Canada’s immigration department has reported longer processing times for citizenship and several economic immigration streams in its February 2026 update.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada released its latest processing time update on February 12, 2026, and the numbers show clear changes across several immigration programs. Some applicants now face longer waits, while a few categories show small improvements.
Officials say these timelines reflect the actual experience of 80 per cent of applicants. The department now uses real processing data instead of older service targets that often failed to match reality. Permanent residency and citizenship figures receive updates each month. Temporary visa programs, including visitor visas and work permits, receive weekly updates.
Processing times still vary depending on background checks, document completeness, country of application, and security screening.
Citizenship applicants now wait about 14 months for a grant of citizenship, one month longer than in January. Nearly 313,000 people currently sit in the queue, which grew by about 7,600 applicants in one month.
Citizenship certificates now take 11 months, also one month longer than before. Applications to renounce citizenship now take 18 months, a sharp increase of seven months. Requests to search citizenship records now take 16 months, three months longer than January.
IRCC currently sends acknowledgment letters for citizenship applications submitted around October 8, 2025.
Permanent resident card processing continues to move smoothly. New PR cards now take 61 days, one day faster than last month. Renewals take 30 days, also one day faster.
Passport services remain stable. In-person applications inside Canada take 10 business days, and mailed applications take 20 business days. Urgent and express pick-ups remain unchanged.
Spousal sponsorship outside Quebec now takes 15 months, one month longer than January. About 47,300 applicants wait in this stream.
Quebec applicants still face 35-month waits. Inside Canada, spousal sponsorship takes 21 months outside Quebec and 35 months in Quebec.
Parents and grandparents sponsorship shows improvement. Outside Quebec, processing dropped to 35 months, two months faster than January. Quebec applicants now wait 47 months, one month shorter than before.
Humanitarian and compassionate applications continue to exceed 10 years both inside and outside Quebec. Nearly 50,000 people wait outside Quebec.
Protected persons inside Canada wait about 17 months outside Quebec. In Quebec, they wait about 112 months, which increased by two months.
The Canadian Experience Class now takes seven months, one month longer than January. The queue rose sharply to about 34,200 applicants.
The Federal Skilled Worker Program also takes seven months, with a growing backlog of roughly 43,000 applicants.
Non-Express Entry Provincial Nominee Program applications improved to 13 months, three months faster than January.
Some streams, including the Start-Up Visa and Federal Self-Employed Program, continue to show processing times exceeding 10 years.
Visitor visa processing times vary by country. Applicants from India wait 78 days, five days faster than before. U.S. applicants wait 25 days. Nigerian applicants now wait 51 days, 11 days longer.
Super visa applicants from India face 213 days of waiting, the longest among major countries.
Study permits remain steady. Indian students wait four weeks. Work permits also remain stable in most countries, except Pakistan, where processing jumped to 30 weeks.
February often brings a surge of new applications after the holiday season. This seasonal rise may explain the growing queues in citizenship and economic categories.
Applicants should submit complete applications and monitor updates closely as processing times continue to shift in 2026.
Having an 'Identity Verified' badge or being 'Identity Verified' simply indicates that an individual has submitted information to complete our identity verification process or we have conducted internal verification using various authorized websites. While this process includes safeguards, it does not guarantee that the person is who they claim to be.
If you encounter any issues with this profile, please report them here. While all consultants who are verified have RCIC ID, we may not have the latest data in terms of their renewal/cancellation/discontinuation of their RCIC ID.
The "Verified Consultants" profiles are created using publicly available information, including data from the IRCC website, official consultant sites, other listing platforms, and social media. Immiperts.com is an independent platform, not affiliated with IRCC or any registered immigration consultants. To update, claim, or remove your profile, please contact us at [email protected].
╳
