Canada updates immigration processing times October 2025

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has recently released its new processing times for permanent residence, citizenship, and temporary residence applications. This timeframe begins when the IRCC receives the application and ends when a decision is made, whether it's approval, refusal, or a request for additional information.

Therefore, the Canada PR processing time and other types of visas are entirely dependent on your application type, the country or region where you apply, the volume of applications received, the completeness & accuracy of the documents, and other factors.

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The Government of Canada updates estimated processing times in October. However, these are not guarantees, and individual cases may take a shorter or longer time, depending on the circumstances.

Permanent Residence Application’s Processing Time

The permanent residence applications are primarily of five types, and each type has a distinct processing time.

In the table below, we will explain to you the updated processing time, along with the different pathways for permanent residence, as follows:

1. Express Entry

In the Express Entry, all the applications take almost 6 months:

2. Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

The processing time of the provincial nominee program (PNP) depends on how you apply, such as via Express Entry or via a stream. Usually, stream-based methods take more time, but this depends on the factors mentioned above.

3. Quebec immigration

PSTQ usually take 6 months, but in the latest processing time update, the IRCC didn’t mention anything.

4. Atlantic immigration Program (AIP)

The Atlantic Immigration program generally takes 11 months to process the application.

5. Family sponsorship

Spousal sponsorship in Canada (Quebec) now takes 16 months longer. Outside-Canada cases take 12 months. IRCC does not have set processing times for other application categories at this time.

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Temporary Residence Application’s Processing Time

Temporary residence applications fall into four main categories, each with its own distinct processing time.

The table below provides the most recent updates on processing times, along with details on the various temporary residence pathways.

1. Visitor Visa

The service standard for visitor visa applications submitted from outside Canada is 14 days. Currently, IRCC does not provide a published service standard for visitor visa applications submitted within Canada.

2. Work permits

IRCC’s service standard for work permit applications submitted within Canada, including both initial applications and extensions, is 120 days.

3. Study permits

A study permit typically takes 120 days to process in Canada. But you can check the recent updates in the table below:

4. Super Visas

For super visas, the immigration department has a service standard of 112 days. However, this timeframe also changes as per the latest update.

Citizenship Application’s Processing Time

Citizenship applications typically take 12 months, although this timeframe may vary depending on the factors mentioned above.

In contrast, Canada immigration service standards serve as internal benchmarks for IRCC. These standards indicate the time frame within which the department aims to process 80% of applications for a specific program.

However, the remaining 20% of applications may take longer due to factors such as additional complexity or the need for further review. It’s important to note that not all immigration programs have publicly available service standards.

Source: canada.ca

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