Processing Time Goals
IRCC measures processing times based on past processing times. Time begins the day IRCC receives a complete application (either by mail or online, or in-person). Time ends once an immigration officer makes a decision.
New processing times reflect the volumes of applications currently being processed. The goal of the new tool is to help future newcomers make plans based on a more accurate timeline.
Service Standards
Service standards are IRCC’s commitments to process applications in a certain amount of time under normal circumstances. These commitments, however, are not updated regularly, and not all programs have service standards. IRCC’s processing time tool will be updated weekly, calculating how long it took to process applications in the past six months, considering current volumes.
Current Processing Times
IRCC’s current processing time estimates as of March 31 are the following:
Economic class immigration
- Express Entry Canadian Experience Class (CEC): 7 months
- Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP): 27 months
- Express Entry Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP): 27 months
- Express Entry Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): 22 months
- Non-Express Entry aligned PNP: 27 months
- Quebec skilled worker streams: 31 months
- Quebec business class: 65 months
- Federal Self-employed persons: 42 months
- Atlantic Immigration Program: 14 months
- Start-up Visa: 31 months
- Caregivers Pilots: No processing times available
Family class immigration
- Spouse or common-law partner living in Canada: 16 months
- Spouse or common-law partner living outside Canada: 19 months
- Parents or grandparents: 32 months
- Dependent child: Varies by country
- Adopted child or relative: Varies by country
- Refugees and humanitarian & compassionate (H&C) applicants
- Government-assisted refugees: Varies by country
- Privately-sponsored refugees: Varies by country
- Protected persons and convention refugees in Canada: 22 months
- H&C cases: 16 months
Temporary residence application
- Visitor visa outside Canada: Varies by country
- Visitor visa inside Canada: 16 days online and 48 days by paper
- Visitor extension: 162 days online and 201 days by paper
- Parents or grandparents Super Visa: Varies by country
- Study permit outside Canada: 13 weeks
- Study permit inside Canada: 9 weeks
- Study permit extension: 75 days online and 156 days by paper
- Work permit outside Canada: Varies by country
- Work permit inside Canada (initial application or extension): 133 days online and 239 days by paper
- International Experience Canada: Varies by country
- Electronic Travel Authorization: 5 minutes
Citizenship
- Citizenship grant: 27 months
- Citizenship certificate (Proof of citizenship): 17 months
- Resumption of citizenship: 23 months
- Renunciation of citizenship: 15 months
- Search of citizenship record: 15 months
- Adoption: 11 months for part 1; part 2 varies on complexity
- Permanent resident (PR) cards
- Renewing or replacing a PR card: 108 days
- Waiting for first card: 103 days
- Replacing or amending documents, verifying status
- Verification of status: 26 weeks
- Replacement of valid temporary resident documents: 22 weeks
- Amendments of immigration documents: 47 weeks
- Amendments of valid temporary resident documents: 27 weeks