As of July 31, 2025, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported a backlog of 901,700 applications, marking the third consecutive month of rising backlog numbers.
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Backlog Trend Over the Past Six Months
| Month | Immigration Backlog | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | 821,200 | -7.95% |
| March 2025 | 779,900 | -5.03% |
| April 2025 | 760,200 | -2.53% |
| May 2025 | 802,000 | +5.5% |
| June 2025 | 842,800 | +5.02% |
| July 2025 | 901,700 | +6.98% |
As of the end of July, IRCC’s total application inventory stood at 2,226,600. Of these, 1,324,900 were being processed within IRCC’s service standards, while 901,700 exceeded those timelines and were classified as backlog.
What Constitutes a Backlog?
Applications are considered part of the backlog if they aren’t processed within IRCC’s published service standards. For instance:
- Express Entry: 6-month processing target
- Family Sponsorship: 12-month processing target
IRCC aims to process 80% of applications within these timelines. However, applications that are complex or require additional documentation may take longer.
Permanent Residence Applications
As of July 31, 2025, IRCC had 892,400 permanent residence (PR) applications in its inventory. These include:
- Express Entry
- Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams
- Family sponsorship
Of the total, 448,900 applications were within service standards, while 443,500 were in backlog—up from 415,800 in June.
Breakdown by program:
- Express Entry: 21% of applications were in backlog (up from 20% in June)
- PNP (Express Entry-linked): 49% backlog (up slightly from 48% in June, and significantly up from 25% in December 2024)
- Family Sponsorship: 15% backlog (up from 14% in June)
Temporary Residence Applications
IRCC had 1,079,300 temporary residence applications at the end of July. These include:
- Work permits
- Study permits
- Visitor visas
Of these, 669,900 (62%) were processed within service standards, leaving 409,400 in the backlog. This is a decrease in performance compared to June, when 64% were within service standards.
Backlog by category:
- Work Permits: 46% in backlog (up from 40% in June)
- Study Permits: 23% in backlog (up from 18% in June)
- Visitor Visas: 56% in backlog (up from 53% in June)
Citizenship Applications
The citizenship grants backlog remained steady at 19% unchanged from the end of June and within IRCC’s target threshold.
