IRCC applications at a glance: Inventories and backlogs

To meet our annual immigration targets and help us increase processing capacity and efficiency, it’s important to have an inventory of applications for our programs. An inventory contains all applications received for a program that have not yet been finalized. This includes those that are processed within our service standards, as well as a backlog of applications that have been in our inventories longer than our service standards.

At any given time, IRCC is managing over 2 million applications from our inventories. In 2024, we finalized more than 7 million decisions across our lines of business.

Information on this page is up to date as of . Data is approximate and subject to change.

total applications in all IRCC inventories

Service Standards

Temporary residence

applications are within service standards

This is % of
total applications for temporary residence.

Get temporary residence data

Permanent residence

applications are within service standards

This is % of
total applications for permanent residence.

Get permanent residence data

Citizenship

applications are within service standards

This is % of
total citizenship applications.

Get citizenship data

Backlog

Temporary residence

in backlog (exceeding service standards)

This is % of
total applications for temporary residence.

Get temporary residence data

Permanent residence

in backlog (exceeding service standards)

This is % of
total applications for permanent residence.

Get permanent residence data

Citizenship grant

in backlog (exceeding service standards)

This is % of
total applications for grant of citizenship.

Get citizenship data

Managing the backlog

Our goal is to process 80% of applications within our service standards. This allows for expected delays in some very complex cases or when we need more information from our clients before we can finalize their files.

However, if there are more people who apply than available spaces, it may not be possible to achieve this goal and processing times may increase in some categories.

Our projections are estimates based on current operating conditions and may change. They don’t account for sharp increases in received applications, urgent shifts in priorities, or other unforeseen circumstances affecting our operations.

Permanent residence

Our performance

We made 41,400 decisions and welcomed 33,900 new permanent residents in January 2025.

Backlog: Permanent residence applications

Note

2022-2025 Percentage of backlog of federal high-skilled (Express Entry) applications – Actual and projected

2022-2025 Percentage of backlog of federal high-skilled (Express Entry) applications – Actual and projected
Month Backlog (Actual) Backlog (Projected)
Jan 22 89% -
Feb 22 92% -
Mar 22 98% -
Apr 22 99% -
May 22 100% -
Jun 22 100% -
Jul 22 99% -
Aug 22 90% 86%
Sep 22 68% 72%
Oct 22 45% 59%
Nov 22 31% 46%
Dec 22 22% 20%
Jan 23 20% 20%
Feb 23 20% 20%
Mar 23 18% 20%
Apr 23 17% 20%
May 23 15% 20%
Jun 23 17% 20%
Jul 23 16% 20%
Aug 23 12% 20%
Sep 23 12% 20%
Oct 23 13% 20%
Nov 23 16% 11%
Dec 23 17% 10%
Jan 24 17% 15%
Feb 24 17% 15%
Mar 24 16% 15%
Apr 24 14% 15%
May 24 15% 15%
Jun 24 16% 15%
Jul 24 17% 15%
Aug 24 16% 15%
Sep 24 17% 15%
Oct 24 19% 15%
Nov 24 18% 20%
Dec 24 18% 20%
Jan 25 20% 20%
Feb 25 - 20%
Mar 25 - 20%

Citizenship

Our performance

We welcomed 297,500 new citizens from April 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025.

Backlog: Citizenship grant applications

2022-2025 Percentage of backlog of citizenship grant applications – Actual and projected

2022-2025 Percentage of backlog of citizenship grant applications – Actual and projected
Month Backlog (Actual) Backlog (Projected)
Jan 22 46% -
Feb 22 45% -
Mar 22 42% -
Apr 22 40% -
May 22 39% -
Jun 22 37% -
Jul 22 35% -
Aug 22 30% 30%
Sep 22 30% 30%
Oct 22 28% 28%
Nov 22 29% 27%
Dec 22 28% 26%
Jan 23 27% 26%
Feb 23 26% 25%
Mar 23 25% 24%
Apr 23 25% 24%
May 23 23% 24%
Jun 23 24% 24%
Jul 23 21% 24%
Aug 23 21% 26%
Sep 23 21% 26%
Oct 23 21% 19%
Nov 23 20% 19%
Dec 23 19% 18%
Jan 24 19% 17%
Feb 24 18% 17%
Mar 24 18% 17%
Apr 24 18% 18%
May 24 17% 17%
Jun 24 16% 17%
Jul 24 17% 10%
Aug 24 17% 11%
Sep 24 17% 16%
Oct 24 17% 17%
Nov 24 17% 16%
Dec 24 17% 16%
Jan 25 18% 16%
Feb 25 - 17%
Mar 25 - 17%

Temporary residence

Our performance

We finalized 66,600 study permit applications (including extensions) and 137,600 work permit applications (including extensions) in January 2025.

Backlog: Temporary residence applications

2022–2025 Percentage of backlog of temporary resident visas (TRV) – Actual and projected

2022–2025 Percentage of backlog of temporary resident visas (TRV) – Actual and projected
Month Backlog (Actual) Backlog (Projected)
Jan 22 70% -
Feb 22 74% -
Mar 22 55% -
Apr 22 55% -
May 22 56% -
Jun 22 71% -
Jul 22 67% -
Aug 22 71% 68%
Sep 22 74% 71%
Oct 22 74% 70%
Nov 22 70% 67%
Dec 22 70% 77%
Jan 23 68% 68%
Feb 23 64% 68%
Mar 23 61% 65%
Apr 23 50% 56%
May 23 45% 42%
Jun 23 46% 42%
Jul 23 46% 42%
Aug 23 50% 43%
Sep 23 56% 36%
Oct 23 58% 34%
Nov 23 59% 71%
Dec 23 61% 66%
Jan 24 62% 70%
Feb 24 61% 68%
Mar 24 56% 62%
Apr 24 57% 61%
May 24 58% 60%
Jun 24 62% 58%
Jul 24 64% 60%
Aug 24 71% 43%
Sep 24 72% 60%
Oct 24 74% 61%
Nov 24 75% 59%
Dec 24 75% 61%
Jan 25 71% 62%
Feb 25 - 50%
Mar 25 - 45%

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