Canadian Immigration Processing Times: March 2023

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) closed 2022 after processing 5.2 million applications for permanent residence, temporary residence and citizenship throughout the year. This year, IRCC continues to process applications. In this article we’ll explore the latest IRCC processing times for:

• Citizenship, family sponsorships and temporary resident visas, also
• Applications under economic immigration, humanitarian, refugees and caregivers visa categories.

These processing times help applicants are to have an idea of what to expect before submitting their application. However, IRCC can take a longer or shorter time to process an application.

<<Also Read: Backlog increases as IRCC tries to reach service targets>>

Processing times for PR, citizenship, family sponsorships and temporary resident visas

As of March 7, 2023, processing times were the following:

1) PR cards and Citizenship

Application Type	Current processing time	Compared to February 2023
Renewing or replacing a PR card	69 days	Increased by 4 days
Waiting for the first card	36 days	Decreased by 6 days
Citizenship grant	23 months	No change
Certificate/Proof of citizenship	14 months	No change
Resumption of citizenship	30 months	Increased by 6 months
Renunciation of citizenship	14 months	Decreased by 1 month
Search of citizenship record	16 months	No change
Citizenship for adopted persons	Part 1: 11 months Part 2: Varies by complexity	Part 1: No change Part 2: No change

2. Family Sponsorship

Application Type	Current processing time	Compared to February 2023
Spouse or common-law partner living inside Canada	13 months	Decreased by 1 month
Spouse or common-law partner living outside Canada	16 months	No change
Dependent child	Depends on where the child lives	Depends on where the child lives
Parents or grandparents	39 months	No change
Adopted child/relative	Depends on where the adopted child/relative live	Depends on where the adopted child/relative live

3. Temporary residence applications

Application Type	Current processing time	Compared to February 2023
Visitor visa outside Canada	Varies by country	Varies by country
Visitor visa inside Canada	12 days online 32 days by paper	Decreased by 2 days online Increased by 6 days by paper
Visitor visa extension (visitor record)	181 days online 91 days by paper	Decreased by 22 days online Decreased by 6 days by paper
Parents or grandparents Super Visa	Varies by country	Varies by country
Study permit outside Canada	10 weeks	No change
Study permit inside Canada	4 weeks	Decreased by 1 week
Study permit extension	109 days online 107 days by paper	Decreased 45 days online Decreased 36 days by paper
Work permit outside Canada	Varies by country	Varies by country
Work permit inside Canada  (initial application or extension)	156 days online 53 days by paper	Decreased by 8 days online Decreased by 7 days by paper
Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP)	25 days	No change
International Experience Canada	Current season: 3 weeks	Decreased by 4 week
Electronic Travel Authorization	5 minutes	No change

<<IRCC assigned 59,456 applications to inactive immigration officers>>

Processing times for applications under economic immigration, humanitarian, refugees and caregivers visa category

The processing times for applications under Economic Immigration, humanitarian, refugees and caregivers, were the following:

Application Type	Current processing time	Compared to February 2023
Canadian Experience Class (CEC) online via Express Entry	12 months	Decreased by 4 months
Caregivers: – Home Child Care Provider Pilot – Home Support Worker Pilot	Experience 24 months or more: 31 months Experience 24 months or more: 25 months	Experience 24 months or more: no change Experience less than 24 months: no change
Provincial Nominee Program online via Express Entry	11 months	No change
Non-Express Entry PNP	20 months	Decreased by 1 month
Self-employed persons (Federal)	43 months	No change
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) online via Express Entry	30 months	Decreased by 1 month
Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) online via Express Entry	Not provided	70 months
Atlantic Immigration Program	24 months	Increased by 1 month
Quebec skilled worker	20 months	Increased by 1 month
Quebec business class	67 months	No change
Start-up visa	33 months	No change
Humanitarian & Compassionate	25 months	Decreased by 1 month
Refugees Government-assisted and Privately sponsored	Depends where you are applying from	Depends where you are applying from
Protected persons and convention refugees (in Canada)	23 months	Increased by 1 month

This data was retrieved from the Government of Canada, on March 7, 2023. Therefore, it is subject to change on the website due to fresh updates.

Also, please be aware that IRCC calculates processing time based on the time it took to process previous similar applications. The processing time begins when IRCC receives the application and ends when the immigration officer has decided on the application. Moreover, the processing time may vary on how the application was submitted on paper or online.

Relevant articles

• Immigration Levels Plan 2023 -2025: Canada to welcome up to 500,000 new immigrants
• Canada’s Immigration Minister announced new online services for applicants
• Canadian Immigration Processing Times: Seven Factors,
• Check Your Application Status Canada,
• IRCC Online Profile for Immigration, Visa, or Permit to Canada

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