OTTAWA: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced shorter processing times for several permanent residence and citizenship applications, providing welcome news for thousands of prospective immigrants and families awaiting decisions.
According to the latest processing time update released on July 7, applicants under several economic immigration programs, family sponsorship streams, and citizenship grants can expect faster processing, while only a few categories have experienced slightly longer wait times.
Among the biggest improvements, processing times for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) have been reduced from seven months to six months, bringing the program back within IRCC’s service standard. Processing times for the base Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) have also improved, falling from 13 months to 12 months.
Applicants under the Quebec Business Class saw a modest reduction in wait times from 76 months to 75 months, while processing for the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program remained unchanged at 11 months.
The only economic immigration category to experience a longer wait was the Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program (Enhanced PNP), where processing increased by one month, from six months to seven months.
The Atlantic Immigration Program continues to face significant delays, with processing times remaining unchanged at 26 months, considerably above its 11-month service standard.
Applicants under the Start-up Visa Program and the Federal Self-Employed Persons Program continue to face exceptionally long processing times of more than 10 years, reflecting substantial application backlogs.
In family sponsorship programs, processing times for the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) improved noticeably. Applications outside Quebec declined from 32 months to 30 months, while those destined for Quebec dropped from 67 months to 65 months.
However, spouses and common-law partners sponsored outside Quebec will experience slightly longer waits. Processing times increased from 16 months to 17 months for applicants living abroad and from 26 months to 27 months for spouses already living in Canada. Sponsorship timelines within Quebec remained unchanged.
Citizenship applicants also received encouraging news. Processing times for citizenship grant applications have decreased from 13 months to 12 months, the fastest pace recorded since April 2026. Processing times for citizenship renunciation and citizenship record searches remain unchanged at seven months and 17 months, respectively.
IRCC continues to distinguish between processing times, which estimate how long current applications may take based on existing inventories and processing capacity, and service standards, which represent the department’s target for finalizing approximately 80 per cent of applications under normal circumstances.
While several programs are now moving closer to their service standards, others continue to face substantial backlogs due to high application volumes and growing demand for Canadian immigration.
The latest update suggests that IRCC is gradually reducing inventories in several key immigration streams, although significant delays remain in some permanent residence programs, particularly those involving business and entrepreneurial immigration.