Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has confirmed that processing times across almost every temporary and permanent residence stream have increased sharply in the first quarter of 2026—just four months before Canada kicks off 13 World Cup matches. Internal dashboards seen by The Economic Times show visitor-visa backlogs up 27 % since November and average work-permit extensions now topping 200 days. The squeeze comes as IRCC wrestles with a 20 % staffing cut ordered in last year’s federal budget and an application surge tied to the tournament, which is expected to draw more than 20 million foreign visitors.
Spousal sponsorships and super-visa requests for parents and grandparents are among the hardest-hit categories; some West African fans of qualifying teams face waits of 200–300 days just to obtain a visitor visa. Immigration lawyers warn that hospitality firms recruiting temporary workers for the event risk being short-staffed if permits do not arrive on time. IRCC says it is redeploying officers to “World Cup priority hubs” and expanding weekend overtime but concedes that service-level targets will be missed through the spring.
The delays have broader economic implications. Tour operators are anxious that tour packages could unravel if ticket-holders fail to secure visas, while universities fear that prospective summer-semester students may defer enrolment. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is coordinating with U.S. and Mexican counterparts on contingency plans, including on-arrival adjudication pilots at Toronto Pearson and Vancouver International should backlogs worsen.
![IRCC warns of lengthening Canadian visa queues as FIFA World Cup looms]()
For applicants who cannot afford to gamble on last-minute approvals, platforms such as VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) can take over the document–gathering and submission process, monitor shifting requirements and flag priority options—freeing travellers, employers and sports fans to focus on their itineraries instead of bureaucracy.
IRCC officials privately acknowledge that risk-based triaging—prioritising applicants who can prove they hold match tickets—may become necessary, but the department has not formally endorsed that idea for fear of encouraging fraud. In the meantime, companies are being advised to file applications immediately, flag urgent files via the IRCC portal and build at least a 12-week buffer into travel schedules.
Stakeholders are also pressing Ottawa to issue a special event visa class, similar to Brazil’s 2014 World Cup model, that would waive biometric requirements for pre-screened travellers. With stadium construction complete but administrative capacity strained, visa processing now ranks as the single biggest operational threat to Canada’s slice of the 2026 tournament.
Spousal sponsorships and super-visa requests for parents and grandparents are among the hardest-hit categories; some West African fans of qualifying teams face waits of 200–300 days just to obtain a visitor visa. Immigration lawyers warn that hospitality firms recruiting temporary workers for the event risk being short-staffed if permits do not arrive on time. IRCC says it is redeploying officers to “World Cup priority hubs” and expanding weekend overtime but concedes that service-level targets will be missed through the spring.
The delays have broader economic implications. Tour operators are anxious that tour packages could unravel if ticket-holders fail to secure visas, while universities fear that prospective summer-semester students may defer enrolment. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is coordinating with U.S. and Mexican counterparts on contingency plans, including on-arrival adjudication pilots at Toronto Pearson and Vancouver International should backlogs worsen.
For applicants who cannot afford to gamble on last-minute approvals, platforms such as VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) can take over the document–gathering and submission process, monitor shifting requirements and flag priority options—freeing travellers, employers and sports fans to focus on their itineraries instead of bureaucracy.
IRCC officials privately acknowledge that risk-based triaging—prioritising applicants who can prove they hold match tickets—may become necessary, but the department has not formally endorsed that idea for fear of encouraging fraud. In the meantime, companies are being advised to file applications immediately, flag urgent files via the IRCC portal and build at least a 12-week buffer into travel schedules.
Stakeholders are also pressing Ottawa to issue a special event visa class, similar to Brazil’s 2014 World Cup model, that would waive biometric requirements for pre-screened travellers. With stadium construction complete but administrative capacity strained, visa processing now ranks as the single biggest operational threat to Canada’s slice of the 2026 tournament.
