Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently announced updated processing times for economic immigration and citizenship applications on April 7, 2026.
The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) processing time has improved to six months from seven, marking its first enhancement since early 2025. Citizenship grants processing time also decreased by one month to 12 months, with the queue diminishing for the first time this year.
Conversely, the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) queue expanded by over 10,000 in a single month, and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) saw a significant seven-month increase to 40 months, the largest rise in any economic category in this update.
This article provides an overview of the latest processing times for economic immigration and citizenship applications as of April 7, 2026.
Economic Immigration
Express Entry
The FSWP witnessed its first processing time improvement in months, reducing to six months. CEC and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) processing times remain unchanged.
| Application type | Previous (Mar. 9) | Current (Apr. 7) |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | 7 months | 6 months |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)* | N/A | N/A |
*IRCC does not release processing time estimates for the FSTP due to insufficient data.
- CEC applications currently awaiting a decision: 54,600.
- FSWP applications currently awaiting a decision: 44,100.
All Express Entry programs have a service standard of six months.
While the FSWP improvement is positive, the growing CEC queue indicates a different trend. With an increase of approximately 10,300 since March and over 20,000 new applicants since February, it suggests that IRCC may face challenges in processing new applications promptly, potentially leading to longer CEC wait times in the future.
Conversely, the FSWP queue has decreased by about 1,200 to 44,100. Coupled with the one-month processing time reduction, this implies that IRCC has prioritized this stream.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
No changes in processing times were reported for enhanced or base PNP applications.