IRCC's backlog approaches 1 million as study permit applications rise sharply.

As of September 30, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported a backlog of 996,700 applications, marking the highest level since November 2024.

Among the various types of applications, study permit requests experienced the most significant month-over-month growth this year, rising by 10%.

On the same date, the total application inventory at IRCC reached 2,200,100, with the department managing to process 1,203,400 of these applications within their established service standards.

The accompanying table illustrates IRCC’s backlog for each month of 2025, enabling a comparison of September's figures with those from earlier months.

By September 30, there were 913,800 permanent residence (PR) applications within IRCC’s inventory, which included applications for Express Entry, Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and family sponsorship.

Data from the department indicates that 431,400 (47%) of these applications were being processed according to the immigration department’s service standards. As a result, 482,400 applications remained in the backlog, an increase from 470,300 the previous month.

While IRCC does not disclose exact numbers, it has noted that 21% of Express Entry applications were classified as backlog, a slight rise from 20% at the end of August.

For Express Entry-aligned PNP applications, the backlog percentage stood at 47% by the end of September, the lowest level since March 2025.

Additionally, the backlog for family sponsorship applications rose from 17% at the end of August to 19% by the end of September, representing the highest percentage of family sponsorship applications in backlog since June 2023.

As of September 30, IRCC's inventory included 1,028,500 temporary residence applications, with 567,400 (55%) being processed within the department’s service standards.

From these figures, it can be inferred that 461,100 temporary residence applications—which encompass work permits, study permits, and visitor visas—were still in the backlog.

The backlog percentage for work permit applications increased from 45% at the end of August to 48% by September 30, compared to a projected backlog of 28%.

The backlog for study permits surged to 42% (against a projected 34%), up from 32% the previous month, marking the highest backlog for study permits since February of this year.

Conversely, the backlog percentage for visitor visa applications saw a slight decline from 60% at the end of August to 57% at the end of September, although this remains above IRCC’s anticipated backlog of 53% for September.

By the end of September, IRCC had 257,800 citizenship applications in its inventory, with 204,600 (79%) of these being processed within the department’s service standards.

Currently, there are 53,200 applications, accounting for 21%, that are pending in the backlog. This represents a slight rise from the previous month, during which 20% of citizenship applications in the inventory of the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) were backlogged.

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An application is classified as part of IRCC’s backlog when its processing time exceeds the service standards established by the department. These standards serve as benchmarks for the expected processing durations for various types of applications.

For instance, IRCC aims to finalize most Express Entry applications within a six-month timeframe and family sponsorship applications within a year. Applications that exceed these timeframes—such as an Express Entry application taking longer than six months or a family sponsorship application surpassing 12 months—are categorized as backlogged.

IRCC strives to process 80% of all applications within the designated service standards, acknowledging that the remaining 20% often involve more intricate cases that necessitate additional documentation, thorough examination, or extended decision-making periods.

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Source: This article is sourced from CIC News.

Credit: This article is sourced from CIC News.

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