On May 12, Canada’s immigration department published updated processing times for various permanent residence and citizenship application types.
Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications each saw one-month jumps in processing time. This update saw the Canadian Experience (CEC) queue increase by over 6,000 applicants, and the base PNP inventory by more than 2,000.
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On the other hand, wait times for the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) dropped by two months, along with the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) seeing a one-month dip.
In this article, current permanent residence (economic and family sponsorship) and citizenship application wait times as of May 12 are compared against the prior April 7 update.
PR: Economic immigration
The only economic immigration pathway type to see a decrease in wait time is the AIP, while all others have either increased or remained the same.
Express Entry
The wait time for FSWP applications has once again increased, after having previously dipped for the first time in months.
| Application type | Current (May 12) | Previous (April 7) |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | 7 months | 6 months |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)* | N/A | N/A |
*Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does not publish FSTP processing time estimates, due to insufficient data.
Service standard: six months for all Express Entry applications.
Applications in inventory awaiting assessment:
- CEC: 60,900 (+6,300)
- FSWP: 52,000 (+7,900)
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
In just over a one-month period, the wait time for base PNP applications jumped by one month, while remaining unchanged for base applications.
| Application type | Current (May 12) | Previous (April 7) |
|---|---|---|
| Through Express Entry (enhanced) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Non-Express Entry (base) | 14 months | 13 months |
Service standard: For enhanced applications, the service standard is six months, whereas base applications have an 11-month standard.
Applications in inventory awaiting assessment:
- Enhanced: 14,000 (+300)
- Base: 110,200 (+2,100)
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Quebec Immigration
Processing times remain unchanged for both the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) and the Quebec Business Class.
| Application type | Current (May 12) | Previous (April 7) |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) | 11 months | 11 months |
| Quebec Business Class | 78 months | 78 months |
Service standard: 11months, for PSTQ applications.
Applications in inventory awaiting assessment:
- PSTQ: 24,800 (-900)
- Quebec Business Class: 3,700 (-100)
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Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
Though wait time estimates for AIP applications are still over three years, they have decreased by two months since the prior update.
| Current (May 12) | Previous (April 7) |
|---|---|
| 38 months | 40 months |
Service standard: 11 months.
Applications in inventory awaiting assessment: 12,900 (-300).
Other economic programs
Processing times for the Start-Up Visa and Federal Self-Employed Persons Program applications are unchanged, each over a decade’s wait.
| Application type | Current (May 12) | Previous (April 7) |
|---|---|---|
| Start-Up Visa | More than 10 years | More than 10 years |
| Federal Self-Employed Persons Program | More than 10 years | More than 10 years |
Neither of the abovementioned programs have a published service standard.
Applications in inventory awaiting assessment:
- Start-Up Visa: 46,000 (-200)
- Federal Self-Employed: 8,100 (unchanged)
PR: Family sponsorship
An increase in processing time can be seen across the board for spousal sponsorship applicants seeking to settle outside Quebec, while wait times for the sponsorship of a parent or grandparent have dipped—regardless of location.
| Application type | Current (May 12) | Previous (April 7) |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or common-law partner living inside Canada | To reside outside Quebec: 25 months To reside in Quebec: 31 months | To reside outside Quebec: 24 months To reside in Quebec: 31 months |
| Spouse or common-law partner living outside Canada | To reside outside Quebec: 16 months To reside in Quebec: 32 months | To reside outside Quebec: 15 months To reside in Quebec: 32 months |
| Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) | To reside outside Quebec: 33 months To reside in Quebec: 66 months | To reside outside Quebec: 34 months To reside in Quebec: 67 months |
Service standard: The service standard for sponsorship of a spouse/common-law partner outside Quebec is 12 months. IRCC does not publish service standards for other family sponsorship application types.
Applications in inventory awaiting assessment:
- Partner living in Canada, outside Quebec: 55,200 (+1,300)
- Partner living in Canada, in Quebec: 13,100 (+400)
- Partner living outside Canada, outside Quebec: 51,300 (+2,100)
- Partner living outside Canada, in Quebec: 18,600 (-100)
- Parent and Grandparents, outside Quebec: 43,500 (-1,400)
- Parents and Grandparents, in Quebec: 11,000 (-200)
Citizenship
Though wait times for citizenship grants were previously trending downward, they have once again increased by one month—while renunciation applications have dropped by three.
| Application type | Current (May 12) | Previous (April 7) |
|---|---|---|
| Citizenship grant | 13 months | 12 months |
| Renunciation of citizenship | 7 months | 10 months |
| Search of citizenship records | 17 months | 17 months |
There are currently 321,100 citizenship grant applications in the inventory awaiting assessment (+7,900 since April 7), for which the service standard is 12 months.
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Understanding processing times and service standards
Processing times and service standards are commonly conflated, despite referring to fundamentally different measures.
IRCC processing times are intended to estimate the length of time an applicant can expect to wait for a decision if the application is submitted on a particular date. For applications filed online, the processing clock begins at submission. For paper-based applications, it begins once the application is received at the mail intake facility.
Processing times are presented in two forms:
- Historical processing times are retrospective measurements based on the time required to finalize 80% of applications within a given category.
- Forward-looking processing times are predictive estimates informed by IRCC’s current inventory levels and projected processing output.
Service standards, by contrast, are administrative targets established internally by IRCC. They reflect the department’s objective of processing 80% of applications within a prescribed timeframe, while acknowledging that more complex matters may require additional processing time.
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