“May sees a 5.5% rise in Canada’s immigration backlog, impacting work permits, permanent residence, and visitor visa timelines.”
After months of steady progress in reducing processing times, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has reported its first increase in application backlogs since October 2024. As of May 31, 2025, the backlog reached 802,000 applications, up from 760,200 in April—a 5.5% surge.
This rise comes at a time when the overall number of applications across all IRCC categories now totals over 2.1 million, including permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship applications.
What Is a Backlog and Why Does It Matter?
IRCC defines an application as part of the backlog if it has not been processed within the department’s published service standards. For instance:
- Express Entry applications should be processed within six months.
- Family sponsorship applications should be completed within 12 months.
- Work permits and study permits have different timelines depending on type and region.
Applications that exceed these targets fall into the backlog, resulting in longer wait times and increased uncertainty for both applicants and employers.
WHAT’S CAUSING THE BACKLOG?
Several key factors are driving the recent increase:
-
- High volume of new applications, especially ahead of anticipated changes to work permit and study permit policies.
- Complex cases that require additional documentation or eligibility reviews.
- Seasonal surges, as late spring and summer are peak periods for study permits, visitor visas, and employer LMIA-based hires.
- Resource constraints, even as IRCC adopts automation tools for faster processing.
- Reduced permanent resident targets, which means more cases are being paused or deferred in anticipation of future quotas.
For Canadian employers hiring through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), growing backlogs can create additional delays—especially for:
- Work permit issuance for approved LMIA candidates.
- LMIA processing, particularly in sectors facing acute labour shortages.
With 38% of work permit applications in backlog and an increased number of job offers tied to updated wage thresholds (as of June 27, 2025), employers should expect longer lead times to onboard foreign workers. This may require:
- Planning recruitment cycles earlier.
- Offering wages above the provincial median to qualify under the high-wage stream for faster processing.
- Anticipating delays in permit renewals, which could affect workforce continuity.
IRCC’S RESPONSE AND WHAT TO EXPECT
IRCC says it remains committed to processing 80% of applications within service standards. To tackle the growing backlog, the department has been:
- Using advanced analytics and automation tools to triage cases and assist officers.
- Reducing permanent residence targets to help manage inventory.
- Exploring policy changes to streamline certain application pathways.
- But despite these efforts, application surges—particularly during peak seasons—continue to put pressure on processing capacity.
