Permanent residence and citizenship applicants can now look up personalized processing times
Applicants for Canadian permanent residence (PR) and citizenship can now get more transparency on the expected timelines for their applications.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated its online application processing tool, enabling applicants to look up
- When they can expect their application to be processed, adjusted based on when they submitted their application; and
- Their application’s place in the queue.
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Prior to this update, PR and citizenship applicants could only see an average processing time depending on the application type (and program, if applicable) selected, and this time did not take into account the date on which they had submitted their application.
The interface for temporary residence applications remains unchanged.
How has the IRCC processing tool changed?
The IRCC processing tool has been updated to feature two questions under certain application types, allowing you to gain insight into where your application stands in the inventory.
Question 1: Have you already applied?
Here, you can select either “Yes” or “No.”
Question 2: When did you apply?
Here, you can input the year and date.
Scenario one: You have already submitted an application
If you select “Yes,” for question 1 and then input the date you applied for question 2, the web page will show you
- The estimated time remaining until a decision is made on your application (depending on when you applied);
- How many people ahead of you in the processing queue for the selected application type; and
- The total number of people who are currently waiting on a decision.
Further, the tool now shows—for comparison purposes—the processing time for those “applying now.”
Fictional example: In May of 2025, Sally submitted an economic immigration application under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). It is now October 16, and she wants to see how much longer she must wait for a decision to be made on her application.
This is what she would input when checking the processing times for this application type:
After pressing “Get processing time,” Sally would be informed of the following:
Estimated time left: 26 months.
People ahead of her: About 9,500.
Total number of people waiting for a decision: About 13,100.
Processing time for people applying now: About 37 months.
Scenario two: You have not yet submitted an application
If you have yet to apply, meaning you answered “No” to question 1, you will be shown
- The processing time if you were to submit an application today; and
- The total number of people that are currently waiting on a decision.
Fictional example, continuation: Sally’s friend Rachel also wants to immigrate to Canada through the AIP and has yet to submit an application, but is curious about the processing time.
She would answer “No” when answering “Have you already applied?”
Once she clicks “Get processing time,” Rachel would be informed of the following:
Estimated processing time: About 37 months.
Total number of people waiting for a decision: About 13,100.
Note: When trying to view processing times for certain application types, you may be required to answer additional questions, which are primarily location-based (applying from or intention to settle).
Which application types have been affected by this change?
As of now, applicants can only see tailored processing estimates and information about the number of people ahead of them or total number of people waiting on a decision for the following application types.
Economic immigration
Family class sponsorship
At this time, applicants cannot see personalized application processing time information for the sponsorship of dependent children or the sponsorship of an adopted child or other relative.
Citizenship
Other application types
- Humanitarian and compassionate cases.
- Refugees – Protected persons and convention refugees (in Canada).
All other application types not listed above, such as applications to replace or amend a document, have not been affected by the new IRCC processing times tool update.
Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with the Cohen Immigration
Law Firm
