IRCC’s application inventory exceeded 1.5 million in May 2026, department data shows

As of May 31, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had 1,517,770 applications awaiting processing in its inventory.

This figure includes permanent residence, temporary residence, and Canadian citizenship applications that have yet to be finalized by an immigration officer.

Assess your eligibility for Canadian permanent residence

The immigration department released this data on its revamped Inside IRCC’s application processing system webpage on July 21.

Unlike the previous iteration of this page, the new version no longer provides information on what proportion of its inventory is being processed within service standards, as a whole and across categories.

The latest update shows that between January 1–May 31, IRCC finalized a total of 1,648,965 applications.

This article will detail the number of applications across each application type that were awaiting finalization as of May 31.

IRCC notes that the values provided have been rounded to the nearest multiple of five.

Permanent residence applications

As of May 31, IRCC had 705,315 permanent residence (PR) applications in its inventory awaiting a final decision.

Previously, this category included Express Entry, enhanced Provincial Nominee Program, and family sponsorship applications.

IRCC now categorizes applications under this category as Economic, Family, or Protection. These are further broken down and include significantly more pathways to PR than before.

Between January 1–May 31, the immigration department has finalized a total of 198,700 PR applications.

Economic

IRCC reports a total of 238,335 applications in its inventory awaiting finalization—with 75% in processing, and 25% waiting for available permanent residence admissions spaces under the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan.

From January 1–May 31, 2026, the IRCC had finalized 111,000 economic immigration applications.

The Economic category includes pathways “such as” Express Entry, federal business programs (start-up visa program and self-employed persons program), and regional economic programs including the:

Provincial Nominee Program;
Atlantic Immigration Program;
Rural Community Immigration Pilot; and
Francophone Community Immigration Pilot.

The inclusion of PR applications that have been waitlisted for future processing is a new addition to IRCC's monthly application inventory update.

See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams

Family

As of May 31, there were a total of 159,765 family sponsorship applications in IRCC’s inventory awaiting finalization. Of these, 60% were in processing and 40% were waiting for space.

The department finalized 45,900 applications under this category from January 1–May 31, 2026.

According to IRCC, the Family category covers “family reunification and international adoption,” with family reunification including sponsorship of spouses, partners, and dependent children, and sponsorship under the Parents and Grandparents Program.

IRCC previously only referred to this category as “Family sponsorship,” without providing a breakdown.

Sponsor your family for Canadian immigration

Protection

The majority of PR applications awaiting finalization as of May 31 fell under the Protection category—at 307,215.

The department notes that 54% of these were in processing, while 46% were waiting for space.

From January 1–May 31, IRCC finalized 42,800 applications under the Protection category.

This category did not previously exist in IRCC's former iteration application inventory webpage.

According to IRCC, this new backlog category includes protected persons in Canada, government-assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees, and humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Temporary residence applications

As of May 31, there were a total of 404,070 temporary residence applications in its inventory awaiting finalization.

This category continues to be limited to initial study permits, work permits, and visitor visas.

From January 1–May 31, the immigration department reports having finalized 1,288,905 work permit, study permit, and visitor visa applications.

Work permits: By May’s end, there were a total of 35,040 work permit applications in IRCC’s inventory waiting for a final decision. Since January 1, the department reports having finalized 140,775 work permit applications.

Study Permits: The department noted 31,665 study permit applications awaiting finalization by May 31, while 74,370 had already been finalized since the beginning of the year.

Visitor visas: IRCC data shows that as of May 31, the immigration department had 337,365 visitor visa applications requiring finalization. From January 1 through May 31, the department had finalized 1,073,755 visitor visa applications.

Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation