Newly released figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveal the total application backlog has continued its downward trend, decreasing by 48,900 since last month.<\/p>\n
As of February 28, IRCC\u2019s overall backlog consisted of 941,400 applications. Compared to January 31, the most notable shifts (in order) included<\/p>\n
An 11% decrease for the work permit backlog;
\nA 6% drop in the visitor visa backlog; and
\nA 4% decline for both the Express Entry and study permit backlog.<\/p>\n
Consult with a lawyer at Cohen Immigration Law<\/a><\/p>\n In total, there were 2,092,700 applications in IRCC<\/a>\u2019s inventories as of February 28, representing a modest increase of 700 applications within a one-month period.<\/p>\n The department processed 1,151,300 of these applications within its established service standards.<\/p>\n As shown in the table below, IRCC\u2019s application backlog is now at its lowest point since July 2025:<\/p>\n \tMonthImmigration backlogChange relative to preceding month<\/p>\n \tJuly, 2025901,700+6.98%<\/p>\n \tAugust, 2025958,850+6.33%<\/p>\n \tSeptember, 2025996,700+3.95%<\/p>\n \tOctober, 20251,006,700+1.00%<\/p>\n \tNovember, 20251,005,800- 0.09%<\/p>\n \tDecember, 20251,014,700+0.88%<\/p>\n \tJanuary, 2026990,300\u22122.41%<\/p>\n \tFebruary, 2026941,400\u22124.94%<\/p>\n Permanent residence applications<\/p>\n By February\u2019s end, the total number of permanent residence<\/a> (PR) applications IRCC had in its inventory exceeded one million (1,007,400), an increase of 11,900 applications compared to January 31<\/a>.<\/p>\n The immigration department processed 470,600 (47%) of these within service standards; consequently, 536,800 PR applications were deemed backlogged.<\/p>\n IRCC counts Express Entry<\/a>, enhanced Provincial Nominee Program<\/a>, and family sponsorship<\/a> (outside Quebec) applications in this category.<\/p>\n The number of Express Entry applications considered backlogged dropped from 15% the month prior to 11% as of February 28. This marks the lowest share of Express Entry applications in the backlog since IRCC began publishing these figures.<\/p>\n The enhanced PNP application backlog continued to decline as well, dropping to 40% (from a previous 42%)\u2014remaining within the projected backlog (45%).<\/p>\n As for the family sponsorship backlog, it remained at 22%, the same as it was by January\u2019s end. That said, IRCC\u2019s projected backlog for this category has increased, from 20% the month prior, to 25% at the end of February.<\/p>\n From January 1 to February 28, 2026, IRCC<\/p>\n Processed 70,400 PR applications; and Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Permanent Residence Temporary residence applications<\/p>\n There were 824,500 temporary residence applications in IRCC\u2019s inventory as of February 28. That\u2019s 20,900 less applications compared to the month prior.<\/p>\n The department processed 480,400 (58%) of these within its service standards. As a result, 344,100 applications were designated as backlog.<\/p>\n This category factors in work<\/a> and study permit<\/a> applications (excluding extensions), and visitor visa<\/a> applications.<\/p>\n The end of February saw 27% of work permit applications classified as backlog (against a projected 30%)\u2014a significant drop compared to January 31 (38%).<\/p>\n The study permit backlog also declined compared to the month prior, going from 50% as of January\u2019s end to 46% as of February 28. Despite this decline, it exceeds the 41% projected backlog for the month.<\/p>\n As for visitor visas, the application backlog dropped from 54% the month before to 48% by the end of February\u2014continuing to IRCC\u2019s projected backlog (43% for the month of February).<\/p>\n From January 1 to February 28, 2026, IRCC finalized<\/p>\n 302,800 work permit applications (including extensions); and Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation Citizenship grants<\/p>\n By February\u2019s end, the immigration department had a total of 260,800 citizenship grant<\/a> applications in its inventory\u2014an increase of 9,700 compared to January 31.<\/p>\n Of these applications, 200,300 (77%) were processed within IRCC’s service standard, meaning 60,500 (23%) were deemed backlog\u2014down from 24% the month before. This is well within the projected backlog for the month (27%).<\/p>\n Number of citizens welcomed from April 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026: 509,100.<\/p>\n
\nWelcomed 53,400 new PRs to Canada.<\/p>\n
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\n74,300 study permit applications (including extensions<\/a>).<\/p>\n
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