Canada immigration: PR cards in 16 days; travel visa for Indians in 83 days

If you're looking to become a Canadian citizen or want a temporary visa, here's what the latest IRCC data shows

Are you planning to move to Canada or awaiting an immigration decision? The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released its latest processing times as of March 18, 2025, providing an updated look at visa, permanent residency, and citizenship applications.  

 

The March updates reflect real-time data based on application volumes and processing capacity. Unlike fixed estimates, these figures show how long 80% of applicants can expect to wait—though individual cases may vary. The goal is to help applicants set realistic expectations.  

 

< Citizenship, permanent residency are updated monthly  

< Temporary visas and PR cards receive weekly updates  

 

Citizenship processing times: March 2025 update  

 

If you’re looking to become a Canadian citizen, here’s what the latest IRCC data from March 4, 2025, shows:  

 

Citizenship grant: 9 months (up 1 month)

Citizenship certificate: 4 months (up 1 month)  

Renunciation of citizenship: 10 months (down 2 months)

Search of citizenship records: 16 months (no change)

 

Those who submitted citizenship applications around February 24, 2025, are now receiving Acknowledgment of Receipt (AOR) letters or emails.

 

Permanent resident (PR) card processing

 

There’s good news for PR card applicants, as processing times continue to improve:

 

New PR card: 16 days (down 8 days)

PR card renewal: 14 days (down 1 day)

 

Temporary visa

 

Temporary visa timelines vary widely depending on your location and application type:

 

Visitor visas  

 

Outside Canada  

India: 83 days (down 13 days)  

United States: 20 days (no change)  

Nigeria: 132 days (down 9 days)  

Pakistan: 17 days (up 1 day)  

Philippines: 14 days (no change)  

 

Inside Canada: 15 days (down 1 day)  

 

Visitor extension (visitor record): 119 days (up 3 days)  

 

Super visa (parents/grandparents)  

 

India: 133 days (up 6 days)  

United States: 241 days (down 21 days)  

Nigeria: 40 days (up 4 days)  

Pakistan: 118 days (up 30 days)  

Philippines: 119 days (down 1 day)  

 

Study permits  

 

Outside Canada  

India: 15 weeks (no change)  

United States: 5 weeks (no change)  

Nigeria: 7 weeks (no change)  

Pakistan: 8 weeks (no change)  

Philippines: 5 weeks (no change)  

 

Inside Canada: 3 weeks (no change)  

 

Study permit extension: 114 days (up 2 days)  

 

Work permits  

 

Outside Canada  

India: 20 weeks (no change)  

United States: 81 weeks (no change)  

Nigeria: 15 weeks (down 1 week)  

Pakistan: 8 weeks (down 1 week)  

Philippines: 5 weeks (no change)  

 

Inside Canada: 111 days (down 1 day)  

 

Seasonal agricultural worker programme (SAWP): 12 days (no change)  

 

International experience Canada (IEC): 2 weeks (no change)  

 

Electronic travel authorisation (eTA): 5 minutes (allow 72 hours for complex cases)

 

Slower population growth as immigration restrictions take effect

 

Canada’s population growth has slowed to its lowest rate in three years, as immigration levels fall and the post-pandemic surge in new arrivals winds down. 

 

The country’s population grew by 1.8% in 2024, compared to 3.1% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2022, according to Statistics Canada’s latest estimate published on Wednesday. The total population reached 41.5 million, with 744,324 people added last year.

 

Most of the increase still came from international migration, but policy changes under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government have started to limit new arrivals and reduce the number of temporary residents.