March 31, 2026.

An application is classified as backlogged if it has not been processed within the immigration department’s official service standards*.

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The most notable changes compared to the previous month include:

Express Entry backlog: down to 10% (from 11% in February) — the lowest on record since IRCC began publishing this data
Enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) backlog: fell to 38% (from 40%)
Study permit backlog: dropped to 40% (from 46% the month prior)
Work permit backlog: increased to 34% (from 27%)
Visitor visa backlog: eased slightly to 46% (from 48%)
Citizenship grant backlog: held steady at 23%

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Overall, there were 2,154,300 applications in IRCC's inventories as of March 31, of which 1,219,300 were processed within service standards and 935,000 were designated as backlog.

The table below shows how the backlog has evolved over recent months:

Month	Total Immigration backlog	Change relative to preceding month
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%
March, 2026	935,000	-0.68%

Permanent residence applications

IRCC had a total of 1,019,200 permanent residence (PR) applications in its inventory as of March 31 — an increase of 1.17% compared to the end of February.

Of these, 477,100 (47%) were processed within service standards, leaving 542,100 of applications deemed backlog. This is also an increase in the number of applications that were processed within service standards compared to the previous month.

IRCC counts Express Entry, enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and family sponsorship (outside Quebec) applications in this category.

The Express Entry backlog reached a new record low of 10% — comfortably below IRCC's projected backlog of 20% for the month and a significant improvement from the 32% recorded as recently as November 2025.

The enhanced PNP backlog also continued its decline, with 38% of applications exceeding service standards as of March 31 — below the projected 40% for the month.

The family sponsorship backlog remained at 22%, unchanged from the month prior. IRCC's projected backlog for this category is 25%.

From January 1 to March 31, 2026, IRCC made 112,600 decisions on PR applications and welcomed 83,000 new permanent residents to Canada.

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Temporary residence applications

As of March 31, IRCC had 865,000 temporary residence applications in its inventory, an increase of 40,500 compared to February's end.

The department processed 533,600 (62%) of these within its service standards, leaving 331,400 applications in the backlog.

This category covers work permits and study permits (excluding extensions), as well as visitor visa applications.

The work permit backlog climbed to 34% by March 31 — up from 27% the month prior, and above the projected backlog of 21% for the month. This reverses several months of a slowly decreasing backlog percentage.

The study permit backlog fell significantly to 40% from 46% in February, but remained above the projected 31% for March.

Visitor visa applications saw modest relief as well, with the backlog dipping to 46% — down from 48% in February.

From January 1 to March 31, 2026, IRCC finalized 467,500 work permit applications (including extensions) and 106,800 study permit applications (including extensions).

Citizenship grants

IRCC had 270,100 citizenship grant applications in its inventory as of March 31 — 9,300 more than at the end of February.

Of these, 208,600 (or 77%) were processed within service standards, leaving 61,500 (23%) designated as backlog.

As of the end of March, the percentage of backlog of citizenship applications was consistent at 23%, the same as of the previous month. This percentage has seen a gradual increase since August 2025, when it was just 20%.

From April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, IRCC welcomed 285,500 new citizens to Canada.

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About IRCC's service standards

*IRCC establishes internal service standards as benchmarks for how long each application type should normally take to reach a final decision.

The department aims to finalize 80% of applications within these timeframes, while acknowledging that the remaining 20% may require additional processing time due to complexity, incomplete documentation, or the need for further security or background screening.

For example, Express Entry applications carry a service standard of approximately six months, while family sponsorship applications are generally benchmarked at 12 months.

Any application that has not received a final decision within its applicable service standard is classified as part of the backlog.

See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams