IRCC Processing Times Improve for Work Permit and Study Permit Extensions

Good news for temporary residents in Canada: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported shorter processing times across several categories in its October 29, 2026 update, with the biggest improvements in extension applications.

What got faster

Compared with the figures published on October 21, the October 29 update showed:

• Visitor records: down 20 days, from 341 days to 321 days.
• Study permit extensions (in Canada): down two weeks, from 8 weeks to 6 weeks.
• Work permit extensions (in Canada): down to 11 weeks, from 12 weeks.
• Study permits: down one week for applicants from Canada (7 to 6 weeks), Pakistan (7 to 6 weeks) and the United States (5 to 4 weeks).

Processing times for new work permits were unchanged for every country tracked — 16 weeks from Canada, 10 weeks from India and Nigeria, 9 weeks from Pakistan and the Philippines, and 6 weeks from the United States.

Visitor visas and super visas

Visitor visa times fell for applicants from Pakistan (63 to 59 days) and Nigeria (106 to 105 days), but rose for India (29 to 31 days). Super visa times fell for India (83 to 82 days), Pakistan (104 to 99 days), Nigeria (34 to 30 days) and the United States (75 to 74 days), while rising for the Philippines (103 to 106 days).

IRCC’s inventory on October 29 included about 195,900 work permit extension applications (down 4,200) and 25,900 study permit extension applications (down 1,900).

What this means for you

Processing times are estimates only — they are not guarantees or deadlines, and an individual application can be decided faster or slower depending on its complexity and IRCC’s workload. Service standards are IRCC’s own targets: 120 days for in-Canada temporary residence submissions and 60 days for most applications made outside Canada.

At NewSteps Immigration, we help clients file complete, well-prepared extension applications so avoidable delays — like missing documents — do not hold up a decision.

Disclaimer: This post is general information only, published by NewSteps Immigration. We accept no liability for this post, as the information in it may be incorrect or may change without notice. Please refer to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the final and official information.