Recent figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveal a positive trend in application processing, with a significant decrease in backlogs as of March 31, 2026.
An application is considered backlogged if it exceeds the immigration department’s official service standards.
The latest data highlights the following key changes:
- Express Entry backlog reduced to 10%, the lowest on record
- Enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) backlog decreased to 38%
- Study permit backlog dropped to 40%
- Work permit backlog increased to 34%
- Visitor visa backlog slightly eased to 46%
- Citizenship grant backlog remained stable at 23%
As of March 31, IRCC had 2,154,300 applications in its inventory, with 1,219,300 processed within service standards and 935,000 designated as backlog.
The evolution of the backlog over recent months is outlined in the table below:
| Month | Total Immigration backlog | Change relative to preceding month |
| 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% |
| March, 2026 | 935,000 | -0.68% |
Permanent residence applications
IRCC reported 1,019,200 permanent residence (PR) applications as of March 31, marking a 1.17% increase from the previous month.
Of these, 477,100 applications (47%) were processed within service standards, while 542,100 were considered backlog, indicating an improvement in processing efficiency.
IRCC’s inventory includes applications for Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and family sponsorship.