Good news for aspiring immigrants! Canada has significantly reduced its immigration backlog, making visa processing faster and more efficient.
As of March 2025, the backlog has dropped to 821,200—down nearly 8% from January’s 892,100—marking the third straight month it has remained below one million.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is processing applications more swiftly, with over 1.2 million of the 2 million total immigration applications handled within standard processing times.
Despite this progress, challenges remain. Express Entry delays persist, with 25% of applications exceeding processing timelines. The backlog for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) has risen to 36%, and visitor visa delays continue to surpass IRCC’s 50% target, currently at 65%.
To tackle these issues, IRCC has introduced automation for visitor visas, AI-powered analytics, and a study permit cap. Meanwhile, Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2025–27 aims to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2025 and 500,000 annually in 2026 and 2027.
For applicants, this means faster processing and less uncertainty, but early planning is still key—especially for visitor and study visas, which continue to face bottlenecks.
