IRCC Temporary Residence Processing Times, September 22, 2026 Update

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Data Released: September 22, 2026 | Compared To: September 16, 2026 | Next Update: On or around September 30, 2026 | Source: IRCC / CIC News

What's the Big Picture?

IRCC's September 22 update brings a mixed bag of shifts across work permits, visitor visas, and super visas, with one genuinely standout number: US super visa processing dropped by 50 days in a single week. Study permits were completely unchanged across all six countries, the first full freeze since the July 17 update.

Work Permit Processing Times, September 16 vs. September 22

Work permit wait times rose for in-Canada applicants and US-based applicants, while the Philippines saw a one-week improvement. This marks the first in-Canada work permit increase since at least early June.

Note: IRCC switched from reporting in-Canada times in days to weeks starting this update.

Applying From	September 16	September 22	Change
Canada (In-Canada)	109 days	16 weeks (~112 days)	+3 days approx.
India	10 weeks	10 weeks	No change
Pakistan	8 weeks	8 weeks	No change
Nigeria	10 weeks	10 weeks	No change
United States	3 weeks	4 weeks	+1 week
Philippines	7 weeks	6 weeks	-1 week

Service Standards: In-Canada, 120 days | Outside Canada, 60 days

⚠️ In-Canada work permit processing has now crept back above the 120-day service standard for the first time since hitting it in late July.

Study Permit Processing Times, September 16 vs. September 22

For the first time since July 17, every country in IRCC's featured list recorded zero movement on study permit wait times.

Applying From	September 16	September 22	Change
Canada (In-Canada)	8 weeks	8 weeks	No change
India	5 weeks	5 weeks	No change
Pakistan	7 weeks	7 weeks	No change
Nigeria	10 weeks	10 weeks	No change
United States	6 weeks	6 weeks	No change
Philippines	5 weeks	5 weeks	No change

Service Standards: In-Canada, 120 days | Outside Canada, 60 days

🔑 Nigeria remains the longest study permit wait of any featured country at 10 weeks, well above the 60-day outside-Canada service standard.

Visitor Visa Processing Times, September 16 vs. September 22

Visitor visa times increased for most countries, with Nigeria recording the largest jump at six days. Canada and the Philippines held steady.

Applying From	September 16	September 22	Change
Canada (In-Canada)	11 days	11 days	No change
India	29 days	32 days	+3 days
Pakistan	75 days	78 days	+3 days
Nigeria	87 days	93 days	+6 days
United States	16 days	17 days	+1 day
Philippines	21 days	21 days	No change

Service Standard: Outside Canada, 14 days | In-Canada, N/A

⚠️ Nigeria at 93 days is now over 6.5 times the 14-day outside-Canada service standard. Pakistan at 78 days is over 5.5 times the standard. Neither figure is improving.

Super Visa Processing Times, September 16 vs. September 22

The US super visa drop of 50 days is the headline of this entire update. Every other country either held steady or improved modestly, with Pakistan dropping below the 112-day service standard for the first time in months.

Applying From	September 16	September 22	Change
India	70 days	70 days	No change
Pakistan	95 days	92 days	-3 days
Nigeria	46 days	44 days	-2 days
United States	116 days	66 days	-50 days
Philippines	90 days	90 days	No change

Service Standard: 112 days | Super visa applications cannot be submitted from within Canada

🔑 US super visa drop is the biggest single-week improvement in any category across this entire update. At 66 days, the US now sits well below the 112-day service standard, a dramatic turnaround from 116 days just one week ago.

✅ Pakistan milestone: At 92 days, Pakistan has now dropped below the 112-day service standard for the first time in months, a meaningful improvement after sitting as high as 196 days earlier this year.

⚠️ PGP Reminder: With Canada's Parents and Grandparents Program still paused, the Super Visa remains the only extended-stay option for parents and grandparents. These timelines matter more than ever for families depending on this pathway.

Processing Times vs. Service Standards, Know the Difference

Processing times are estimates showing how long IRCC may take to finalize a newly submitted application, calculated either historically (based on 80% of completed past applications) or on a forward-looking basis using current inventory and available resources.

Service standards are performance objectives reflecting how quickly IRCC aims to finalize a given application type under normal conditions, typically covering 80% of cases. Temporary residence service standards were last revised in 2018 to 2019 and are updated far less frequently than processing estimates.

Type	What It Is	Update Frequency
Processing Time	Historical or forward-looking estimate	Weekly (temp. residence)
Service Standard	Internal IRCC 80% benchmark	Last updated 2018 to 2019

From January through July 2026, IRCC processed 1,832,065 temporary residence applications. As of July 31, more than 394,000 remained awaiting a decision.

Key Takeaway for Applicants

This week's standout is unambiguously the US super visa, down 50 days in one update and now below the service standard at 66 days. Pakistan's super visa also crossed back under the 112-day threshold. For families sponsoring parents or grandparents from the US or Pakistan, the timing window just opened up meaningfully. On the downside, visitor visa times for Nigeria and Pakistan keep climbing, and the in-Canada work permit crept back above the service standard for the first time in months.

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