IRCC Cuts Work Permit Waits as Study Permit Delays Rise

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released updated temporary residence processing times on November 4, 2026, revealing changes across work permits, study permits, visitor visas and extensions.

Compared with October 29, applicants in the United States saw shorter work permit waits, while study permit processing times increased for applicants in Canada and Nigeria.

IRCC also reported 5,200 fewer pending work and study permit applications, suggesting a reduction in its outstanding caseload.

Work Permit Waits Drop for U.S. Applicants

Work permit processing times for U.S. applicants fell from six weeks to three weeks, the largest improvement in this update.

Estimates remained unchanged elsewhere:

• Canada: 16 weeks
• India and Nigeria: 10 weeks
• Pakistan and the Philippines: 9 weeks

IRCC's service standards remain 120 days for applications submitted within Canada and 60 days for those submitted abroad.

Study Permit Delays Increase in Canada and Nigeria

Students applying from within Canada now face an estimated eight-week wait, compared with six weeks previously.

Nigeria's processing time increased from 10 to 11 weeks, while Pakistan's declined from six to five weeks.

Processing estimates remained unchanged for India at eight weeks, the United States at four weeks and the Philippines at six weeks.

Pakistan's five-week estimate is its lowest since at least June, while Nigeria's 11-week wait is its highest during the same period.

Visitor Visa Times Show Minor Changes

Visitor visa processing times changed slightly across several countries.

India's estimate increased from 31 to 32 days. Meanwhile, Pakistan dropped to 58 days, Nigeria to 103 days and the Philippines to 24 days.

Processing times remained unchanged at 12 days for applicants in Canada and 18 days for those in the United States.

Super Visa Applicants Face Slightly Longer Waits

Super visa processing estimates increased across all five countries examined.

Applicants from India now face 85 days, Pakistan 101 days, Nigeria 33 days, the United States 75 days and the Philippines 109 days.

These increases ranged from one to three days. IRCC's service standard for super visas remains 112 days.

Extensions Become Faster, but Visitor Records Remain Lengthy

Within Canada, work permit extension estimates decreased from 11 to 10 weeks.

Study permit extensions remained at six weeks, while visitor record processing dropped from 321 to 310 days.

As of October 31, IRCC had 191,100 work permit extension applications and 25,500 study permit extension applications awaiting decisions.

What Applicants Should Know

Processing times are estimates, not guaranteed deadlines. IRCC calculates them using previous application results or projections based on pending cases and available resources.

Service standards represent the department's processing targets under normal conditions, generally covering 80% of applications.

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

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

The next processing time update is expected around November 11, 2026.