Question Period Note: Immigration and Citizenship Processing

IRCC Processing (General)

• IRCC continues to make improving services for our clients a priority, including modernizing and strengthening our immigration system to achieve well-managed and sustainable growth in the long term.
• Our goal is to process at least 80% of complete applications within service standards.
• We continue to digitize applications and harness automation technologies to speed up processing, while protecting and prioritizing the safety and security of Canadians.
• Actual processing times vary according to a number of factors and IRCC doesn’t begin to calculate processing times until we receive a complete application with all the necessary supporting documents.

If pressed:
• The Department has processed 1.9 million applications for permanent residence, temporary residence (excluding eTAs) and citizenship between January 1 and April 30, 2024.
• By the end of April 2025, Canada welcomed over 132,000 new Permanent Residents, keeping us on track to meet our 2025 target of 395,000 Permanent Residents.

Status of Operations

• The Government of Canada is working to stabilize the number of permanent and temporary residents entering the country, while upholding our humanitarian commitments and supporting the priorities of our labour markets.

• Processing times are influenced by a range of factors, including immigration targets, the complexity of individual cases, and how quickly applicants respond to requests for information. Despite these variables, the majority of applications are processed within established service standards.

• IRCC also continues to digitize applications and harness automation technologies (e.g. advanced analytics models, Robotic Process Automation (RPA)) to improve processing efficiency, while protecting and prioritizing the safety and security of Canadians. Over the longer term, the Government’s investment in IRCC’s Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) is expected to result in more comprehensive and sustained service and operational improvements, supported by new digital platforms that will bring more flexibility as well as system stability.

A more detailed view of processing by main line of business:

Temporary Resident (TR)
Intake Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
2,142,989
1,567,926 -27% 2,177,375 1,733,385 -20%
Supplementary Notes
• IRCC finalized 194,000 study permits and 491,400 work permits from January 1 to April 30, 2025. We are continuing to work toward our target of welcoming 305,900 students and 367,750 workers this year, as outlined in the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan.

• As of April 30, 2025, the TR inventory (excluding eTAs) was 918,000, marking a decrease of 24% compared to April 30, 2024.

• As of April 30, 2025, the processing times for new study permits was 45 days, meeting the 60-day service standard.

Permanent Resident (PR)
Intake Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
212,243 112,026 -47% 188,383 156,438 -17%
Supplementary Notes

• As of April 30, 2025, IRCC is meeting the service standards for two permanent resident (PR) lines of business: Canadian Experience Class (4.7 months) and Quebec Skilled Workers (6.9 months).

• As of the end of April 2025, 56% of PR applications are within service standards, where one has been established.

Citizenship (Grants)
Intake Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
128,165 104,270 -19% 137,080 116,318 -15%
Supplementary Notes

• Processing times for Citizenship grant applications as of April 30, 2025 was 9 months, within the 12-month service standard, and a decrease from 14 months as of April 30, 2024.
• Canada welcomed almost 108,000 new Canadian Citizens from January 1 to April 30, 2025, a decrease of 20% compared to the same time period in 2024.
Passport (IRCC-specific)
Intake Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
27,083 31,623 +40% 30,431 40,976 +35%
Supplementary Notes

• Intake of passports/travel documents for which IRCC is responsible from January to April 2025 increased by 40% compared to the same period in 2024, rising from 27,083 to 31,623. Also, IRCC processed 40,976 applications during this timeframe, reflecting a 35% increase from 30,431 in early 2024, highlighting improved efficiency and service delivery.

Overview of the Client Support Centre

Phone Operations
Intake
(requesting to speak to an agent) Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
1,362,855
1,546,256 +13% 643,080 611,186 -5%
Email Operations
Intake Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
781,082
817,065 +5% 801,702 873,680 +9%

Ministerial Centre for members of Parliament and Senators (MCMPS)
Intake (cases) Output (cases)
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
149,824 137,656 -8% 149,824 137,656 -8%
Supplementary Notes

• Every case received at MCMPS is resolved, hence the intake and output are identical numbers. The 2025 federal election had an impact on the overall input and output and volumes decreased.

Crisis Dedicated Channel: Phone
Intake Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
12,879 2,826 -78% 11,445 2,758 -76%
Crisis Dedicated Channel: Email
Intake Output
Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change Jan-Apr 2024 Jan-Apr 2025 % Change
35,944 9,286 -74% 32,306 8,923 -72%
Supplementary Notes

• One active dedicated crisis phone line remains for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The other crises lines, Ukraine and Afghanistan, have been integrated into the regular phone operations.

• While the overall application inventory has decreased, average processing times for certain categories have risen. The Immigration Levels Plan sets the number of newcomers that Canada plans to welcome each year. If there are more people applying than available spaces, processing times may increase.
• Consequently, an application may not be processed in the year it is submitted if the admission target for that stream has already been met.
• To support informed decision-making and manage client expectations, IRCC is improving client communication and making program information more accessible so that applicants understand processing times and can better track their place in the queue.

If pressed on inventory:
• At the end of April 2025, 63% of all applications in our inventory were within established service standards. This is an increase of 2% from March and up from 56% at the beginning of the year.