Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) quietly posted its mid-January service-standards dashboard this morning, and the numbers show the first meaningful relief Canadian employers and prospective newcomers have seen in almost a year. Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) files now average 33 months—down four months from the 37-month peak recorded in October 2025. Parent-and-Grandparent Program applications processed outside Québec dropped three months to 26 months. By contrast, non-Express-Entry Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) cases rose three months to 24 months, and in-Canada dependent-child sponsorship edged higher, underscoring the uneven nature of the backlog recovery. (cicnews.com)
The improvements follow last autumn’s C$42-million injection to hire 850 additional decision-makers and expand AI-enabled triage that reroutes low-risk files for automatic eligibility checks. Senior officials say the new system is already triaging 35 % of straightforward visitor-visa extensions and 22 % of AIP cases. IRCC insists no eligibility decisions are made by algorithms alone, but advocates continue to call for published “explainability” standards.
Employers and individual applicants trying to keep pace with these shifting timelines can lean on VisaHQ, whose Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers end-to-end visa guidance, document pre-screening, and real-time consular updates. By flagging missing paperwork early and arranging secure courier delivery, the service helps reduce avoidable IRCC delays—particularly valuable as programs like AIP and Super Visa gain speed while others lag.
![IRCC Cuts Processing Times for Several Key Immigration Streams]()
Faster AIP processing is particularly good news for Atlantic-based employers in life-sciences and clean-tech clusters that rely on the stream to convert temporary foreign workers to permanent residents. Companies in Halifax and Moncton told Global Mobility News they can now plan spring 2026 project deployments with more confidence.
Yet pain points remain. Work-permit processing climbed to 83 days on average, a product of surging employer-specific LMIA-exempt applications filed by H-1B holders moving north under Canada’s new Tech Talent Strategy. IRCC says a separate automation module for employer-specific work permits will go live in March.
For mobility managers, the message is mixed but trending positive: anticipate shorter timelines for AIP, Super Visa and PGP—but build contingency into PNP and work-permit files until the next quarterly update.
The improvements follow last autumn’s C$42-million injection to hire 850 additional decision-makers and expand AI-enabled triage that reroutes low-risk files for automatic eligibility checks. Senior officials say the new system is already triaging 35 % of straightforward visitor-visa extensions and 22 % of AIP cases. IRCC insists no eligibility decisions are made by algorithms alone, but advocates continue to call for published “explainability” standards.
Employers and individual applicants trying to keep pace with these shifting timelines can lean on VisaHQ, whose Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) offers end-to-end visa guidance, document pre-screening, and real-time consular updates. By flagging missing paperwork early and arranging secure courier delivery, the service helps reduce avoidable IRCC delays—particularly valuable as programs like AIP and Super Visa gain speed while others lag.
Faster AIP processing is particularly good news for Atlantic-based employers in life-sciences and clean-tech clusters that rely on the stream to convert temporary foreign workers to permanent residents. Companies in Halifax and Moncton told Global Mobility News they can now plan spring 2026 project deployments with more confidence.
Yet pain points remain. Work-permit processing climbed to 83 days on average, a product of surging employer-specific LMIA-exempt applications filed by H-1B holders moving north under Canada’s new Tech Talent Strategy. IRCC says a separate automation module for employer-specific work permits will go live in March.
For mobility managers, the message is mixed but trending positive: anticipate shorter timelines for AIP, Super Visa and PGP—but build contingency into PNP and work-permit files until the next quarterly update.
