Visa services platform VisaHQ analysed IRCC’s weekly backlog dashboard released on 12 December and published its findings on 13 December. The data show encouraging improvements: average processing times for in-Canada study-permit applications fell to eight weeks (from 12), while Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) applications dropped to 40 months—two months faster than mid-November.
IRCC credits two operational changes. First, more than 1,100 temporary officers hired in the autumn have completed training and are now adjudicating files. Second, pilot machine-learning triage tools are routing low-risk study-permit files for expedited review, shaving up to 25 % off manual processing times.
While IRCC works on the systemic side, applicants can also reduce their own risk of delays. VisaHQ’s online portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) walks students, sponsors and employers through tailored document checklists, digital form filling and courier submission options, helping them lodge “decision-ready” files that move smoothly through the new triage system.
![IRCC Dashboard Shows Faster Processing for Study Permits and Family Reunification]()
Faster study-permit processing is a relief for designated learning institutions facing declining international-student demand (see above). However, education consultants caution that total permit volumes remain constrained by the national cap, so shorter queues do not translate into more approvals overall.
For Canadian families, a shorter PGP queue means sponsors may be able to reunite sooner with parents and grandparents, although the 40-month wait is still triple IRCC’s 12-month service standard. Immigration lawyers advise sponsors to double-check income thresholds for the 2026 intake, expected to open in March, because Statistics Canada will publish new Low-Income Cut-Offs in January.
Businesses that rely on work-permit extensions should watch whether IRCC redeploys the same machine-learning triage to Employer-Specific LMIA-exempt permits, which have shown little improvement to date.
IRCC credits two operational changes. First, more than 1,100 temporary officers hired in the autumn have completed training and are now adjudicating files. Second, pilot machine-learning triage tools are routing low-risk study-permit files for expedited review, shaving up to 25 % off manual processing times.
While IRCC works on the systemic side, applicants can also reduce their own risk of delays. VisaHQ’s online portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) walks students, sponsors and employers through tailored document checklists, digital form filling and courier submission options, helping them lodge “decision-ready” files that move smoothly through the new triage system.
Faster study-permit processing is a relief for designated learning institutions facing declining international-student demand (see above). However, education consultants caution that total permit volumes remain constrained by the national cap, so shorter queues do not translate into more approvals overall.
For Canadian families, a shorter PGP queue means sponsors may be able to reunite sooner with parents and grandparents, although the 40-month wait is still triple IRCC’s 12-month service standard. Immigration lawyers advise sponsors to double-check income thresholds for the 2026 intake, expected to open in March, because Statistics Canada will publish new Low-Income Cut-Offs in January.
Businesses that rely on work-permit extensions should watch whether IRCC redeploys the same machine-learning triage to Employer-Specific LMIA-exempt permits, which have shown little improvement to date.
