These temporary residence applicants are seeing shorter wait times

On June 17, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated its processing time estimates for various temporary residence categories, showing shorter wait times for some applicants.

In-Canada work permit timelines continue to improve, with wait times falling by more than two weeks. India- and Nigeria-based work permit submissions also experienced one-week reductions.

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Visitor visa applicants from select countries, such as India and the Philippines, saw modest improvements in wait time.

By contrast, super visa wait times rose across the board, with applications from Pakistan and the U.S. recording the biggest increases—11 days and one week, respectively.

This article examines how various temporary residence processing times have changed over the span of one week (June 10–June 17).

Work permits

Applicants in Canada, Pakistan, and Nigeria saw work permit wait times decrease, led by a 15-day drop for applications submitted from within Canada.

Applying from:Current (June 17)Previous (June 10) Canada171 days186 days India9 weeks9 weeks Pakistan5 weeks6 weeks Nigeria16 weeks17 weeks United States4 weeks4 weeks Philippines8 weeks8 weeks

Service standards:

• In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days
• Outside Canada submissions: 60 days

Study permits

Study permit wait times remained unchanged across all featured countries, ranging from four to six weeks.

Applying from:Current (June 17)Previous (June 10) Canada6 weeks6 weeks India5 weeks5 weeks Pakistan6 weeks6 weeks Nigeria6 weeks6 weeks United States5 weeks5 weeks Philippines4 weeks4 weeks

Service standards:

• In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days
• Outside Canada submissions: 60 days

Visitor visas

Processing times for visitor visa applications decreased by one to three days for all featured countries except Canada and Nigeria, both of which saw modest increases in wait times.

Applying from:Current (June 17)Previous (June 10) Canada44 days40 days India24 days26 days Pakistan43 days46 days Nigeria53 days51 days United States31 days32 days Philippines17 days19 days

Service standards:

• In-Canada submissions: N/A
• Outside Canada submissions: 14 days

Super visas

Super visa processing times have increased across the board, most notably for Pakistan (11 days), the Philippines (seven days), and the U.S. (five days).

Applying from:Current (June 17)Previous (June 10) India110 days109 days Pakistan84 days73 days Nigeria35 days34 days United States 101 days96 days Philippines 41 days34 days

*Super visa applications can only be submitted from outside Canada.

Service standard: 112 days.

The difference between processing times and service standards

IRCC’s processing times give applicants a broad estimate of how long it may take to process immigration, temporary residence, and citizenship applications. These estimates are intended as guidance only and are not representative of guaranteed timelines.

IRCC’s processing estimates fall into two categories:

• Historical processing estimates: based on how long it has typically taken IRCC to finalize 80% of applications in th past.
• Forward-looking processing estimates: based on IRCC's current application inventory and processing capacity.

Service standards are different from processing estimates. They represent IRCC’s internal benchmarks for finalizing certain application types under normal operating conditions. IRCC aims to finalize about 80% of applications within the stated service standard.

Actual processing may be faster or slower than the service standard. Some applications may be completed ahead of the benchmark, while others may take longer because of backlogs, operational challenges, or factors specific to the file.

Processing times are updated weekly for temporary residence applications and monthly for permanent residence and citizenship applications. Service standards are reviewed less often. For instance, the service standards for temporary residence applications were last updated in 2018–2019.

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