Canada updates timelines for temporary residence applicants
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released updated data showing the estimated processing times for various temporary residence applications as of September 22.
The most notable shifts in IRCC’s latest update include:
- Work permits: one-week increase for the U.S., one-week decline for the Philippines.
- Super visas: 50-day decline for the U.S.
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No movement was recorded for study permit wait times for the first time since IRCC’s July 17 processing times update.
Visitor visa processing times shifted modestly, with the largest change amounting to six days.
This article compares IRCC’s September 22 temporary residence processing time estimates with those published one week earlier, on September 16, to highlight the latest changes.
IRCC’s next update is expected on or around September 30, 2026.
Work permits
Work permit wait times rose for applicants in Canada and the U.S.—marking Canada’s first increase since at least early June—while falling by one week for those in the Philippines.
| Applying from: | Current (September 22) | Previous (September 16) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 16 weeks* | 109 days |
| India | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
| Pakistan | 8 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Nigeria | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
| United States | 4 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Philippines | 6 weeks | 7 weeks |
*In its latest update, IRCC began reporting in-Canada work permit processing times in weeks rather than days.
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days.
- Outside Canada submissions: 60 days.
Study permits
Study permit processing times for all featured countries remained unchanged from IRCC’s previous update on September 16.
| Applying from: | Current (September 22) | Previous (September 16) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 8 weeks | 8 weeks |
| India | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Pakistan | 7 weeks | 7 weeks |
| Nigeria | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
| United States | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Philippines | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions): 120 days.
- Outside Canada submissions: 60 days.
Visitor visas
Visitor visa processing became slower across all featured countries except Canada and the Philippines, with increases ranging from one to six days.
| Applying from: | Current (September 22) | Previous (September 16) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 11 days | 11 days |
| India | 32 days | 29 days |
| Pakistan | 78 days | 75 days |
| Nigeria | 93 days | 87 days |
| United States | 17 days | 16 days |
| Philippines | 21 days | 21 days |
Service standard:
- In-Canada submissions: N/A.
- Outside Canada submissions: 14 days.
Super visas
Super visa wait times fell across all featured countries except India and the Philippines, with the U.S. seeing the most substantial decline at 50 days.
| *Applying from: | Current (September 22) | Previous (September 16) |
|---|---|---|
| India | 70 days | 70 days |
| Pakistan | 92 days | 95 days |
| Nigeria | 44 days | 46 days |
| United States | 66 days | 116 days |
| Philippines | 90 days | 90 days |
Service standard: 112 days.
*Super visa applications can only be submitted from outside Canada.
How IRCC’s processing times and service standards differ
Although both relate to application timelines, IRCC’s processing times and service standards measure different things.
Processing times are intended to give applicants an indication of how long a newly filed application may take to be finalized. They are estimates only and do not represent a guaranteed timeline, processing deadline, or maximum wait.
The department uses two different methods to produce these estimates:
- Historical processing times: based on the period required to finalize 80% of previously completed applications; and
- Forward-looking processing times: factor in the volume of applications currently in IRCC’s inventory and the resources available to process them.
Service standards, meanwhile, are performance objectives set by the department. They indicate how quickly IRCC aims to process a given application type under normal circumstances, typically for 80% of applications.
Actual processing times can be shorter or longer than either measure. Factors that may affect an application include its complexity, the size of IRCC’s inventory, available processing capacity, requests for additional information, and any further verification or assessments.
Temporary residence processing estimates are updated weekly, while estimates for permanent residence and citizenship are generally revised monthly. Service standards are updated on a less frequent basis—for example, temporary residence standards were last revised in 2018–2019.
From January through July 2026, IRCC processed 1,832,065 temporary residence applications. As of July 31, more than 394,000 remained awaiting finalization.
