Canada Updates Wait Times for Work and Study Permits

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has released updated processing-time estimates for temporary residence applications, showing changes for work permits, study permits, visitor visas and super visas as of Aug. 26, 2026.

The latest figures compare estimated waits for newly submitted applications with those published on Aug. 19. IRCC is expected to issue its next temporary residence processing-time update around Sept. 2.

The figures are intended to help applicants understand current workloads, but individual files may take more or less time.

Work Permit Changes

For work permits, applicants applying from Canada saw the estimate fall from 117 days to 115 days. India remained at nine weeks, Nigeria stayed at nine weeks and the United States remained at two weeks.

The Philippines improved from six weeks to five weeks, its shortest wait in at least three months. The source article describes Pakistan as improving by one week, but its table shows the estimate rising from seven weeks to eight weeks.

IRCC’s service standard is 120 days for work permit applications submitted from inside Canada and 60 days for applications submitted from outside the country.

Study Permit Wait Rises for India

India was the only featured country with a change in study permit processing time. Its estimate increased from five weeks to seven weeks after two months without movement.

Canada and Pakistan remained at seven weeks, Nigeria stayed at nine weeks, the United States held at five weeks and the Philippines remained at four weeks.

The service standards listed for study permits are 120 days for applications made inside Canada and 60 days for applications submitted from abroad.

Visitor and Super Visa Updates

Visitor visa estimates changed only slightly. Canada remained at 12 days and the United States stayed at 21 days. India increased from 31 to 32 days, Pakistan from 75 to 77 days and Nigeria from 76 to 78 days. The Philippines improved from 21 days to 20 days.

For super visas, Pakistan’s estimated wait dropped from 176 days to 162 days, while the United States fell from 138 days to 123 days. The Philippines improved from 107 days to 104 days. India increased from 56 days to 61 days and Nigeria rose from 53 days to 55 days.

The super visa service standard is 112 days.

What the Numbers Mean

IRCC says processing times are estimates, not guarantees or maximum waits. Historical estimates are based on how long it took the department to complete 80 per cent of past applications, while forward-looking estimates consider current application volumes and available processing capacity.

Service standards are different. They are performance targets for completing 80 per cent of applications under normal conditions.

Actual waits can vary because of application complexity, inventory levels, available resources, additional document requests and further checks.

Temporary residence processing estimates are generally updated weekly, while permanent residence and citizenship estimates are usually updated monthly.

IRCC finalized 1,566,455 temporary residence applications during the first six months of 2026. More than 401,000 applications remained in its inventory at the end of June.