Processing times ease for temporary residence applicants
On June 3, Canada’s immigration department updated its processing time estimates for various temporary residence applications, with changes evident across several categories.
The latest figures released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show that wait times have remained broadly stable, with several improvements and only a few increases.
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The most notable changes since May 26 are as follows:
- Work permits: down by one week for India, U.S. submissions;
- Study permits: up by one week for India-based applications; and
- Super visas: 10-day improvement for applicants from the U.S.
This article will examine how temporary residence processing times have changed from May 26 (the date of the prior update) to June 3.
Work permits
Work permit wait times have either decreased or remained the same, with India and the U.S. both seeing a decline of one week.
| Applying from: | Current (June 3) | Previous (May 26) |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Canada | 195 days | 201 days |
| India | 9 weeks | 10 weeks |
| Pakistan | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Nigeria | 16 weeks | 16 weeks |
| United States | 4 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
Processing times for study permits have, for the most part, remained the same for all countries features—except for India, which saw a one-week increase.
| Applying from: | Current (June 3) | Previous (May 26) |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Canada | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| India | 5 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Pakistan | 7 weeks | 7 weeks |
| Nigeria | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| United States | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Philippines | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days
- Outside Canada submissions: 60 days
Visitor visas
Visitor visa submissions from within Canada saw a modest increase in processing time, while Pakistan-based applications continue to experience a light decline in wait time.
| Applying from: | Current (June 3) | Previous (May 26) |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Canada | 28 days | 25 days |
| India | 28 days | 28 days |
| Pakistan | 47 days | 49 days |
| Nigeria | 48 days | 48 days |
| United States | 26 days | 26 days |
| Philippines | 20 days | 21 days |
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions: N/A
- Outside Canada submissions: 14 days
Super visas (for parents or grandparents)
Nearly all countries featured (except the Philippines) saw an improvement in super visa processing times—with U.S. submissions declining most notably, by 10 days.
| *Applying from: | Current (June 3) | Previous (May 26) |
|---|---|---|
| India | 112 days | 116 days |
| Pakistan | 70 days | 74 days |
| Nigeria | 35 days | 36 days |
| United States | 96 days | 106 days |
| Philippines | 33 days | 33 days |
*Super visa applications cannot be submitted from within Canada.
Service standard: 112 days
Understanding processing times and service standards
IRCC’s processing times give applicants a general indication of how long it may take for immigration, temporary residence, and citizenship applications to be processed.
Processing times are estimates only, and do not guarantee the exact time an application will be finalized. The actual processing time may vary depending on the complexity of the application, whether the submission is complete, and whether IRCC needs to request additional documents, information, or clarification from the applicant.
IRCC provides two types of processing estimates:
- Historical processing estimates: These look at past results and show how long it has generally taken IRCC to complete around 80% of applications in a particular category.
- Forward-looking processing estimates: These look at current application inventories and processing capacity to estimate how long applications submitted now may take to finalize.
Service standards are separate from processing times. They are internal benchmarks that indicate how quickly IRCC aims to process certain types of applications in normal operating conditions. Generally, IRCC aims to finalize around 80% of applications within the applicable service standard.
In practice, some applications may be completed sooner than the service standard, while others may take longer. Delays can occur because of application backlogs, operational challenges, or factors specific to an individual file.
Processing times are updated on a regular basis, either weekly or monthly depending on the application type. Service standards are reviewed much less frequently—for example, IRCC’s service standards for temporary residence applications were last updated in 2018–2019.
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