The processing time for Canadian immigration programs is highly dependent on the factor of how quickly the IRCC works on it.
The most frequently asked question among immigrants regarding the immigration programs is how long does it take to get a Visa. As most immigrants plan their future on the basis of whether they’ll receive a visa or not.
The processing time totally relies on how much time the IRCC takes to process the applications.
The processing time for Canadian immigration programs is dependent on the latest updates given by the Government of Canada.
Although the government is devoting millions of funds to improvise the processing methods of Visa, making its workforce more efficient, etc. But still, there are a large number of visas that haven’t been processed and are on the pending list post-Covid.
The Canadian Government put a pause to process Visas during Covid in order to stop the spread of infection. And now that the spread of COVID is under control, the borders of the country are opened again and the government has again started to process the Visa application.
So, immigration applicants should have valid documents ready well in advance and a little bit of patience to get a Canadian Visa.
Also, the processing time of a Visa application is dependent on various other factors like
- The sort of Visa application that is submitted
- If the application is completely filled or not
- How quickly the IRCC is processing the Visa application that has been already submitted by other immigrants
- How much time the immigrant is taking to respond to the queries and requests made by the IRCC
- Time IRCC will take to verify all the details and documents
Most of the time, immigrants are asked to submit their biometric information through their fingerprints and photographs. This step is also counted in the processing time for Canadian immigration. So, to minimize delays in processing of application, the candidate should keep all the verified documents well in advance.
Processing Time for Canadian Immigration
Economic Immigration
The processing time for Atlantic Immigration Pilot is 1 year and 2 months. Submission of applications for this category was only opened till March 5, 2022.
This program gives the opportunity to foreign workers and students graduating from the University of Canada to migrate to Canada for livelihood and work purposes in only 4 Canadian provinces.
This program is a medium for highly skilled and qualified candidates for business positions that couldn’t be filled by the people of Canada.
Canadian Experience Class
The processing time of this program is 8 months.
Foreign nationals with work experience in their specialized fields should opt for this program. This program offers Canadian permanent residency to people falling in the above criteria.
This Canadian experience class is specifically made for foreign students and workers with a relevant work experience in Canada.
Caregivers
Canadian Government’s great initiative to welcome caretakers for helping the people of Canada. The ideal processing time for the applications received in this category is 2 months. Once the caregiver has submitted their documents and has matched the eligibility criteria, it will take only 6 months to process the applications.
Provincial Nominee Program
The targeted processing time for this category is 1 year and 10 months.
This program is mostly used by a majority of immigrants to gain Canadian permanent residency. Under this program, foreign nationals possessing demanded skills are picked by different Canadian provinces. A shortage in Canada’s labor market is not either supplied by permanent residents or citizens of Canada.
To maintain a smooth flow of Canada’s economy, the majority of provinces are implementing the Provincial Nominee Program. 11 Canadian provinces follow PNP whereas only 2 provinces are not implementing PNP.
This program offers the opportunity to reside in a Canadian province where the immigrant and their skills are highly in demand.
Self Employed
The processing time is 3 years 5 months
In order to be a self-employed person, the immigrant needs to demonstrate a work experience of 2 years and also that their services and product will be beneficial to the economy of Canada.
The immigrant has to also pass the police background check and has to submit a report of medical checkup.
The applicant has to also take an assessment which will be based on their work experience, educational qualification, age, language proficiency, and abilities.
Federal Skilled Workers Program
The processing time for this program is 2 years and 3 months.
This program is a category of Express Entry. This program is specifically designed to assist the highly skilled and in-demand workers in achieving the status of Canadian permanent residency. The country offers numerous opportunities for foreigners to work in their place.
This program can be considered a golden opportunity for professionals who are either working as managers or technical persons and look forward to migrating to Canada.
Express Entry is a management tool of the Canadian Government to extract the most eligible candidates from the categories of Students, workers, residents, etc.
Federal Skilled Trades Program
The processing time for this program is 3 years and 1 month.
This is one of the other programs of Express Entry which is specifically designed for candidates having Canadian work experience and who will move to Canada.
This program is specially formed to offer Canadian Permanent Residency to foreign skilled workers. The prerequisite to applying for this category is to own a valid job offer from an employer who is based in Canada.
Once the applicant matches all the prerequisites, he/she will be offered the status of Canadian permanent residency.
Skilled Workers (Quebec)
The processing time for this category is 2 years and 7 months.
The province of Quebec owns a separate code of conduct regarding immigration. The Canadian Government has given the liberty to the province of Quebec to execute its separate immigration system.
Applicants who were interested in migrating to Canada and specifically to the province of Quebec, first need to submit an application to both the Government of Quebec and the Canadian Government.
If the applicant possesses skills that are demanded by the province, or has work experience in Canada can apply for Canadian permanent residency in the province of Quebec.
Start-Up Visa
The processing time of this category is 2 years and 7 months.
The country is known for being the best place to reside and set up a business. And this program is specially designed to cover a group of entrepreneurs. The program looks for potential entrepreneurs who have the vision of setting up a vision in the country.
Following are the requirements for business people to apply for this program
- To possess connections with the country
- Have the intention to reside in Canada but not in the province of Quebec
- Should have $,2,00,000 funds to make investments in the country
- A concrete business plan
- At least one partner for assisting the business
Family Sponsorship
The processing time for this category is 1 year and 4 months for candidates whose spouse or partner resides in the country.
The processing time for this category is 1 year and 8 months for applicants whose spouse and partner reside external to Canada.
Applicants whose spouses and partners reside in the country with the status of permanent resident or citizen of Canada can apply for permanent residency.
Although the applicant has to submit evidence showing the genuineness of their relationship.
For example- a marriage certificate.
The processing time for this program also includes the following
- Time taken to submit the photographs and fingerprints
- Evaluation of sponsor and the sponsored immigrant
- Time taken to evaluate if the immigrant matches the eligibility criteria
Dependent Children
The processing time taken for this category is highly dependent on the fact where the child is?
For example- Sponsoring a dependent child living in the USA can be sponsored only till he/she attains the age of 22 years and is not married.
In order to sponsor a child who is above 22 years, the sponsor needs to submit a shred of valid evidence demonstrating the need to financially support the child.
Parents and Grandparents
The processing time for them is 2 years and 8 months.
A permanent resident can sponsor their parents or grandparents.
But the sponsor needs to submit their bank statements as a shred of evidence that he/she would be able to financially support their family member during their entire stay.
They can also apply for a Super Visa which is often utilized at times to invite parents and grandparents sooner temporarily.
The processing time for Super Visa depends on the nation the parents and grandparents reside in.
Canadian Permanent Resident
The processing time for a Canadian permanent resident card requires only 94 days.
An applicant with a Canadian permanent resident card and valid travel documents can freely reside and work in the country. This will provide them with the facility to leave and enter the country again without the need to apply for an eTA
Citizenship Grant
The processing time for citizenship grants requires 2 years and 3 months.
Obtaining Canadian citizenship is a long procedure that takes more than 2 years but it’s all worth it when the resident receives the status of Canadian citizenship.
A Canadian citizen has voting rights and has access to better work opportunities and positions with high salaries.
Visa for Temporary Residence
The processing time for a Study permit external to Canada takes 13 weeks.
Whereas study permits inside Canada take only 5 weeks.
Although, the above-mentioned processing time does not consider the time which is spent in submitting the biometrics.
Extension of Study permits applied online takes around 64 days.
Whereas applications submitted through physical mode take around 179 days.
Anyone with a dream to migrate to Canada for study purposes then he/she should definitely choose a Study permit. A study permit gives you the opportunity to transition into an International Student with access to high-class educational facilities in Canada.
Holding a completion degree from top institutes of Canada definitely guarantees a bright future for the applicant. The Government of Canada has offered the liberty to educate and parallelly earn in the country.
Although the student needs to fulfill some of the requirements like showing an acceptance letter given by any of the DLIs of Canada. Additionally, the students need to demonstrate financial viability.
Work permits submitted from external to Canada through online mode will take around 133 days to process.
Whereas applications submitted through physical mode will take around 205 days.
The processing time for this work permit is dependent on the country the applicant is applying from
If the applicant applies from the USA, the processing time will be 2 months.
Whereas if the applicant applies from Mexico, the applicant can get the work permit Visa as soon as 14 days.
Sometime it become a long process to get employed in Canada. Submitting an application to the IRCC is not counted towards the processing time of the application.
Immigrants with a work permit give them the opportunity to get employed in the country and earn their livelihood.
Openwork permits give liberty to their holder to work anywhere in the country.
Also, time spent in the submission of photographs and fingerprints is not accounted for the processing time.
International Experience Canada
The processing time is 21 weeks long for last season
Whereas the processing time is only 3 weeks for the current season
This comprises holidays and internships.
Conclusion
The government has offered an abundance of choices for getting a Canadian Visa in 2022. Which can sometimes become intimidating to choose a specific program to immigrate to. The processing time for Canadian immigration programs varies, as a few programs can take up to 2 weeks to process while others can be as long as 2 years.
