IRCC updated its processing time estimates for temporary residence applications on September 2. Compared with the previous update on August 26, waits came down in several categories, with super visas showing by far the most concentrated improvement, though work permits and in-Canada study permits also produced increases worth watching. The changes are set out below by application category, alongside recent trends and IRCC's most recent inventory data.

Work permits: in-Canada applications hit a 2026 low, the Philippines posts the largest increase

Work permit estimates moved in both directions this week. Applications submitted from inside Canada, which cover both initial applications and extensions, fell from 115 days to 113 days, the lowest level recorded so far in 2026. The in-Canada figure has been trending down since it stood at 122 days on July 22, a cumulative decline of nine days across seven updates, and it has stayed below IRCC's 120-day service standard throughout. Work permit applicants in Pakistan also improved, from eight weeks to seven weeks.

Going the other way, applicants in the Philippines went from five weeks to seven weeks, the largest single increase in any category this week, and applicants in India moved from nine weeks to 10 weeks. Nigeria (nine weeks) and the United States (two weeks) were unchanged.

Service standard: 120 days for applications submitted in Canada (initial applications and extensions); 60 days for applications submitted outside Canada.

It is worth noting that the work permit estimate for applicants in Pakistan spiked to 25 weeks in early August before falling back to seven weeks on August 19. It has fluctuated between seven and eight weeks since then, and this week's seven weeks puts the country roughly back where it was in mid-August.

Study permits: India improves by two weeks, in-Canada applications reach a three-month high

Among study permit applicants, India was the only country to improve this week, with the estimate falling from seven weeks to five weeks. India's study permit estimate had jumped from five weeks to seven weeks in the previous update on August 26, so this week's decline erases that swing.

Study permit applications submitted from inside Canada, which also cover initial applications and extensions, went the other way, rising from seven weeks to eight weeks. Recent data shows the in-Canada estimate had held steady at seven weeks since late July, making this week's eight weeks the highest level in at least three months. The direction is consistent with IRCC's inventory data: 36,520 study permit applications were waiting for a decision at the end of June, 4,855 more than at the end of May, and study permits were the only one of the three categories (work permits, study permits and visitor visas) whose inventory grew. Pakistan (seven weeks), Nigeria (nine weeks), the United States (five weeks) and the Philippines (four weeks) were all unchanged.

Service standard: 120 days for applications submitted in Canada (initial applications and extensions); 60 days for applications submitted outside Canada.

Visitor visas: every change within two days

Visitor visa processing times were broadly stable this week, with movement in every country limited to one or two days. In-Canada applications fell from 12 days to 11 days, India from 32 days to 31 days, the United States from 21 days to 20 days and the Philippines from 20 days to 18 days, while Pakistan rose from 77 days to 78 days and Nigeria from 78 days to 80 days.

Even though the week-over-week movement is small, visitor visa waits in Pakistan and Nigeria have lengthened considerably over the past month or so. Pakistan has gone from 43 days on July 28 to 78 days this week, and Nigeria from 64 days to 80 days. Both are far above the 14-day service standard for applications submitted outside Canada.

Service standard: not applicable for applications submitted in Canada; 14 days for applications submitted outside Canada.

Super visas: shorter waits everywhere but India, with Pakistan down 23 days

Super visas saw the most concentrated improvement of any category this week. Every country listed except India posted a shorter wait: Pakistan fell sharply from 162 days to 139 days, a drop of 23 days; the Philippines fell from 104 days to 93 days, down 11 days; the United States fell from 123 days to 116 days, down seven days; and Nigeria fell from 55 days to 52 days. India was the only country to move up, rising from 61 days to 66 days, an increase of five days.

Pakistan's improvement is not an isolated result. Recent data shows the estimate has come down steadily from 196 days on July 28, to 185 days on August 5, 180 days on August 12, 176 days on August 19 and 162 days on August 26, before reaching 139 days this week, a cumulative reduction of 57 days over five updates. Even so, super visa waits in Pakistan and the United States remain above the 112-day service standard, while India, Nigeria and the Philippines sit within it. The US estimate has been volatile in recent weeks, jumping from 123 days to 138 days on August 19 before falling over the next two updates to this week's 116 days.

Service standard: 112 days.

*Super visa applications can only be submitted from outside Canada.

How processing times differ from service standards

The processing times IRCC publishes and the department's service standards are two different things. A processing time is an estimate meant to give applicants a sense of how long a newly submitted application is likely to take. It is not a fixed schedule, and it is not a deadline, a guarantee or a cap on how long processing may take. Depending on the application category, IRCC bases its estimates on one of two methods:

• Historical estimates: based on how long it took to finalize 80% of applications that have already been processed;
• Forward-looking estimates: calculated from the number of applications currently in inventory and the resources available to process them.

A service standard, by contrast, is a performance target. It reflects how quickly IRCC plans to finalize a given type of application, generally 80% of cases, under normal operating conditions. Actual processing times can run above or below either figure: the complexity of an application, the size of the inventory, processing capacity, requests for additional documents, and any extra reviews or assessments all affect how long an individual case takes.

Processing time estimates for temporary residence categories are updated weekly, while permanent residence and citizenship categories are generally updated monthly. Service standards are revised far less frequently, and the temporary residence service standards were last updated in 2018-2019.

More than 1.56 million temporary residence applications finalized in the first half of 2026

IRCC data shows the department finalized 1,566,455 temporary residence applications in the first six months of 2026, with more than 401,000 still waiting for a final decision at the end of June. By category, visitor visas accounted for 1,306,055 of the applications finalized in the first half of the year, followed by work permits at 161,325 and study permits at 99,075. Inventories at the end of June stood at 337,100 visitor visa applications, 36,520 study permit applications and 27,655 work permit applications, with the work permit inventory down 7,385 from the end of May and the study permit inventory up 4,855.

Across all lines of business, IRCC finalized roughly 2.01 million applications in the first half of the year, and its total inventory at the end of June was about 1.54 million: approximately 713,000 permanent residence applications, 401,000 temporary residence applications and 426,000 citizenship applications.

IRCC's next update to its temporary residence processing time estimates is expected around September 9, 2026.