Canada immigration backlog went up as of 30 June 2025, reaching a total number of 842,800 across all IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) inventories. While the overall backlog is fluctuating, some specific programs still face significant challenges and long processing times, especially temporary residence, study permits, work permits, and the Start-up Visa (SUV).
Considering that a couple of months prior, on 28 February, 821,200 applicants were in backlog, the IRCC has kept its inventories below the one million mark. This means more applications are processed within the expected timeframes.
Immigration policies in Canada grant foreigners the opportunity to enter, live, work, or study within its borders. This immigration system is key to Canada’s economic strategy, business opportunities, and investment expansion. In this article, you can find out how the current backlog is affecting applicants, its potential causes, and future projections.
Read more about:
- Reasons for Canada Processing Delays
- How long is the Canada immigration backlog?
- What to expect in the future?
What is a backlog?
Canada has a queue of immigration applications that takes longer to process with the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Applications in the inventory become part of the backlog when they exceed the department’s service standards.
Applicants in backlog face longer processing times, resubmissions, and renewals. This could happen for several reasons, such as a high volume of applicants, policy changes, incomplete documentation, complex cases, and external factors.
Current Canada Immigration Backlog: Overview
The number of applications stuck in the backlog constantly fluctuates, currently below one million. However, the Canadian immigration backlog faces higher processing times in some categories, especially temporary visas and business immigration.
Here is a breakdown of backlog percentages as of June 2025:
- Federal High-Skilled (Express Entry): This category had 20 percent of applications backlogged, lower than IRCC’s estimated target of 28 percent.
- Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry): This category has a much higher backlog, at 48 percent, compared to 46 percent of initial admission targets.
- Spouses, partners, and children (except Quebec): The family sponsorship backlog is performing relatively well, with only 14 percent of applications in backlog, which aligns with the IRCC’s target of 15 percent.
- Temporary Resident Visas (TRV): The temporary residency category has the highest backlog of applications, at 53 percent, compared to the initial target of 42 percent.
- Study permits: Study permit applications face long processing times, with 18 percent of applicants in backlog compared to the 11 percent target range.
- Work permits: This category has one of the longest queues, with 40 percent of backlog applicants versus the 24 percent of admission targets.
- Citizenship Grants: This category has a relatively stable queue with 19 percent of backlog applications as opposed to the 17 percent target range.
Reasons for Canada Processing Delays
The persistent backlog happens for several reasons, such as:
- Too many applications: Canada admits more immigrants per capita than most countries. Because of the surge of people applying for immigration applications, you are more likely to wait longer and face significant delays.
- Incorrect or incomplete documentation: If your application is incomplete, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spends more time reviewing, requesting, and processing your data.
- Policy changes: Immigration laws and regulations are constantly changing. For example, the Canada Startup Visa recently added changes to annual application caps, limiting applications to ten startups per designated organization.
- Strict screening process: The government only accepts the most qualified individuals to come to the country who can benefit the economy and fill labor shortages, mainly for economic class programs and the Start-up Visa.
- Background and security checks: If you have moved a lot in the last couple of years, have court backlogs, or verification issues, you can face a longer application backlog.
How long is the Canada immigration backlog?
As of 30 June 2025, the total Canada immigration backlog is 842,800 in all inventories. About 661,100 applications for temporary residence are within IRCC service standards, which is 64 percent of the total applications.
“We are seeing steady progress in application processing for high-net worth investors, but public service cuts always hurt the most vulnerable population, leaving countless workers and students in limbo”, says Jelena Sivcev, Strategy and Business Developer at Global Citizen Solutions. Application processing varies across citizenship grants, temporary, and permanent resident programs.
Statistics for permanent residency applications
Between January and April 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) finalized 156,450 decisions and offered permanent residence to 132,100 people.
In January 2025, processing times decreased for the Federal High-Skilled (Express Entry) programs. Over the next two months, more immigration applications were backlogged, causing longer wait times. In April, the queue came closer to the projected backlog range.
| Federal High-Skilled (Express Entry) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | Backlog (current) | Backlog (projected) |
| Jan 25 | 20% | 20% |
| Feb 25 | 25% | 20% |
| Mar 25 | 27% | 20% |
| Apr 25 | 22% | 20% |
| May 25 | 18% | 25% |
| Jun 25 | 20% | 28% |
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) through Express Entry faced significantly longer processing times than some other immigration pathways. With backlogs ranging from 30 to 49 percent, people are more likely to end up in a queue when applying for permanent residence with PNPs.
| Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | Backlog (current) | Backlog (projected) |
| Jan 25 | 30% | 20% |
| Feb 25 | 36% | 20% |
| Mar 25 | 44% | 30% |
| Apr 25 | 49% | 35% |
| May 25 | 49% | 40% |
| Jun 25 | 48% | 46% |
Family sponsorship applications are doing relatively well. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) processes permanent resident admissions very quickly for dependent family members who don’t intend to live in Quebec. The family sponsorship backlog remained low in the last four months.
| Spouses, partners, and children (except for Quebec) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | Backlog (current) | Backlog (projected) |
| Jan 25 | 15% | 15% |
| Feb 25 | 14% | 15% |
| Mar 25 | 14% | 15% |
| Apr 25 | 14% | 15% |
| May 25 | 14% | 15% |
| Jun 25 | 14% | 15% |
Statistics for temporary residency applications
Many foreigners who apply for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) face long wait times. Current queues are significantly higher than the projected backlog target range and keep increasing.
| Temporary Resident Visas (TRV) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | Backlog (current) | Backlog (projected) |
| Jan 25 | 71% | 62% |
| Feb 25 | 65% | 50% |
| Mar 25 | 58% | 45% |
| Apr 25 | 54% | 38% |
| May 25 | 54% | 47% |
| Jun 25 | 53% | 42% |
International students often struggle with long processing times when applying for study permits. In April, 30 percent of study permits applications were backlogged, as opposed to the 15 percent target range.
| Study permits | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | Backlog (current) | Backlog (projected) |
| Jan 25 | 45% | 33% |
| Feb 25 | 45% | 24% |
| Mar 25 | 37% | 15% |
| Apr 25 | 30% | 15% |
| May 25 | 23% | 19% |
| Jun 25 | 18% | 11% |
In January 2025, work permits in Canada seemed to be getting closer to the projected backlog target range. But backlogs drastically increased in March (42 percent) and April (36 percent), causing many workers to wait before employment.
| Work permits | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | Backlog (current) | Backlog (projected) |
| Jan 25 | 42% | 40% |
| Feb 25 | 34% | 32% |
| Mar 25 | 42% | 24% |
| Apr 25 | 36% | 26% |
| May 25 | 38% | 23% |
| Jun 25 | 40% | 24% |
Statistics for Canadian citizenship applications
In 2025, Canada welcomed 63,300 new citizens from 1 April to 30 June. Citizenship grants are processed at a relatively moderate pace, with lower wait times and quicker processing times of about 10 months.
| Citizenship grant applications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | Backlog (current) | Backlog (projected) |
| Jan 25 | 18% | 16% |
| Feb 25 | 18% | 17% |
| Mar 25 | 18% | 17% |
| Apr 25 | 19% | 17% |
| May 25 | 19% | 17% |
| Jun 25 | 19% | 17% |
What to expect in the future?
You can expect a positive backlog trend in the next three years as officials prioritize efficiency. The goal of the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is to process 80 percent of applications within their service standards. The Canadian government is considering implementing AI-based tools to automate processing services and reduce the wait time across different Case Processing Centres (CPCs).
But, despite significant efforts to reduce backlogs, it’s difficult for all immigration systems to meet the IRCC’s published service standards. Study permit applications may continue to face challenges with application backlogs due to imposed caps. For 2025, the IRCC intends to issue up to 437,000 study permits, which is ten percent lower than the 2024 cap.
Canada’s most recent Immigration Levels Plan (2025-2025) drastically lowered the permanent resident targets: 395,000 (for 2025), 380,000 (for 2026), and 365,000 (for 2027). Officials believe that accepting fewer permanent residents can improve processing times and simplify the decision-making process.
How Can Global Citizen Solutions Help You?
Global Citizen Solutions is a boutique migration consultancy firm with years of experience delivering bespoke residence and citizenship by investment solutions for international families. With offices worldwide and an experienced, hands-on team, we have helped hundreds of clients worldwide acquire citizenship, residence visas, or homes while diversifying their portfolios with robust investments.
We guide you from start to finish, taking you beyond your citizenship or residency by investment application.
