These temporary residence applicants are seeing shorter wait times
On June 17, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated its processing time estimates for various temporary residence categories, showing shorter wait times for some applicants.
In-Canada work permit timelines continue to improve, with wait times falling by more than two weeks. India- and Nigeria-based work permit submissions also experienced one-week reductions.
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Visitor visa applicants from select countries, such as India and the Philippines, saw modest improvements in wait time.
By contrast, super visa wait times rose across the board, with applications from Pakistan and the U.S. recording the biggest increases—11 days and one week, respectively.
This article examines how various temporary residence processing times have changed over the span of one week (June 10–June 17).
Work permits
Applicants in Canada, Pakistan, and Nigeria saw work permit wait times decrease, led by a 15-day drop for applications submitted from within Canada.
| Applying from: | Current (June 17) | Previous (June 10) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 171 days | 186 days |
| India | 9 weeks | 9 weeks |
| Pakistan | 5 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Nigeria | 16 weeks | 17 weeks |
| United States | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Philippines | 8 weeks | 8 weeks |
Service standards:
- In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days
- Outside Canada submissions: 60 days
Study permits
Study permit wait times remained unchanged across all featured countries, ranging from four to six weeks.
| Applying from: | Current (June 17) | Previous (June 10) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| India | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Pakistan | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Nigeria | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| United States | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Philippines | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
Service standards:
- In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days
- Outside Canada submissions: 60 days
Visitor visas
Processing times for visitor visa applications decreased by one to three days for all featured countries except Canada and Nigeria, both of which saw modest increases in wait times.
| Applying from: | Current (June 17) | Previous (June 10) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 44 days | 40 days |
| India | 24 days | 26 days |
| Pakistan | 43 days | 46 days |
| Nigeria | 53 days | 51 days |
| United States | 31 days | 32 days |
| Philippines | 17 days | 19 days |
Service standards:
- In-Canada submissions: N/A
- Outside Canada submissions: 14 days
Super visas
Super visa processing times have increased across the board, most notably for Pakistan (11 days), the Philippines (seven days), and the U.S. (five days).
| Applying from: | Current (June 17) | Previous (June 10) |
|---|---|---|
| India | 110 days | 109 days |
| Pakistan | 84 days | 73 days |
| Nigeria | 35 days | 34 days |
| United States | 101 days | 96 days |
| Philippines | 41 days | 34 days |
*Super visa applications can only be submitted from outside Canada.
Service standard: 112 days.
The difference between processing times and service standards
IRCC’s processing times give applicants a broad estimate of how long it may take to process immigration, temporary residence, and citizenship applications. These estimates are intended as guidance only and are not representative of guaranteed timelines.
IRCC’s processing estimates fall into two categories:
- Historical processing estimates: based on how long it has typically taken IRCC to finalize 80% of applications in the past.
- Forward-looking processing estimates: based on IRCC's current application inventory and processing capacity.
Service standards are different from processing estimates. They represent IRCC’s internal benchmarks for finalizing certain application types under normal operating conditions. IRCC aims to finalize about 80% of applications within the stated service standard.
Actual processing may be faster or slower than the service standard. Some applications may be completed ahead of the benchmark, while others may take longer because of backlogs, operational challenges, or factors specific to the file.
Processing times are updated weekly for temporary residence applications and monthly for permanent residence and citizenship applications. Service standards are reviewed less often. For instance, the service standards for temporary residence applications were last updated in 2018–2019.
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