Key Takeaways
- Citizenship certificate processing time in Canada has increased to 19 months.
- Permanent residency and family sponsorship streams have seen improvements.
- Pakistan-specific visitor visa processing times remain high at 39 days.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated its latest processing time data for various visa categories. The July 15 update reveals a mixed picture, with significant delays in citizenship certificate processing while other streams have shown improvements.
The most notable delay is in the citizenship category, where the processing time has increased to 19 months. This marks a sharp rise from three months just three months ago, indicating a substantial backlog of applications. IRCC reported that 17,500 more applicants entered the queue since the last reporting cycle, pushing the category into its third consecutive month of steep increases.
In contrast, other categories have seen improvements. Citizenship grants have improved to 12 months as the queue has narrowed slightly. The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) processing time has dropped to six months, and non-Express Entry provincial nominee processing has fallen to 12 months. Inland work permits continue their steady decline, now taking only 124 days.
Family sponsorship outside Quebec has shown the strongest improvement in the family class category, with a processing time of 30 months. This is a significant reduction from previous figures and reflects positive changes in this area of immigration.
Pakistan-specific applicants have also seen mixed results. Visitor visa processing from outside Canada now takes 39 days, while study permits remain at six weeks. Super visa processing for Pakistan remains the slowest among listed countries, with a processing time of 187 days. This highlights ongoing challenges for family reunification applications.
The update comes as IRCC continues to manage through a series of Express Entry draws and other immigration programs. Officials have warned that incomplete documentation remains one of the most common reasons for refusal across categories. Despite these improvements, the July figures indicate that Canada’s immigration system is easing in some economic and family streams but still faces significant challenges in others.
IRCC calculates these timelines using real applicant outcomes and reports the period in which 80% of cases receive a decision. Monthly categories such as citizenship, permanent residency, and family sponsorship were last refreshed on July 7, while weekly temporary residence categories were updated on July 15.
