IRCC’s latest weekly dashboard, released December 12, revealed a rare slice of good news for applicants: average study-permit processing times have fallen to eight weeks for in-Canada filings and four to five weeks for most overseas missions, while Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) applications dropped by two months to 40 months. The data, compiled on December 11, compare processing queues to mid-November and cover 21 different product lines, from Express Entry to super visas.
Several factors are driving the improvement. First, the department’s fall hiring surge—more than 1,100 term officers added since September—has started to show up in productivity metrics. Second, IRCC’s pilot use of machine-learning triage for low-risk study-permit files is reducing manual review times by up to 25 %. Finally, budget 2025 funding allowed overtime approvals in the Sydney, Nova Scotia back office, which handles a large share of PGP cases.
For applicants who want extra help navigating these changing timelines, VisaHQ’s Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers streamlined visa and permit preparation services, live document reviews, and real-time status tracking. The platform’s step-by-step checklists can be especially useful for students, workers and family sponsors trying to keep pace with IRCC’s evolving requirements while minimizing costly delays.
![IRCC December update shows faster study-permit and PGP processing times]()
For universities and employers that rely on international graduates, the shorter timelines ease enrolment forecasting and onboarding. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities—Thunder Bay and Moncton among them—stand to benefit most because a single deferred intake can empty residence halls and disrupt local labour markets. Family-class sponsors, meanwhile, gain predictability when arranging housing and health-insurance coverage for arriving parents.
The update is not uniformly positive. Visitor-visa wait times from India rose to 117 days, and dependent-child sponsorship from India climbed four months to a full year. IRCC attributes the spike to new biometrics security checks introduced in October. Stakeholders have urged Ottawa to ring-fence business-visitor applications from the broader tourist stream to avoid hurting trade missions.
Action item for mobility managers: refresh onboarding timelines in offers of employment and be prepared to adjust payroll start dates for spouses and dependent children if country-specific delays persist.
Several factors are driving the improvement. First, the department’s fall hiring surge—more than 1,100 term officers added since September—has started to show up in productivity metrics. Second, IRCC’s pilot use of machine-learning triage for low-risk study-permit files is reducing manual review times by up to 25 %. Finally, budget 2025 funding allowed overtime approvals in the Sydney, Nova Scotia back office, which handles a large share of PGP cases.
For applicants who want extra help navigating these changing timelines, VisaHQ’s Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers streamlined visa and permit preparation services, live document reviews, and real-time status tracking. The platform’s step-by-step checklists can be especially useful for students, workers and family sponsors trying to keep pace with IRCC’s evolving requirements while minimizing costly delays.
For universities and employers that rely on international graduates, the shorter timelines ease enrolment forecasting and onboarding. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities—Thunder Bay and Moncton among them—stand to benefit most because a single deferred intake can empty residence halls and disrupt local labour markets. Family-class sponsors, meanwhile, gain predictability when arranging housing and health-insurance coverage for arriving parents.
The update is not uniformly positive. Visitor-visa wait times from India rose to 117 days, and dependent-child sponsorship from India climbed four months to a full year. IRCC attributes the spike to new biometrics security checks introduced in October. Stakeholders have urged Ottawa to ring-fence business-visitor applications from the broader tourist stream to avoid hurting trade missions.
Action item for mobility managers: refresh onboarding timelines in offers of employment and be prepared to adjust payroll start dates for spouses and dependent children if country-specific delays persist.
