IRCC Cuts Wait Times for Study and Work Permit Extensions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has reported shorter processing times for several temporary residence applications in its October 29, 2026, update. International students, foreign workers and visitors may benefit from the reduced estimates, although waiting periods continue to vary by application type and country.

The latest figures, compared with October 21, show improvements in study permit extensions, work permit extensions, visitor records and certain study permit applications.

Permit Extensions See Shorter Waits

Applicants seeking to extend their temporary status in Canada saw some of the largest improvements.

Study permit extension processing times dropped from eight weeks to six weeks, a reduction of two weeks. Work permit extensions decreased from 12 weeks to 11 weeks.

Visitor record applications experienced a 20-day reduction, falling from 341 days to 321 days.

These work permit extension estimates also cover post-graduation work permits, bridging open work permits and requests to change work permit conditions.

As of October 29, IRCC had 195,900 work permit extension applications awaiting decisions, down by 4,200. Pending study permit extensions declined by 1,900 to 25,900.

Study Permit Processing Improves

Study permit applicants in Canada, Pakistan and the United States saw their estimated processing times decrease by one week.

Applications submitted within Canada now take approximately six weeks, compared with seven weeks previously. Pakistan also dropped to six weeks, while the U.S. decreased from five weeks to four weeks.

Processing estimates remained unchanged for India at eight weeks, Nigeria at 10 weeks and the Philippines at six weeks.

Work Permit Processing Remains Stable

Unlike extensions, initial work permit processing estimates remained unchanged across all six countries tracked.

Applications from Canada continue to take 16 weeks, while estimates remain at 10 weeks for India and Nigeria, nine weeks for Pakistan and the Philippines, and six weeks for the United States.

This marks the first week in at least five months without changes across the tracked work permit categories.

Visitor Visa and Super Visa Changes

Visitor visa processing times decreased for Pakistan from 63 to 59 days and Nigeria from 106 to 105 days.

However, applicants from India experienced a slight increase, from 29 to 31 days.

Super visa processing improved for India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the United States. Pakistan recorded the largest decrease, from 104 to 99 days.

The Philippines was the only tracked country with a longer super visa estimate, increasing from 103 to 106 days.

What Applicants Should Understand

IRCC processing times are estimates rather than guaranteed deadlines. Historical estimates reflect how long it took to finalize 80% of earlier applications, while forward-looking estimates consider pending files and processing capacity.

Service standards represent departmental targets, with IRCC generally aiming to complete 80% of applications within those timelines.

Individual applications may take longer because of document requests, verification procedures or case complexity.

IRCC finalized 2,076,745 temporary residence applications between January and August 2026. More than 365,425 applications remained pending on August 31.

The department's next processing time update is expected around November 4.