IRCC published its processing time update for April 7, 2026, and this month’s report shows a very clear pattern of extremes.
The time required to process citizenship applications is shorter now than any time since late 2025, and the queue size is finally decreasing this month for citizenship.
However, parent and grandparent sponsorships from Quebec saw a massive jump of 21 months, and visitor record renewals went above 299 days.
In this IRCC processing times update of April 7, 2026, every program was included, including all work permit programs, family sponsorships, and economic immigrant streams.
IRCC uses actual processing times of applications, not departmental goals or internal expectations, to publish these estimates.
The window used is the timeframe between when 20 and 80 percent of applicants had their cases processed and decided upon.
Permanent residency and citizenship programs see monthly updates, while temporary resident application types are updated weekly – including visit visas, work permits, study permits, and PR Cards.
Of course, individual results may be affected depending on factors such as screening requirements, origin, documentation, background checks, and processing time limits at IRCC.
Below are complete processing time estimates for each application type in the April 2026 update.
Biggest Moves In Last 2 Months
To begin, let’s consider what changes have happened in the past two months, which are worth noting before looking at the complete set of data for the period under consideration.
| Category | February 2026 | April 2026 | Net Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship grant | 14 months | 12 months | -2 months |
| Citizenship grant queue | ~313,000 | ~313,200 | Flat (now shrinking) |
| Parents/grandparents (Quebec) | 47 months | 67 months | +20 months |
| Spouse inside Canada (non-Quebec) | 21 months | 24 months | +3 months |
| Spouse inside Canada (Quebec) | 35 months | 31 months | -4 months |
| Atlantic Immigration Program | 33 months | 40 months | +7 months |
| Federal Skilled Worker (FSWP) | 7 months | 6 months | -1 month |
| CEC queue size | ~34,200 | ~54,600 | +20,400 applicants |
| Visitor visa (India) | 78 days | 28 days | -50 days |
| Visitor record extension | 209 days | 306 days | +97 days |
| New PR card | 61 days | 51 days | -10 days |
| Work permits inside Canada | 246 days | 253 days | +7 days |
From comparing two months, we can see several clear trends:
Citizenship processing has definitely improved; for the first time in 2026, its queue has decreased.
Quebec parents’ and grandparents’ sponsorship processing experienced a 20-month peak in 2026, marking the highest increase among permanent residence categories and needing special attention for future months.
The Indian visitor visa processing underwent an unexpected adjustment, declining from 78 days in February to 37 days in April.
Finally, visitor record extension processing shows a frightening rise, increasing by 90 days over two months and reaching the 300 day level.
CEC processing has been consistently stable, yet the number of applicants increased by more than 20,000 over two months.
Citizenship Processing Times (Updated monthly)
Citizenship is the most positive category with consistent progress updates in the April 2026 report card.
| Application Type | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship grant | ~313,200 (-7,100) | 12 months | -1 month |
| Citizenship certificate* | ~56,300 (+5,400) | 10 months | No change |
| Resumption of citizenship | Not available | Not enough data | No change |
| Renunciation of citizenship | Not available | 10 months | No change |
| Search of citizenship records | Not available | 17 months | No change |
In the current date when this report is written, Citizenship Visa Applications submitted around October 22, 2025, are getting acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) notifications from IRCC.
* Citizenship visa applicants living outside Canada or America will have to wait longer for approval.
Permanent Resident Card Processing Times (Updated weekly)
The PR Card processing time remains one of the top-performing streams within the IRCC system.
| Application Type | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Previous Week | Change Since January 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New PR card | 51 days | -2 days | -11 days |
| PR card renewal | 27 days | No change | -4 days |
For the month of February, there has been an additional reduction of 10 days for processing PR Cards, becoming one of the few streams that have experienced continuous progress for a number of months.
The statistics provided below have been revised every week, until new data is published by IRCC.
Family Sponsorship Processing Times (Updated monthly)
| Category | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spouse/common-law outside Canada (non-Quebec) | ~49,200 (+1,000) | 15 months | No change |
| Spouse/common law outside Canada (Quebec) | ~18,700 (-200) | 32 months | -3 months |
| Spouse/common-law inside Canada (non-Quebec) | ~53,900 (+1,500) | 24 months | +3 months |
| Spouse/common law inside Canada (Quebec) | ~12,700 (+400) | 31 months | -5 months |
| Parents/grandparents (non-Quebec) | ~44,900 (-1,700) | 34 months | No change |
| Parents/grandparents (Quebec) | ~11,200 (-500) | 67 months | +21 months |
That’s a dramatic decrease from 35 months recorded in February.
This is an impressive increase from 21 months recorded in February and March.
Within Canada, the fastest process was the Quebec spousal sponsorship under the family class category, recording five months less time at 31 months compared to 36 months in March.
Compared to February, where the number of months was 35, this is a four-month improvement.
On the other hand, the Quebec parents and grandparents stream came up with the most surprising statistics for April.
The number of months jumped from 46 months in March to 67 months in April—an increase of 21 months in one reporting period.
As a point of comparison, this stream only took 47 months in February.
Humanitarian and Compassionate And Protected Persons (Updated monthly)
| Category | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&C outside Quebec | ~51,800 (+1,300) | More than 10 years | No change |
| H&C in Quebec | ~18,700 (+200) | More than 10 years | No change |
| Protected persons inside Canada (outside Quebec) | ~103,700 (+2,900) | About 16 months | No change |
| Protected persons inside Canada (in Quebec) | ~38,000 (+900) | About 114 months | +2 months |
| Dependents of protected persons (outside Quebec) | ~58,100 (+1,100) | About 32 months | -7 months |
| Dependents of protected persons (in Quebec) | ~21,200 (+100) | More than 10 years | No change |
These sets of categories continue to be the major chokepoint in the Canadian immigration process.
The best improvement was recorded in the dependents of protected persons not in Quebec, with processing times reduced by seven months to average 32 months.
From the beginning of February, when processing took 37 months, a total of five months have been trimmed off. This category has increased by 1,100, totaling 58,100 applicants.
Canadian Passport Processing Times
| Application Type | Current Processing Time | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| New passport (in person, Canada) | 10 business days | No change |
| New passport (mail, Canada) | 20 business days | No change |
| Urgent pickup | Next business day | No change |
| Express pickup | 2–9 business days | No change |
| Passport mailed from outside Canada | 20 business days | No change |
Passport services continue their streak of absolute reliability.
Key takeaway: Passport services remain rock solid and are easily the most dependable segment of IRCC’s operation.
Permanent Residency Processing Times (Updated monthly)
| Category | People Waiting (Change) | Processing Time (April 7, 2026) | Change Since March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | ~54,600 (+10,300) | 7 months | No change |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | ~44,100 (-1,200) | 6 months | -1 month |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) | Not available | Not enough data | No change |
| PNP (Express Entry) | ~13,700 (+700) | 7 months | No change |
| Non-Express Entry PNP | ~108,100 (+100) | 13 months | No change |
| Quebec Skilled Worker (QSW) | ~25,700 (-1,200) | 11 months | No change |
| Quebec Business Class | ~3,800 (-100) | 78 months | -2 months |
| Federal Self-Employed | ~8,100 (No change) | More than 10 years | No change |
| Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) | ~13,200 (-300) | 40 months | +7 months |
| Startup Up Visa | ~46,200 (+300) | More than 10 years | No change |
The immigration streams for economic immigrants in Canada appear quite static by April 2026; however, there are still some interesting developments taking place beneath the surface.
For one, the number of people added to the queue for the CEC has exceeded 20,400 since February, which can only be described as phenomenal, without having led to an increase in the time taken to process cases thus far.
The sole bright side in this area, on the other hand, comes from the FSWP, with its time frame decreasing from seven to six months, marking the first such change since early 2025.
Lastly, it should be mentioned that the AIP experienced a massive drop off, rising from 33 months in March to an astounding 40 months.
Temporary Visa Processing Times (Updated weekly)
The temporary visa process during April 2026 includes visitor visas, super visas, study permits, and work permits for the five most frequently observed countries of origin.
As these numbers are revised on a weekly, not monthly basis, it becomes possible to see just how quickly conditions change.
The processing times provided below are updated on a weekly basis until IRCC provides their next set of statistics.
Visitor Visas From Outside Canada
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 28 days | -9 days | -54 days |
| United States | 16 days | +1 day | -9 days |
| Nigeria | 51 days | -1 day | +11 days |
| Pakistan | 42 days | -6 days | -14 days |
| Philippines | 14 days | No change | -2 days |
- Visitor visa inside Canada: 11 days (-1 day since last week and -3 days since Dec 31, 2025)
- Visitor record extension: 306 days (+7 days since last week and +145 days Since January 28, 2026)
Anyone planning to extend their visitor status should file well in advance to preserve implied status while IRCC adjudicates the request.
Super Visa Processing Times
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 191 days | -11 days | -23 days |
| United States | 178 days | -7 days | -9 days |
| Nigeria | 43 days | No change | +5 days |
| Pakistan | 126 days | +4 days | +2 days |
| Philippines | 50 days | No change | -59 days |
Study Permit Processing Times
Most countries held steady on study permit timelines this week, but one glaring exception dominates this category.
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 3 weeks | -1 week | -1 week |
| United States | 4 weeks | -1 week | -3 weeks |
| Nigeria | 7 weeks | -1 week | No change |
| Pakistan | 11 weeks | No change | +6 weeks |
| Philippines | 5 weeks | No change | No change |
- Study permit inside Canada: 7 weeks (-1 week since last week, but no change Since January 28, 2026)
- Study permit extension: 95 days (No change since last week, but -9 days Since January 28, 2026)
Work Permit Processing Times
The work permit outlook is relatively quiet, although a couple of extremely sharp outliers deserve special mention.
| Country | Processing Time (March 31, 2026) | Change Since Last Week | Change Since January 28, 2026 |
| India | 7 weeks | No change | -1 week |
| United States | 8 weeks | No change | -2 weeks |
| Nigeria | 13 weeks | No change | +4 weeks |
| Pakistan | 26 weeks | -3 weeks | +6 weeks |
| Philippines | 7 weeks | No change | +1 week |
- Work permits inside Canada including extensions: 253 days (-2 days since last week, +12 days since January 28, 2026, and +43 days since Dec 31, 2025)
- Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program: 7 days (No change since last week and -3 days since Dec 31)
- International Experience Canada (IEC): 3 weeks (No change since last week, but -3 weeks since Dec 31, 2025)
- Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA): 5 minutes for most applicants; up to 72 hours for additional screening
April 2026 processing times for IRCC reflect a process that is being pulled in different directions at the same time.
Citizenship seems to be back on track with reduced processing times and shorter queues – the first such occurrence this year.
Indian visit visas have been cut by half from February. PR cards and FSW program application processing times have both improved recently.
However, Quebec parent and grandparent sponsorships have skyrocketed to 67 months, the Atlantic immigration program rose by seven months, the CEC queue is growing rapidly in unsustainable numbers, and visit visa extensions are approaching 300 days.
It would be best for applicants to keep track of these developments and provide all necessary information as soon as possible.