Immigration department releases monthly update on application processing
On August 18, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published new data on application throughput for permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship files.
These latest figures, published on the government’s “Inside IRCC’s application processing system” webpage, provide a snapshot accurate as of June 30, 2026, and detail the numbers of applications that have been finalized since the previous update, as well as the numbers that remain in inventory.
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Overall, IRCC finalized 2,011,375 applications over the first six months of 2026, including 362,410 in June.
The department reports a total of 1,539,785 applications in inventory. Compared to the total number of applications in IRCC’s inventory as of May’s end, this represents an increase of 22,015.
Permanent residence applications
As of June 30, the immigration department had a total of 712,795 PR applications in its inventory awaiting finalization—7,480 more compared to the month prior.
Included in IRCC’s PR application count are the following three categories: economic, family, and protection.
Economic
IRCC had 249,555 economic applications awaiting processing as of June 30. That’s 11,220 more compared to its end-of-May count.
Of these, 77% were in processing, while 23% were waitlisted for future processing due to insufficient PR admissions spaces under the federal government’s latest immigration levels plan.
The Economic category includes pathways such as Express Entry, federal business programs (Start-Up Visa Program and Self-Employed Persons Program), and regional economic immigration programs such as the Provincial Nominee Program and Atlantic Immigration Program.
From January 1–June 30, 2026, IRCC finalized a total of 141,105 economic immigration applications. Of these, 30,105 were processed in June.
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Family
By June 30, the immigration department had 163,780 applications in its inventory awaiting finalization under the family category—an increase of 4,015 compared to the end of May.
Of these applications, 59% were in processing, while 41% were waiting for space.
According to IRCC, this category covers “reunification and international adoptions,” with reunification including sponsorship of spouses, partners, and dependents, and sponsorship applications made under the Parents and Grandparents Program.
IRCC finalized 54,520 applications under the family category between January 1–June 30, with 8,620 applications finalized in June.
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Protection
There were 299,460 applications awaiting finalization under the protection category as of June 30, 7,755 more than IRCC reported as of May’s end.
This category holds the greatest share of applications awaiting finalization.
IRCC’s update shows that 55% of these applications were in processing, and 45% were waiting for space.
This category includes protected persons in Canada, government-assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees, and humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Between January 1–June 30, the immigration department finalized a total of 55,295 applications under the protection category, with 12,495 of these finalized in June.
Temporary residence applications
As of June 30, IRCC had 401,280 temporary residence applications in its inventory awaiting finalization.
This category consists of initial study permits, work permits, and visitor visas.
Work permits: As of June 30, IRCC had 27,655 work permit applications pending finalization, a decrease of 7,385 from the previous month.
From January 1–June 30, the department finalized a total of 161,325 work permit applications, with 20,550 of these finalized in June.
Study permits: The number of applications awaiting a final decision climbed to 36,520 by the end of June, up 4,855 from the previous month.
IRCC recorded 99,075 study permit finalizations over the first six months of the year, with June accounting for 24,705.
Visitor visas: IRCC had 337,100 visitor visa applications pending a final decision at the end of June—265 fewer than at the end of May.
June accounted for 232,300 of the 1,306,055 visitor visa applications IRCC finalized in the first half of 2026.
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Citizenship applications
As of June 30, the immigration department reported having 425,710 citizenship applications in its inventory pending finalization.
This category consists of citizenship grants and proof of citizenship applications.
Citizenship grants: IRCC reported 326,365 citizenship grant applications awaiting a final decision at the end of June, marking a month-over-month decline of 82,020.
IRCC reported 162,020 new citizens from January 1–June 30, with June accounting for 30,600.
Proof of citizenship certificates: There were 99,520 proof of citizenship certificate applications awaiting finalization as of June 30. That's 17,500 more than the month prior.
This figure includes applications to get or replace a citizenship certificate.
Certificate issuances totalled 31,980 over the first six months of the year, with June accounting for 3,040.
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