CEC Processing Times and Draw Trends: January - June 2025

Happy beginning of summer! This time around, we're presenting the in-depth analysis for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) stream under Express Entry where we examine draw frequency, CRS cutoff scores and average processing times based on the data in our trackers. The timeline being reviewed is from January through May 2025. 

Within the first 5 months of 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made noticeable changes in its approach to the CEC program.

The number and size of CEC-specific draws have significantly decreased since February, with only three rounds of invites issued across four months. With only 500 invites sent since then, these draws were significantly smaller than in prior years when draw numbers frequently exceeded 4,000 to 6,000 applicants. This fall in draws coincided with a sharp increase in Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score cutoffs which now range from 521 to 547 making it much harder for applicants to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

Despite the decreased intake, the processing times have not gotten quicker. We calculated that the wait times to receive PPR between February and May were averaging 5.7 months and 5.9 months respectively.

After analyzing data from Immitracker, we found that CEC application processing times showed considerable monthly variation between January and May 2025. The overall average was 149 days (4.9 months) with the fastest processing times observed in April at just 110 days (3.6 months) and the slowest in May at 179 days (5.9 months). January and March were relatively stable at 145 days (4.8 months) and 137 days (4.5 months). 

When looking at quarterly averages, we can see that Q1 (January–March) recorded a processing time of 152 days (5 months) while early Q2 (April) showed a slight improvement at 3.6 months. However, the slowdown in May (5.9 months) raises questions about whether this positive trend will continue.

In addition to monthly and quarterly fluctuations, we can also observe how processing times vary dramatically by country of origin. Chinese applicants experienced the longest delays, with processing times reaching up to 1,392 days (nearly four years) for the slowest case. Notably, this isn’t the first time in our most recent reporting that we noticed Chinese nationals being among the most delayed applicants, suggesting a recurring trend rather than an isolated case.

Similar delays were seen for individual cases from Sri Lanka (765 days) and Russia (734 days). In stark contrast, some applicants from India were processed in as little as 47 days with other cases like ones from Spain (65 days), Nigeria (66 days) and Ukraine (68 days) also seeing impressively fast timelines.

Notably, Russia and Iran reported the highest average processing delays with peaks approaching 215 days and 200 days, respectively—well above the overall average. Countries like India, Brazil, Korea, and Pakistan maintained more stable processing timelines by generally hovering close to the global average of 173 days. At the faster end of the spectrum, Vietnam stood out with one of the shortest average processing times of approximately 153 days (around five months) which reflects a more streamlined experience for applicants from that region.

Last year, CEC stood out as the most consistent Express Entry program in terms of processing timelines. Throughout 2024, tracked CEC cases processing was slower in the early months but stabilized by March and maintained a consistent pace for the remainder of the year. You can view the full 2024 Express Entry analysis here.

However, this consistency can be seen to diminish in the first five months of 2025. Monthly processing times vary, draw volumes have drastically decreased and CRS cutoff scores have increased. The CEC stream is now increasingly more unpredictable in terms of both selection and processing results. We can see that the IRCC has temporarily reduced or slowed down intake through the CEC stream and we haven’t seen any indications that this trend will be changing in the near future.