Last Updated On 8 April 2026, 10:10 AM EDT (Toronto Time)
On April 7, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released its latest round of processing time data, and the April numbers tell a story of sharp contrasts.
Citizenship grants are now processing faster than at any point since late 2025, with the queue finally shrinking for the first time this year.
But Quebec parents’ and grandparents’ sponsorship exploded by 21 months in a single update, and visitor record extensions have blown past the 299 day mark.
This April 2026 IRCC processing times update covers every major stream, from work permits and family sponsorship to economic immigration and temporary visas.
IRCC bases these estimates on real applicant outcomes rather than internal targets.
The department publishes the window within which 80% of applicants received a decision.
Most permanent residency and citizenship categories receive monthly refreshes, while temporary resident streams like visitor visas, work permits, study permits, and PR cards are updated weekly.
Individual outcomes can still vary widely based on security screening requirements, country of origin, document completeness, background verification timelines, and IRCC’s internal capacity.
Below is a full, category by category breakdown of every processing time in the April 2026 release.
Table of Contents
Biggest Moves In Last 2 Months
Before getting into the full data, here are the most significant shifts that have occurred since the February 2026 update, providing essential context for anyone tracking trends across multiple months.
| Category | February 2026 | April 2026 | Net Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship grant | 14 months | 12 months | -2 months |
| Citizenship grant queue | ~313,000 | ~313,200 | Flat (now shrinking) |
| Parents/grandparents (Quebec) | 47 months | 67 months | +20 months |
| Spouse inside Canada (non-Quebec) | 21 months | 24 months | +3 months |
| Spouse inside Canada (Quebec) | 35 months | 31 months | -4 months |
| Atlantic Immigration Program | 33 months | 40 months | +7 months |
| Federal Skilled Worker (FSWP) | 7 months | 6 months | -1 month |
| CEC queue size | ~34,200 | ~54,600 | +20,400 applicants |
| Visitor visa (India) | 78 days | 28 days | -50 days |
| Visitor record extension | 209 days | 306 days | +97 days |
| New PR card | 61 days | 51 days | -10 days |
| Work permits inside Canada | 246 days | 253 days | +7 days |
Several patterns emerge from this two-month comparison.
Citizenship processing is firmly improving, and for the first time in 2026 the queue is actually contracting rather than growing.
The Quebec parents’ and grandparents’ sponsorship spike of 20 months is the single largest increase in any permanent residency category this year and will require close monitoring in the months ahead.
Indian visitor visa processing has undergone a remarkable correction, falling from 78 days in February to just 28 days in April.
And visitor record extensions continue their alarming ascent, gaining 90 days in two months and now approaching the 300 day barrier.
The CEC queue has ballooned by over 20,000 applicants since February despite steady processing times, pointing to an imbalance between incoming applications and completed decisions that could eventually push timelines higher.
Citizenship Processing Times (Updated monthly)
The citizenship category is delivering the most sustained good news of any stream in the April 2026 update.
| Application Type | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship grant | ~313,200 (-7,100) | 12 months | -1 month |
| Citizenship certificate* | ~56,300 (+5,400) | 10 months | No change |
| Resumption of citizenship | Not available | Not enough data | No change |
| Renunciation of citizenship | Not available | 10 months | No change |
| Search of citizenship records | Not available | 17 months | No change |
At the time of publishing, IRCC is sending acknowledgment of receipt (AOR) notices for citizenship applications that were filed on or around October 22, 2025.
* Applicants residing outside Canada or the United States may face longer processing windows.
Permanent Resident Card Processing Times (Updated weekly)
| Application Type | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Previous Week | Change Since January 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New PR card | 51 days | -2 days | -11 days |
| PR card renewal | 27 days | No change | -4 days |
PR card turnaround continues to be one of the strongest performers in the entire IRCC system.
Since February, new PR card processing has shaved off 10 days, making this one of the few categories where improvement has been both consistent and substantial across multiple months.
These processing times are updated on a weekly basis and will be refreshed once IRCC publishes its next round of figures.
Family Sponsorship Processing Times (Updated monthly)
| Category | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spouse/common-law outside Canada (non-Quebec) | ~49,200 (+1,000) | 15 months | No change |
| Spouse/common law outside Canada (Quebec) | ~18,700 (-200) | 32 months | -3 months |
| Spouse/common-law inside Canada (non-Quebec) | ~53,900 (+1,500) | 24 months | +3 months |
| Spouse/common law inside Canada (Quebec) | ~12,700 (+400) | 31 months | -5 months |
| Parents/grandparents (non-Quebec) | ~44,900 (-1,700) | 34 months | No change |
| Parents/grandparents (Quebec) | ~11,200 (-500) | 67 months | +21 months |
Compared to February’s 35 months, this stream has shed three months of processing time.
This is a notable jump from the 21 months reported in both February and March.
Inside Canada, Quebec spousal sponsorship delivered the best news in the family class, plunging five months to 31 months from 36 months in March.
Compared to February’s 35 months, that represents a four-month improvement.
The Quebec parents and grandparents stream, however, produced the single most alarming figure in the entire April dataset.
Processing rocketed from 46 months in March to 67 months in April—a 21 month increase in one reporting cycle.
To put that in perspective, this stream sat at 47 months as recently as February.
Humanitarian and Compassionate And Protected Persons (Updated monthly)
| Category | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&C outside Quebec | ~51,800 (+1,300) | More than 10 years | No change |
| H&C in Quebec | ~18,700 (+200) | More than 10 years | No change |
| Protected persons inside Canada (outside Quebec) | ~103,700 (+2,900) | About 16 months | No change |
| Protected persons inside Canada (in Quebec) | ~38,000 (+900) | About 114 months | +2 months |
| Dependents of protected persons (outside Quebec) | ~58,100 (+1,100) | About 32 months | -7 months |
| Dependents of protected persons (in Quebec) | ~21,200 (+100) | More than 10 years | No change |
This group of categories continues to represent the most severe bottleneck in the Canadian immigration pipeline.
The most positive movement came from dependents of protected persons outside Quebec, where processing fell by seven months to about 32 months.
Since February, when this stream sat at 37 months, the reduction totals five months. The queue grew by 1,100 to about 58,100 despite the faster processing.
Canadian Passport Processing Times
| Application Type | Current Processing Time | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| New passport (in person, Canada) | 10 business days | No change |
| New passport (mail, Canada) | 20 business days | No change |
| Urgent pickup | Next business day | No change |
| Express pickup | 2–9 business days | No change |
| Passport mailed from outside Canada | 20 business days | No change |
Passport services continue their streak of absolute reliability.
Key takeaway: Passport services remain rock solid and are easily the most dependable segment of IRCC’s operation.
Permanent Residency Processing Times (Updated monthly)
| Category | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | ~54,600 (+10,300) | 7 months | No change |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | ~44,100 (-1,200) | 6 months | -1 month |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) | Not available | Not enough data | No change |
| PNP (Express Entry) | ~13,700 (+700) | 7 months | No change |
| Non-Express Entry PNP | ~108,100 (+100) | 13 months | No change |
| Quebec Skilled Worker (QSW) | ~25,700 (-1,200) | 11 months | No change |
| Quebec Business Class | ~3,800 (-100) | 78 months | -2 months |
| Federal Self-Employed | ~8,100 (No change) | More than 10 years | No change |
| Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) | ~13,200 (-300) | 40 months | +7 months |
| Startup Up Visa | ~46,200 (+300) | More than 10 years | No change |
Canada’s economic immigration pathways show a largely frozen picture in April 2026, but the underlying queue dynamics tell a more complex story.
Since February, the CEC queue has added over 20,400 people — an extraordinary surge that has not yet translated into longer processing times but almost certainly will if the trend continues.
The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) is the bright spot in this section, dropping to six months from seven—its first improvement since early 2025.
The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) took a sharp turn in the wrong direction, jumping seven months to 40 months from 33 months in March.
The AIP had been stable at 33 months since at least February, making this sudden spike a significant development for applicants in that stream.
Temporary Visa Processing Times (Updated weekly)
The temporary visa landscape for April 2026 spans visitor visas, super visas, study permits, and work permits across the five most commonly tracked countries of origin.
Because these figures refresh weekly rather than monthly, they offer a more granular view of how rapidly conditions are shifting.
These processing times are updated on a weekly basis and will be refreshed once IRCC publishes its next round of figures.
Visitor Visas From Outside Canada
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 28 days | -9 days | -54 days |
| United States | 16 days | +1 day | -9 days |
| Nigeria | 51 days | -1 day | +11 days |
| Pakistan | 42 days | -6 days | -14 days |
| Philippines | 14 days | No change | -2 days |
- Visitor visa inside Canada: 11 days (-1 day since last week and -3 days since Dec 31, 2025)
- Visitor record extension: 306 days (+7 days since last week and +145 days Since January 28, 2026)
Anyone planning to extend their visitor status should file well in advance to preserve implied status while IRCC adjudicates the request.
Super Visa Processing Times
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 191 days | -11 days | -23 days |
| United States | 178 days | -7 days | -9 days |
| Nigeria | 43 days | No change | +5 days |
| Pakistan | 126 days | +4 days | +2 days |
| Philippines | 50 days | No change | -59 days |
Study Permit Processing Times
Most countries held steady on study permit timelines this week, but one glaring exception dominates this category.
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 3 weeks | -1 week | -1 week |
| United States | 4 weeks | -1 week | -3 weeks |
| Nigeria | 7 weeks | -1 week | No change |
| Pakistan | 11 weeks | No change | +6 weeks |
| Philippines | 5 weeks | No change | No change |
- Study permit inside Canada: 7 weeks (-1 week since last week, but no change Since January 28, 2026)
- Study permit extension: 95 days (No change since last week, but -9 days Since January 28, 2026)
Work Permit Processing Times
The work permit picture is largely calm, though a pair of sharp outliers demand attention.
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 7 weeks | No change | -1 week |
| United States | 8 weeks | No change | -2 weeks |
| Nigeria | 13 weeks | No change | +4 weeks |
| Pakistan | 26 weeks | -3 weeks | +6 weeks |
| Philippines | 7 weeks | No change | +1 week |
- Work permits inside Canada including extensions: 253 days (-2 days since last week, +12 days since January 28, 2026, and +43 days since Dec 31, 2025)
- Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program: 7 days (No change since last week and -3 days since Dec 31)
- International Experience Canada (IEC): 3 weeks (No change since last week, but -3 weeks since Dec 31, 2025)
- Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA): 5 minutes for most applicants; up to 72 hours for additional screening
The April 2026 IRCC processing times capture a system pulling in multiple directions at once.
Citizenship is firmly on the mend with faster processing and a shrinking queue for the first time this year.
Indian visitor visas have been halved since February. PR cards and the Federal Skilled Worker Program are both trending positively.
But Quebec parents’ and grandparents’ sponsorship has spiralled to 67 months, the Atlantic Immigration Program jumped seven months, the CEC queue continues to swell at an unsustainable pace, and visitor record extensions are closing in on 300 days.
Applicants should track these updates closely, submit complete documentation at the earliest opportunity, and consult qualified professionals when navigating complex or time-sensitive situations.
For the latest developments on Canadian immigration news, evolving policy landscapes, and IRCC processing times, save this page and return regularly as new weekly and monthly data drops throughout 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why did Quebec parents’ and grandparents’ sponsorship jump from 46 to 67 months in one update?
A 21 month increase in a single reporting cycle typically signals a change in how IRCC calculates or assigns processing estimates for that specific stream rather than a sudden slowdown in officer output. Quebec sponsorship applications go through a two-stage process involving both the provincial government and IRCC, and a policy or procedural adjustment at either level can cause the published estimate to recalibrate sharply. Applicants already in the queue should not assume their individual case has been pushed back by 21 months. The published figure reflects the 80th percentile of completed cases, which can shift significantly when a batch of older cases skews the data.
How accurate are IRCC processing time estimates for planning purposes?
IRCC processing times represent the window within which 80 percent of applicants in that category received a decision. That means roughly one in five applicants will wait longer than the stated estimate. Accuracy also varies by category. Stable streams like passport services and PR cards tend to be highly predictable, while categories experiencing rapid queue growth or policy changes can see estimates shift dramatically from one month to the next. Applicants should treat the published figures as directional guidance and build a buffer of several weeks or months into their personal planning timelines.
Can I withdraw my IRCC application and reapply under a faster stream?
Yes, you can withdraw a pending IRCC application at any time by submitting a withdrawal request through your online account or via the IRCC web form. However, application fees are generally not refundable after processing has begun, and withdrawing does not guarantee eligibility for a different stream. Before withdrawing, confirm that you meet all requirements for the alternative pathway and that the expected processing time would genuinely improve your situation. Consulting a regulated immigration professional is advisable before making this decision, as withdrawing and reapplying resets your queue position entirely.
Does applying online versus paper affect how fast IRCC processes my application?
Online applications are generally processed faster than paper submissions. Digital applications enter the IRCC system immediately upon submission, whereas paper applications must be physically received, opened, scanned, and manually entered into the processing system before review can begin. IRCC has also increasingly prioritized digital workflows and automated preliminary checks for online submissions. For categories that accept both formats, choosing the online route can save days or even weeks at the intake stage alone.
What should I do if my IRCC application has been processing longer than the published estimate?
If your application has exceeded the published processing time, you can submit a case inquiry through the IRCC web form to request a status update. IRCC generally only accepts inquiries after the published estimate has passed. Before contacting IRCC, check your online portal to ensure there are no outstanding document requests or messages you may have missed. If the delay is significant and causing hardship, a regulated immigration consultant or lawyer can submit a formal inquiry on your behalf and, in some cases, escalate the matter through the appropriate channels.
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