Work permit wait times are on the rise, latest IRCC data shows
On May 26, Canada’s immigration department updated its processing time estimates for various temporary residence applications—including work and study permits, visitor visas, and super visas.
Improvements to wait times have been modest, with many countries seeing stagnant or notably increased timelines.
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Here are the most significant changes seen since May 20 (the date of the prior update):
- Work permits: Four-week increase for Nigeria, one-week jump for India;
- Study permits: One-week decline for Philippines-based submissions;
- Visitor visas: Nine-day jump for in-Canada applications; and
- Super visas: Nine-day drop for U.S. based submissions.
In this article, we look at how temporary residence processing times have changed over the course of a week, from May 20 to May 26.
Work permits
A modest decrease in work permit wait time was seen for in-Canada applications, while India- and Nigeria-based applications saw a rise—with the latter jumping by four weeks. Wait times for other tracked countries remained the same.
| Applying from: | Current (May 26) | Previous (May 20) |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Canada | 201 days | 206 days |
| India | 10 weeks | 9 weeks |
| Pakistan | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Nigeria | 16 weeks | 12 weeks |
| United States | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Philippines | 8 weeks | 8 weeks |
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days
- Outside Canada submissions: 60 days
Study permits
Little movement can be seen for study permit processing times, except for submissions from the Philippines, which declined by one week.
| Applying from: | Current (May 26) | Previous (May 20) |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Canada | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| India | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Pakistan | 7 weeks | 7 weeks |
| Nigeria | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| United States | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Philippines | 4 weeks | 5 weeks |
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days
- Outside Canada submissions: 60 days
Visitor visas
Visitor visa submissions from Pakistan comprise the only decline in visitor visa processing times, while all other countries except India and Nigeria experienced light increases.
| Applying from: | Current (May 26) | Previous (May 20) |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Canada | 25 days | 16 days |
| India | 28 days | 28 days |
| Pakistan | 49 days | 50 days |
| Nigeria | 48 days | 48 days |
| United States | 26 days | 25 days |
| Philippines | 21 days | 20 days |
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions: N/A
- Outside Canada submissions: 14 days
Super visas
Super visa submissions from all featured countries experienced an improvement in processing time, except the Philippines; the U.S. saw the most dramatic drop.
| *Applying from: | Current (May 26) | Previous (May 20) |
|---|---|---|
| India | 116 days | 117 days |
| Pakistan | 74 days | 75 days |
| Nigeria | 36 days | 37 days |
| United States | 106 days | 115 days |
| Philippines | 33 days | 32 days |
*You cannot apply for a super visa from within Canada.
Service standard: 112 days
Processing times and service standards
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC’s) processing times give applicants a general indication of how long immigration, temporary residence, and citizenship applications may take to be processed. These timelines are not fixed; they can change frequently depending on factors such as application volumes, staffing capacity, seasonal patterns, and operational pressures.
Applicants should keep in mind that processing times are estimates, not guarantees. The actual time required to process an application can vary based on the complexity of the case, whether the application is complete, and whether IRCC needs to request additional documents or information.
IRCC uses two types of processing estimates:
- Historical processing estimates: based on past performance and show how long it has generally taken IRCC to complete about 80% of applications in a given category.
- Forward-looking processing estimates: use current application inventories and available processing capacity to project how long applications submitted now may take to finalize.
IRCC service standards, by contrast, are internal targets that outline how quickly the department aims to finalize certain types of applications under normal conditions. In most cases, IRCC’s goal is to process about 80% of applications within the stated service standard.
Actual processing may be faster than the service standard in some cases, while in others it may take longer due to backlogs, operational challenges, or the specific circumstances of an application.
While processing times are updated regularly—weekly or monthly, depending on the application type—service standards are reviewed far less often. For example, IRCC’s temporary residence service standards were last updated in 2018–2019.
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