When applying for permanent residence (PR) in Canada, foreign people frequently consider the quickest route to their destination and the opportunity to begin a new life.
Fundamentally speaking, there are four main categories of immigration to Canada: economic, family-sponsored, compassionate, and humanitarian/refugee/protected person.
But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) offers foreign nationals over a hundred options to immigrate to Canada under those four broad divisions.
Whichever Canadian PR scheme a foreign national chooses, they will all take into account how quickly they can arrive and establish themselves in Canada via the route of their choice.
To give prospective applicants an indication of how long the application processing procedure will take, IRCC publishes its service standards.
What do standards of service mean?
The duration of time (usually expressed in weeks or months) that the IRCC has determined to be reasonable for reaching a judgment on an application is indicated by service standards, which differ based on the kind of application that the candidate has submitted.
Note: According to the IRCC, the department strives to process 80% of applications across all business lines within service standards, and that service standards only apply to applications with complete information and supporting documentation.
The service standards provided by IRCC for the various permanent resident pathways offered by the government are outlined here.
Economic-class immigration: The IRCC emphasizes that when an asterisk appears next to a service standard, it only refers to the federal government and leaves out the processing time for the province or territory.
Federal Skilled Worker Program Express Entry
180 days is the IRCC service standard for electronic applications.
Canadian Experience Class for Express Entry
180 days is the IRCC service standard for electronic applications.
Federal Skilled Trades Program Express Entry
180 days is the IRCC service standard for electronic applications.
Programs for Provincial Nominees
11 months is the IRCC service standard for paper applications.
180 days is the IRCC service standard for electronic applications submitted through Express Entry.
Program for Skilled Workers Selected in Quebec
11 months is the IRCC service standard for paper applications.
sponsorship in the family class:
The department has said that this service standard is applicable to applications for Family Class Priority, including those submitted by or on behalf of common-law partners, conjugal partners, overseas spouses, and dependent children of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
For electronic applications, the IRCC service standard is 12 months.
Cards for Permanent Residency:
The IRCC uses Permanent Resident cards to confirm a foreign national’s status as a PR. For Canadian permanent residents entering Canada, this card—which has the cardholder’s photo on it—serves as both a travel document and a means of identification.
The initial permanent resident card for a PR is issued by IRCC after 60 days of confirmation from an IRCC inland office or at a port of entry that the PR form has been completed.
The IRCC’s 2022/2023 service standards performance:
As per the IRCC statistics, the department’s performance in processing the number of applications within the specified service standard in 2022–2023 varied depending on the location. The performance described below, according to the IRCC, pertains to the fiscal year that ends on April 1, 2022, and ends on March 31, 2023.
Eighty percent of applications under the Federal Skilled Worker Program’s Express Entry were handled within the service standard.
The Canadian Experience with Express Entry Class: The service criteria was met in the processing of 85% of applications.
Express Entry – Federal Skilled Trades Program: In 2022 and 2023, the IRCC did not receive any applications through this program.
Programs for Provincial Nominees: 71% of electronic applications were processed in accordance with the service standard, compared to 23% of paper applications.
48% of applications for the Quebec-Selected Skilled Worker Program were completed in accordance with service standards.
Sponsorship for families: 66% of applications were handled in accordance with service standards.
73% of applications for initial permanent resident cards were completed within the service standard.