Temporary residence wait times fall in latest IRCC processing update

On July 2, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published updated processing times for various temporary residence applications, with good news for work permit applicants.

Work permit processing times continued to ease for in-Canada applicants, falling by another 15 days to their lowest level this year; applicants from Nigeria also saw a one-week improvement.

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Wait times for super visa submissions from India also improved significantly, falling by just over two weeks.

By contrast, wait times climbed most notably for the following categories:

In this article, we compare how various temporary residence processing times have changed from June 24 to July 2.

Work permit wait times continue to improve for applicants in Canada and Nigeria, falling by 15 days and one week, respectively.

Study permit processing times increased by one week for applicants applying from within Canada and India. No declines were reported by IRCC.

Visitor visa processing times shortened for applications from Canada, India, and Pakistan, while applicants applying from Nigeria and the United States faced slightly longer waits.

Super visa processing times shifted most notably for India and the U.S., decreasing by just over two weeks for Indian applicants and increasing by almost three weeks for U.S. applicants.

*Super visa applications cannot be submitted from within Canada.

Processing times versus service standards

IRCC publishes processing times to help applicants understand how long it may take to process their application, whether they are applying for immigration, temporary residence, or citizenship.

These timelines are provided for guidance only and do not guarantee that an application will be finalized within the stated time frame.

The department’s processing estimates are divided into two categories:

Service standards serve a different purpose. They are internal benchmarks that set out how quickly IRCC aims to process certain application types under normal conditions. Typically, IRCC seeks to finalize about 80% of applications within the relevant service standard.

In practice, some applications may be processed more quickly, while others may exceed the service standard. Delays can result from backlogs, operational constraints, or factors unique to a particular application.

Temporary residence processing times are updated every week, while permanent residence and citizenship processing times are updated monthly. Service standards are reviewed less frequently—for example, service standards for temporary residence applications were last updated in 2018–2019.