Canada’s immigration system has released its latest processing times as of October 1, 2025. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regularly updates these timelines, which are crucial for applicants worldwide planning their move to Canada. The new updates affect various categories such as citizenship, permanent residency, study and work permits, visitor visas, and family sponsorships.
What’s New in Citizenship Processing?
The time taken for citizenship-related applications has seen some increases. The citizenship grant process now takes about 13 months, which is 2 months longer than before. Similarly, obtaining a citizenship certificate also requires around 7 months, up by 2 months. Other processes like renunciation and record searches have remained stable with no changes.
Currently, IRCC is issuing Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) letters for applications submitted around late July 2025, giving applicants an idea of where their application stands in the queue.
Permanent Resident Card Updates
The processing times for Permanent Resident (PR) cards have shifted slightly. New PR card applications now take around 56 days to process, which is an increase of 10 days from the previous timeline. However, renewals have become a bit quicker, taking about 32 days, one day less than before.
Family Sponsorship Processing Times
Family sponsorships remain a complex and lengthy process. For spouses or common-law partners applying from outside Canada (non-Quebec), the wait time remains at 15 months. For those applying from Quebec, the wait stretches much longer, up to 41 months. Inside Canada, these timelines are even longer, with processing times for spouses or partners ranging from 24 to 37 months depending on the province.
Parents and grandparents sponsorship processing times remain unchanged at 26 months outside Quebec and 44 months within Quebec, showing the continuing demand and backlog in these categories.
Passport and Economic Class PR Processing
Passport processing times in Canada remain steady, with regular in-person applications processed in 10 business days, and mail-in applications taking about 20 business days. Urgent and express pick-ups are also unchanged.
Economic immigration programs show mixed results. The Canadian Experience Class now takes about 6 months, an increase of one month. The Federal Skilled Worker program has slightly improved, taking 5 months. Other programs, including the Quebec Skilled Worker and Provincial Nominee Programs, remain stable with small changes here and there.
Visitor Visas and Study/Work Permits
Visitor visa applications from India remain among the longest, with wait times extending to around 75 days. Super visas have seen an increase of 10 days, now taking about 153 days. Meanwhile, study permit processing remains stable at about 4 weeks, with study permits applied from inside Canada slightly quicker at 6 weeks. Work permits are processing faster, with times dropping by a week to around 8 weeks.
Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) approvals are mostly quick, often completed within 5 minutes. However, some applications require additional checks and may take up to 72 hours.
What Does This Mean for Applicants?
These updated processing times give a clearer picture of the waiting periods applicants can expect. It is important to file all necessary documents accurately and on time to avoid delays. Applicants, especially those from high-demand countries like India, should plan their applications well in advance to accommodate longer wait times.
Keeping track of these timelines helps manage expectations and plan life changes accordingly, whether it’s for work, study, family reunification, or obtaining citizenship.