IRCC’s backlog continues to shrink in 2025

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) backlog has dropped below one million for the second consecutive month.

The total number of applications in the department’s backlog was 892,100, as of January 31, 2025.

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 Considering that the backlog at the end of December 2024 was 942,300 , that shows a decrease of 5.33%.

For context, here is a look at the overall immigration backlog over the last six months.

The total number of applications IRCC has in its inventory has also been decreasing. As of December 31, 2024, there were 2,119,900 applications overall, a number that has fallen, as of January 31, 2025, to 2,076,600. 

The number of applications processed within service standards was 1,184,500 as of January 31, while it was 1,177,600 at the end of December.  

What is a backlog?

Applications are considered part of the backlog if they are not processed within IRCC’s published service standards. These standards are the timeline that IRCC considers reasonable for processing an application. 

The amount of time depends on the type of application. For example, Express Entry applications have a service standard of six months while family sponsorship applications have a service standard of 12 months.  

Therefore, Express Entry applications that take longer than six months or family sponsorship applications that take longer than 12 months to process are considered part of the backlog. 

Current backlog 

Permanent resident applications 

As of January 31, 2025, IRCC had 839,900 applications in its inventory for permanent residence immigration programs. This includes the Express Entry program, Express Entry-aligned streams of the Provincial Nominee Program, and the family sponsorship programs. 

Of these 483,500 (or 58%) were being processed within service standards, leaving 356,400 as backlog. 

The department doesn’t supply exact figures but noted that only 20% of Express Entry applications were considered backlog. This meets IRCC’s service standard of processing 80% of applications within a service standard of six months. 

As for Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) applications (through Express Entry), the backlog rose significantly to 30% as of January 2025, from 25% as of December 31, 2024. This indicates a growing percentage of PNP applicants through Express Entry awaiting decisions.  

Finally, family sponsorship backlog remains consistent at 15%, the same as last month and on par with its projected backlog (also 15%). 

Temporary resident permit applications 

Only 51% of applications for temporary residency were being processed within service standards, as of January 31. This includes work permits, study permits, and visitor visas. 

Out of 998,100 applications only 504,400 (or 51%) were processed as per service standards. 

That leaves 493,700 applications as backlog. 

Breaking it down by program, visitor visas have the highest percentage of applications in the backlog. 

As of January 31, 71% of all visitor visa applications were in the backlog, against a projected backlog of 62%. 

For study permits, the backlog continues to rise, with the latest data showing 45%, compared to 43% as of December 31. 

On the other hand, the number of work permits in the backlog fell significantly during the duration of a month. As of January 31, only 42% of applications remained in the backlog, as compared to 57% at the end of December 2024. This could indicate IRCC prioritizing work permit applications for processing.  

Citizenship grants 

The citizenship application backlog remains low. 

As of January 31, there were 238,600 applications in total for citizenship. Of these, 196,600 (or 82%) were processed within service standards. 

That leaves only 18% as the backlog.  

How is IRCC reducing the backlog?

The Immigration Levels Plan 2025-27, released on October 24, 2024, outlines a reduction in PR admission targets over the next three years.  

The federal government has introduced caps on certain immigration programs. In January 2025, it announced a cap on study permit applications processed in 2025. The government also placed a cap on permanent residence application intake under the Agri-Food Pilot. 

By lowering immigration targets and restricting application intake, Canada aims to better manage application inventories. 

In January 2025, IRCC announced a plan to cut approximately 3,300 jobs over the next three years, raising concerns about potential delays in processing. IRCC has stated that the reductions are a direct response to the lower immigration levels outlined in the Levels Plan. It remains to be seen how these changes will affect the backlog. 

Note: The Agri-Food Pilot has since received its application quota for the year, and is no longer accepting new applications.* 

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