IRCC Processing Time Update: Work Permit Waits Lengthen for Pakistan and the Philippines
IRCC's July 22 processing time update shows longer work permit waits for Pakistan and the Philippines, while visitor visa and super visa estimates ease for several countries.
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Key Takeaways
- Work permit processing times rose by three weeks for applicants in Pakistan and one week for those in the Philippines, while in-Canada work permit processing continued to improve.
- Visitor visa waits fell by five days for in-Canada submissions, and super visa processing eased by five days for applicants from the Philippines.
- Study permit processing times held steady across all five countries tracked, with no movement recorded since the previous update.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published its latest round of estimated processing times for temporary residence applications on July 22, covering shifts recorded since July 15. The update points to a mixed picture: modest improvement in some streams, and lengthening waits in others, particularly for work permit applicants outside Canada.
The department typically refreshes these figures on a weekly basis, with the next update expected on or around July 29, 2026.
Work Permits
In-Canada work permit processing continued its gradual improvement, dropping from 124 to 122 days. Overseas applicants had a more uneven experience: Pakistan saw its estimate climb from 7 to 10 weeks, and the Philippines rose from 6 to 7 weeks. India, Nigeria, and the United States held steady.
| Applying from | Current (July 22) | Previous (July 15) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 122 days | 124 days |
| India | 9 weeks | 9 weeks |
| Pakistan | 10 weeks | 7 weeks |
| Nigeria | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| United States | 3 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Philippines | 7 weeks | 6 weeks |
Service standards: In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions) — 120 days; outside Canada submissions — 60 days.
Study Permits
Study permit estimates were the most stable category this cycle, with every one of the five tracked countries reporting identical figures to the previous update.
| Applying from | Current (July 22) | Previous (July 15) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 7 weeks | 7 weeks |
| India | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Pakistan | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Nigeria | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| United States | 5 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Philippines | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
Service standard: In-Canada submissions (initial and extensions) — 120 days; outside Canada submissions — 60 days.
Visitor Visas
Visitor visa processing improved for applicants in Canada, the United States, and the Philippines, while India, Pakistan, and Nigeria saw small increases. The largest shift was a five-day decrease for in-Canada submissions, down to 29 days.
| Applying from | Current (July 22) | Previous (July 15) |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 29 days | 34 days |
| India | 21 days | 20 days |
| Pakistan | 40 days | 39 days |
| Nigeria | 63 days | 61 days |
| United States | 27 days | 28 days |
| Philippines | 16 days | 17 days |
Service standard: In-Canada submissions — N/A; outside Canada submissions — 14 days.
Super Visas
Super visa processing lengthened for applicants in Pakistan and Nigeria, led by a seven-day increase for Pakistan, while India, the United States, and the Philippines benefited from shorter estimated waits. The Philippines recorded the largest improvement, a five-day decrease.
| *Applying from | Current (July 22) | Previous (July 15) |
|---|---|---|
| India | 49 days | 50 days |
| Pakistan | 194 days | 187 days |
| Nigeria | 39 days | 36 days |
| United States | 124 days | 126 days |
| Philippines | 68 days | 73 days |
Service standard: 112 days. *Super visa applications cannot be submitted from within Canada.
How These Figures Are Calculated
IRCC's published processing times offer applicants an approximate indication of how long a permanent residence, temporary residence, or citizenship application may take to finalize. These are general guidance only and do not guarantee that any individual application will be completed within the stated window.
The department relies on two distinct methods to produce these estimates:
- Historical processing times, based on how long it took to complete 80% of applications finalized in the past.
- Forward-looking processing times, calculated from IRCC's current application inventory and available processing capacity.
Service standards serve a different function altogether. They represent internal performance targets — the timeframe within which IRCC aims to finalize 80% of a given application type under normal operating conditions, rather than a live estimate of actual wait times.
In practice, individual cases can diverge from both the published estimate and the service standard. Case complexity, backlog levels, staffing and operational capacity, requests for additional documents, and extra review requirements can all extend an applicant's actual timeline.
IRCC generally updates temporary residence processing times on a weekly basis, while permanent residence and citizenship estimates are refreshed monthly. Service standards are revisited far less frequently — those covering temporary residence applications were last updated in 2018–2019.
What This Means for Applicants: Applicants from Pakistan and the Philippines currently in the work permit queue should brace for longer waits than they may have anticipated a week ago, while those applying for visitor visas from within Canada, the U.S., or the Philippines may see slightly faster turnaround. Because IRCC refreshes these figures weekly, applicants tracking a pending file are encouraged to check back regularly rather than relying on a single snapshot.
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