CANADA: Immitracker vs. IRCC, immigration processing time insights (November & December 2024)
Immitracker is presenting the latest processing time statistics for Canada! With the help of our users who thoughtfully put in their case information, we’re able to glean valuable insights regarding actual processing times for the most popular Canadian immigration programs.
For each visa and immigration program and citizenship, the IRCC provides average processing time estimates. These official estimates by program can be found here. From the cases that get logged in the Canadian trackers on Immitracker, we noticed that the actual processing times can vary significantly from the ones presented by the IRCC.
This time we’re presenting the combined analysis for both November and December 2024 and the programs that Immitracker reviewed are from the most popular trackers and include:
Key Report Takeaways
In the graph below, we display the government processing time estimates for each of the programs (last updated by the IRCC on January 8) on the left side and the actual processing time estimates calculated by Immitracker on the right side. Below are some of the most interesting observations we made based on this data:
Citizenship processing remains consistently fast! The average processing time was 145 days (4.8 months), significantly faster than the IRCC's estimated 7-month processing time.
Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applications are moving faster. Processing times dropped from 156 days (5.2 months) to 121 days (4 months). We’re also consistently seeing over 80 cases finish processing on the CEC tracker which is significantly more case data than what we get for other programs. This aligns with the government’s efforts to expedite transitions from temporary to permanent residency.
Spousal Sponsorship saw a major improvement. The processing time decreased to 141 days (4.7 months) from 225 days (7.5 months). The government appears to be processing spousal sponsorship applications considerably more promptly.
The Immitracker numbers were calculated based on the cases that successfully finished processing in November and December (data for both months combined). Case timelines were counted from application submission to final approval.
In the sections below, we break down our Immitracker processing time insights by individual program including the quantity of cases that were analyzed and the number of days it took on average for the case to go from application submission to the final processing milestone (Passport Request / PPR or oath letter).
Processing Time Analysis by Program
Citizenship
For Citizenship applicants, we analyzed 30 cases that received their Oath Letter (the letter in which the IRCC provides the applicant with an invitation to and date for their citizenship ceremony). This entire process took them on average around 145 days / 4.8 months and is consistent with our last report period.
Citizenship processing remains unusually fast and continues to be significantly quicker than the 7-month processing time posted by the IRCC.
Spousal Sponsorship
For Spousal Sponsorship applicants (both inland and outland), we analyzed 28 cases that received their PPR and it on average took them 141 days / 4.7 months to receive it.
This is a huge improvement from the previous period, where 17 cases took 225 days / 7.5 months to process. The drastic reduction in processing time suggests that the government is moving much faster on spousal sponsorship applications.
This is an unexpected development given how large the gap is between the processing times provided by the government and what we’re observing.
Express Entry Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)
For Provincial Nominee (PNP) through Express Entry applicants, we analyzed a total of 40 cases that received their PPR and it on average took them 142 days / 4.7 months to receive it which is nearly the same as the 150-day processing time reported in September-October 2024.
Outlier cases with exceptionally long wait times have been observed since the summer. This time, we saw a case that was approved after more than 500 days. Even though processing times are generally stable, these delays seem to be continuing.
Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW) Program
For Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) applicants, a total of 19 cases received their PPR and it on average took them 126 days / 4.2 months to receive it.
Processing time is slightly slower than the 109 days / 3.6 months average from the previous period but is still faster than earlier in the year when processing times were around 5 months or more. While fewer FSW cases are being processed, they continue to move relatively quickly.
Express Entry Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Program
For Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants, a total of 85 cases received their PPR and it on average took them 121 days / 4 months to be processed. We see a noticeable decrease from 156 days / 5.2 months processing time recorded in the previous period (Sept-Oct)!
We see this acceleration of processing time applications potentially because of the government's ongoing focus on transitioning temporary residents in Canada to permanent residents.
November & December 2024 Summary Infographic
If you’re interested in getting a copy of our data analysis summaries, you can download them along with the infographic for free at the following link!
Looking for processing time insights for other programs? Check out the Immitracker trackers or reach out to us through our Contact Form and we can help you find the answers!
