Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) quietly refreshed its online processing-time dashboard on 30 January, revealing marked divergence across temporary-resident categories. Visitor-visa applicants from India—Canada’s largest source market—now face a median wait of 42 days, down from 63 days in December. By contrast, processing times for employer-specific work permits have crept up to 97 days for Indian nationals and 112 days for U.S. applicants. Super Visas, which allow parents and grandparents to stay for up to five years, now average 154 days, a 21 day jump month-on-month.
IRCC attributes the trend to shifting resource priorities: visitor visas were flooded with holiday-season demand in late 2025, prompting the department to redeploy officers pre-emptively. Meanwhile, continued LMIA restrictions and a seasonal lull in study-permit volumes diverted fewer staff to work-permit inventory, causing queues to lengthen.
![Indian visitor-visa wait times fall, but work-permit and Super Visa backlogs grow in IRCC’s latest service-standards update]()
Travel suppliers welcome the faster visitor-visa turnaround ahead of Canada’s busy summer conference schedule, but global mobility managers warn that delays in work permits could derail spring project start-dates. Companies are advised to file complete applications early and to evaluate International Mobility Program exemptions where possible.
Whether you are chasing a visitor visa, a Super Visa, or a niche work-permit category, VisaHQ can streamline the process by pre-screening documents, flagging common errors, and tracking evolving IRCC service standards through its live dashboard. Applicants can start, save, and submit their Canada packets entirely online—with expert eyes on compliance—via https://www.visahq.com/canada/
The widening Super Visa backlog could also create hardship for families planning extended reunions; advisors suggest exploring regular visitor visas, which remain valid for ten years and can be extended in-country, albeit with lower continuous-stay privileges. IRCC says it will reassess staffing allocations after Q1 2026.
IRCC attributes the trend to shifting resource priorities: visitor visas were flooded with holiday-season demand in late 2025, prompting the department to redeploy officers pre-emptively. Meanwhile, continued LMIA restrictions and a seasonal lull in study-permit volumes diverted fewer staff to work-permit inventory, causing queues to lengthen.
Travel suppliers welcome the faster visitor-visa turnaround ahead of Canada’s busy summer conference schedule, but global mobility managers warn that delays in work permits could derail spring project start-dates. Companies are advised to file complete applications early and to evaluate International Mobility Program exemptions where possible.
Whether you are chasing a visitor visa, a Super Visa, or a niche work-permit category, VisaHQ can streamline the process by pre-screening documents, flagging common errors, and tracking evolving IRCC service standards through its live dashboard. Applicants can start, save, and submit their Canada packets entirely online—with expert eyes on compliance—via https://www.visahq.com/canada/
The widening Super Visa backlog could also create hardship for families planning extended reunions; advisors suggest exploring regular visitor visas, which remain valid for ten years and can be extended in-country, albeit with lower continuous-stay privileges. IRCC says it will reassess staffing allocations after Q1 2026.
