IRCC’s December Processing Time Speeds Up Visas for Students and Parents

Canada released updated immigration processing times in December. The figures show shorter waits for many applicants. Several programs have improved since mid-November. Students and workers saw notable gains. Parents and grandparents also benefited. Officials based the update on current workloads.

Permanent residence programs hold firm

Economic immigration timelines stayed mostly unchanged. Canadian Experience Class applications still take seven months. Federal Skilled Worker cases continue to take six months. Officials again omitted timelines for skilled trades cases. They cited “not enough data” for that stream. About 21,700 CEC applicants await decisions. Around 27,600 skilled worker cases remain under review. Officials still aim to finish most cases within six months.

Provincial and Quebec programs remain slow

Provincial nominee processing showed no improvement. Express Entry-linked cases still take six months. Other provincial streams remain at sixteen months. About 10,200 enhanced cases remain in queues. Nearly 98,500 base cases still await decisions. Quebec skilled worker cases continue to take eleven months. The number of pending Quebec files rose slightly. The target timeline there remains six months.

Atlantic program faces long delays

The Atlantic Immigration Program continues to struggle. Applicants face waits exceeding three years. Current processing stands at thirty-seven months. About 13,400 applications remain pending. Officials target eleven months for most cases. Actual timelines remain far longer.

Family sponsorship shows mixed results

Family sponsorship timelines either improved or stayed stable. Parents and grandparents saw the biggest reduction. Applications outside Quebec now take forty months. Quebec-bound cases still take longer. Spousal sponsorship timelines largely stayed unchanged. Applicants outside Canada still receive faster decisions. Tens of thousands of families remain separated during waits.

Child sponsorship delays raise concern

Dependent child sponsorship saw the sharpest increase. Domestic applications rose by four months. Overseas applications from India also increased sharply. Processing now takes twelve months from India. Nigerian cases stayed at twenty months. Officials provide no service target for domestic cases. Families expressed growing concern about these delays.

Visitor and work permits shift slightly

Visitor visa timelines increased for India and Pakistan. Processing slowed modestly compared to last month. Timelines improved slightly for Canada and the United States. Work permit processing improved for most regions. Only United States cases took longer. Officials continue prioritizing “essential occupations.” These include healthcare and food-related jobs.

Study permits move faster overall

Study permit processing improved for most applicants. In-Canada cases saw the biggest drop. Overseas timelines stayed steady for India. Pakistan and Nigeria saw faster decisions. Extensions also processed quicker than before. Students now benefit from shorter waits overall.

Citizenship timelines stay unchanged

Citizenship grant applications still take thirteen months. Proof of citizenship cases take nine months. About 297,000 grant applications remain pending. Another 40,400 proof requests await review. Officials aim to complete most grants within twelve months.

How officials calculate processing times

Processing begins when officials receive applications. It ends when decisions are issued. Simple cases move faster. Missing documents cause delays. Officials use past results and current inventory. They update timelines weekly for accuracy.