Newly released figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show a continued decrease in the total application backlog, with a reduction of 48,900 since the previous month.
As of February 28, IRCC’s overall backlog stood at 941,400 applications. Significant changes included an 11% decrease in the work permit backlog, a 6% drop in the visitor visa backlog, and a 4% decline in both the Express Entry and study permit backlogs.
In total, there were 2,092,700 applications in IRCC’s inventories as of February 28, marking a modest increase of 700 applications within a one-month period. The department successfully processed 1,151,300 of these applications within its service standards.
IRCC’s application backlog is currently at its lowest point since July 2025, as illustrated in the table below:
| Month | Immigration Backlog | Change Relative to Preceding Month |
|---|---|---|
| July, 2025 | 901,700 | +6.98% |
| August, 2025 | 958,850 | +6.33% |
| September, 2025 | 996,700 | +3.95% |
| October, 2025 | 1,006,700 | +1.00% |
| November, 2025 | 1,005,800 | -0.09% |
| December, 2025 | 1,014,700 | +0.88% |
| January, 2026 | 990,300 | -2.41% |
| February, 2026 | 941,400 | -4.94% |
Permanent Residence Applications
By the end of February, the total number of permanent residence (PR) applications in IRCC’s inventory exceeded one million (1,007,400), an increase of 11,900 applications compared to January 31.