IRCC announced major updates to its application processing times tool
On March 31, 2022, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced important updates to its application processing times tool. The clients now can have the chance to take a more accurate estimation of the processing time of their application, which is a good step towards providing accurate information from the government.
Based on the previous 6 months’ data, new calculations will be updated weekly on the IRCC official website and most Permanent residence and citizenship services will have a new dynamic processing time. The estimates will reflect the number of processed applications in addition to operational facts.
Canadian citizenship processing time
Calculating the processing time of the applications starts from the day you submit your application to the IRCC and is confirmed received by the IRCC, and ends once the immigration officer gives a decision regarding your application.
As for those who apply by email, their processing time begins once their application is received on the IRCC mailing list.
The IRCC measures the processing time according to the time spent on reviewing 80% of the applications.
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How can I check the processing time of my application?
You can easily check the processing time of your application by filling out the processing time tool here.
Why did IRCC update the processing time for some applications?
This step was made in order to show the clients a more accurate time estimation for processing their application.
Permanent residence & citizenship applications show the weekly updated processing time, while the temporary resident applications were updated weekly as well but based on data from the last 8 or 16 weeks.
Main Changes in the IRCC processing time
Some of the changes in the processing time of applications are as follows:
| Class of Application | Before March 31, 2022 | New Processing Time |
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 6 | 7 Months |
| Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) | 6 | 27 Months |
| Provincial Nomination (PNP) – Express Entry | 6 | 22 Months |
| Grant of Citizenship | 12 | 27 Months |
| Parents or Grandparents Sponsorship (PGP) | 24 | 32 Months |
| Spousal or common-law Sponsorship – Inland | 12 | 16 Months |
| Spousal or common-law Sponsorship – Outland | 12 | 19 Months |
