Canada’s immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), released its latest processing times update on April 7, 2026, bringing important changes for applicants across economic immigration programs and citizenship applications.
The most notable development is a faster processing time for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)—the first improvement in more than a year. However, other programs tell a different story, with growing backlogs in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and a significant increase in processing time for the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP).
Below is a detailed breakdown of the latest Canada immigration processing times update and what it means for applicants planning their Permanent Residency (PR) in Canada.
Express Entry Processing Times: FSWP Improves
The biggest positive change in the April update is within Federal Skilled Worker Program, one of the main streams under Express Entry.
Processing times dropped from 7 months to 6 months, marking the first improvement since early 2025. This indicates that IRCC may be prioritizing skilled worker applications within the Express Entry system.
Current Express Entry Processing Times (April 2026)
- Canadian Experience Class: 7 months
- Federal Skilled Worker Program: 6 months
- Federal Skilled Trades Program: No data available
All Express Entry streams have a service standard of six months, meaning IRCC aims to process 80% of applications within that timeframe.
However, there is growing pressure on the system. The CEC backlog increased by more than 10,000 applications in just one month, reaching 54,600 pending applications. Since February, the backlog has grown by over 20,000 applications, which could lead to longer wait times in the future.
Meanwhile, the FSWP queue decreased slightly to 44,100 applications, suggesting that IRCC is clearing cases faster than new applications are being submitted.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Processing Times
The Provincial Nominee Program saw no changes in processing times in the latest update.
Current PNP Processing Times
- Enhanced PNP (via Express Entry): 7 months
- Base PNP (non-Express Entry): 13 months
The enhanced PNP queue increased slightly, while the base PNP backlog remains significantly above its service standard of 11 months.
Currently:
- 13,700 enhanced PNP applications are waiting for a decision
- 108,100 base PNP applications remain in the queue
For applicants seeking fast-track immigration to Canada, enhanced PNP streams linked to Express Entry still remain one of the most strategic pathways.
Quebec Immigration Processing Updates
Processing times for the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) remained unchanged.
Quebec Processing Times
- Quebec Skilled Worker Program (PSTQ): 11 months
- Quebec Business Class: 78 months
While the PSTQ queue decreased slightly to 25,700 applications, the Quebec Business Class continues to face extremely long wait times, still exceeding 6 years.
Atlantic Immigration Program Processing Times Jump
One of the most significant changes in this update is within the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP).
Processing times increased dramatically from 33 months to 40 months, making it the largest increase among economic immigration streams this month.
Although the queue actually decreased slightly to 13,200 applications, the spike suggests that IRCC may currently be processing older or more complex cases, which has increased the estimated wait time.
Considering the official service standard for AIP is only 11 months, the current timeline is over three times longer than the target.
Other Immigration Programs Remain Stalled
Some economic immigration streams continue to face extremely long processing times.
Programs like the Start-Up Visa Program and the Federal Self-Employed Program currently have processing times exceeding 10 years.
Application inventories remain high:
- Start-Up Visa: 46,200 applications waiting
- Self-Employed Program: 8,100 applications waiting
These programs currently do not have official service standards, and applicants should expect very long waits.
Citizenship Processing Times Improve
There is good news for those applying for Canadian citizenship.
The citizenship grant processing time dropped from 13 months to 12 months, marking the second consecutive monthly improvement.
Current Citizenship Processing Times
- Citizenship Grant: 12 months
- Citizenship Certificate (Proof of Citizenship): 10 months
- Renunciation of Citizenship: 10 months
- Search of Citizenship Records: 17 months
The citizenship grant backlog also decreased by approximately 6,800 applications, bringing the total to 313,200 pending applications.
Currently, IRCC is sending Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) notices for citizenship applications submitted around October 22, 2025.
Processing Times vs Service Standards
Many applicants confuse processing times with service standards, but they are different.
- Processing times represent the estimated waiting period based on current workloads and past application trends.
- Service standards are IRCC’s internal targets for how long applications should ideally take to process for 80% of cases.
For example, most Express Entry PR applications aim for a six-month processing timeline, although complex cases may take longer.
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