Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updates its processing times on a regular basis to provide applicants with information about how long it typically takes to process applications under typical conditions.

The IRCC provides weekly updates for certain processing timeframes and monthly updates for others.

Numerous factors, including changes in policy and procedure, personnel, and the number and backlog of applications, might affect how long it takes to process a particular application type.

As soon as the IRCC receives your application, they start processing it. This starts as soon as your application is formally submitted if you apply online and as soon as it reaches their mailroom if you applied on paper.

Over the course of about a year, this article will discuss the changes in processing times for different application types.

Applications for permanent residency

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Under the Express Entry System, foreigners who meet the requirements can apply for permanent residency through one of the three federal immigration programs, which include:

The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FTSP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Each Express Entry programme has a different processing time.

The following table shows the changes in processing times for each program over a period of about a year.

When compared to other applications for temporary and permanent residence, Express Entry processing times have generally changed the least throughout this time.

Type of application Processing time as of right now As of June 25, the processing time for CEC is five months.
FSWP for five months Five months
FSTP N/A* for six months

*As of this writing, the IRCC has not released any statistics about the FSTP’s current processing timelines.

180 days is the IRCC service standard.

Program for Provincial Nominees


Through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), you can get permanent residency in Canada PR by applying for either a basic stream (non-Express Entry-aligned) or an upgraded stream (aligned with Express Entry).

Whether you apply using Express Entry or not affects the processing time.

The table that follows details the IRCC’s processing timeframes as of June 25, 2024, and is current as of this writing.

Type of application Processing time as of right now The processing time as of June 25, 2024, is being reported.
Using Express Entry for five or six months
Not using Express Entry for 11 months out of 20

Over the last year, the processing time for PNP applications submitted through the Express Entry system has remained relatively constant, but the processing time for applications submitted through other channels has almost doubled.

IRCC service requirements:

Online base PNP applications take 11 months to process, whereas electronically submitted Express Entry-aligned PNP applications take 180 days.
Regarding PNP applications, the IRCC exclusively offers the service criteria listed above.

Programme for Atlantic Immigration
If they fulfil all other requirements and receive a work offer from a recognised company, foreign nationals can apply for permanent residency under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) and settle in one of the four provinces that make up Atlantic Canada.

You can see the changes in AIP processing times over almost a year under the heading below.

Processing time as of right now As of June 25, 2024, the processing times were 11 months and 7 months.