CANADA: Immitracker vs. IRCC, immigration processing time insights (Q2 2025: April - June)
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. The programs that Immitracker reviews 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 (taking the IRCC processing time estimates update from June 5) on the left side and the actual processing times calculated by Immitracker on the right side. The Immitracker numbers were calculated based on the cases that successfully finished processing from April through June (data for all three months of Q2 2025 combined). Case timelines were counted from application submission to final approval.
Below are some of the most interesting observations we made based on this data:
The Express Entry PNP stream experienced a jump to 218 days (7.3 months) in Q2 after a fast Q1 (124 days) which is nearing the official IRCC estimate of 8 months.
Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) stream processing continues to improve as it's seen to be faster than the government estimates (7 months), averaging at just 3.6 months (106 days). However, this comes at the cost of significantly less applications being processed in comparison to 2024.
Canadian Experience Class (CEC) stream cases show the widest range of processing times. with some cases clearing in under 2 months and others taking well over a year. However, with an average of 153 days (5.1 months), CEC remains pretty much exactly on par with the IRCC estimates.
Outland Spousal Sponsorship averages 128 days (4.3 months) to approval which is well below IRCC’s official 11-month estimate.
In contrast, Inland Spousal Sponsorship cases are taking nearly three times as long, with an average of 340 days (11.3 months).
Citizenship processing times, with an average of 164 days (5.5 months), remain well below the official 8-month IRCC estimate.
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 45 cases that received their Oath Letter (this is the official IRCC invitation to attend the citizenship ceremony). In Q2 2025, it took applicants an average of 164 days / 5.5 months to receive final approval. This marks a modest increase from Q1’s average of 140 days / 4.7 months but still remains well below the IRCC’s official estimate of 8 months.
The shortest case we recorded in Q2 was completed in just 88 days (from a Chinese national). On the other end of the spectrum, the longest case took 744 days (from an Indian national).
Overall, while the average timelines increased slightly from Q1, we can still see that citizenship application processing remains faster than expected and a large portion of cases are still being finalized in under 6 months.
Spousal Sponsorship
To reflect user feedback and platform trends, we’ve separated Q2 Spousal Sponsorship results into Inland and Outland streams. A total of 48 Outland and 5 Inland filtered cases were analyzed from Immitracker data.
Out of the 48 Outland cases analyzed, the average time from submission to PPR was 128 days / 4.3 months which shows a slight improvement from Q1’s 149-day average. The fastest approvals were again seen from Indian nationals with two cases completed in just 50 and 55 days, followed closely by cases from Sri Lanka (62 days) and Algeria (67 days). The longest Outland case in Q2 took 489 days and was also from an Indian national with the other longer waits coming from Nigerian (290 days) and UK (257 days) nationals.
Among the 5 Inland cases reviewed, the average processing time was significantly higher at 340 days / 11.3 months. The fastest approvals were from China (306 days) and India (325 days), while the longest reached 391 days.
Express Entry Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)
For Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applicants through Express Entry, we analyzed 20 cases that received their Passport Request (PPR) during Q2 2025. On average, it took 218 days / 7.3 months from submission to final approval. This represents a notable increase from Q1 where the average was just 124 days / 4.1 months signaling a slowdown in PNP processing this quarter. While the IRCC's official estimate for PNP processing times remains at 8 months, Q2’s average can be seen approaching that mark.
The longest delays in Q2 were seen in cases from Iran (629 days), Ukraine (349 days) and India (292 days) all well beyond the average and indicative of increased processing delays. However, some PNP cases still moved swiftly including one from India processed in just 55 days.
This shift contrasts with Q1 where a higher number of PNP applications were finalized in under 2 months. Still, most cases remain within the IRCC’s official timeline!
Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW) Program
For Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) applicants, we analyzed 21 cases that received their Passport Request (PPR) during Q2 2025. On average, it took 106 days / 3.6 months to receive final approval which is quiet an improvement from Q1 where the average was 130 days / 4.3 months.
This further widens the gap between actual processing times being experienced by applicants and the IRCC’s official estimate of 7 months (confirming that FSW cases continue to be handled more efficiently in 2025).
From our recorded cases we can see most cases in Q2 were finalized well under the 4-month mark. The shortest case came from Ghana which took around just 52 days and the longest case this quarter came from India taking well over a year - 513 days.
Despite the smaller pool of new cases, the FSW program remains one of the faster-moving Express Entry streams in terms of average processing times even as the IRCC appears to continue to prioritize the CEC stream. The low volume may also be contributing to faster results for those who do apply under this category.
Express Entry Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Program
For Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants, we analyzed 41 cases that received their Passport Request (PPR) in Q2 2025. On average, it took 153 days / 5.1 months from submission to PPR. This marks a slight increase compared to Q1 where the average was 141 days / 4.7 months. This is right on par of IRCC’s official processing time estimate of 5 months (perhaps the only program to be matching so precisely).
The range of processing times remains wide with several cases completing in just under 70 days including applicants from India (53 days), Spain (65), Vietnam (68), and China (71). However, the longest case in Q2 came from Russia at 734 days which is almost two years (an entire 1.5 years over the IRCC processing time promise).
As in Q1, CEC remains the most active Express Entry stream in terms of case volume. While fewer cases were logged for FSW and PNP in Q2, the steady influx of CEC applications suggests that IRCC continues to prioritize transitioning temporary residents into permanent residents. In summary, CEC continues to show strong overall performance and relatively fast processing times.
If you’re interested in getting a copy of our data analysis summaries, you can download them 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!
