Building a stronger immigration system – Temporary residence

1,646,300
work permits
(including extensions) finalized in 2023

Our performance

  • We finalized 1,089,600 study permit applications (including extensions) in 2023, up from 917,900 in 2022.
  • There were 1,646,300 work permits (including extensions) finalized in 2023, compared to 1,143,000 in 2022.

Reducing backlog

We’re taking action to reduce the backlogs of temporary residence applications in our inventories, including for students and workers.

  • Information on this page is up to date as of . Data is approximate and subject to change.
  • IRCC is working toward our goal to process 80% of applications within our service standards, which allows for expected delays in very complex cases or when more information is needed from clients before finalizing their files.
  • Our projections are estimates based on current operating conditions and may change. They don’t account for sharp increases in received applications, urgent shifts in priorities, or other unforeseen circumstances affecting our operations.
Temporary resident visas (TRV)

Note

  • Approximately % of temporary resident visa (or visitor visa) applications in our inventories are from the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel.

2022–2024 Percentage of backlog of temporary resident visas (TRV) – Actual and projected

2022–2024 Percentage of backlog of temporary resident visas (TRV) – Actual and projected
Month Backlog (Actual) Backlog (Projected)
Jan 22 70% -
Feb 22 74% -
Mar 22 55% -
Apr 22 55% -
May 22 56% -
Jun 22 71% -
Jul 22 67% -
Aug 22 71% 68%
Sep 22 74% 71%
Oct 22 74% 70%
Nov 22 70% 67%
Dec 22 70% 77%
Jan 23 68% 68%
Feb 23 64% 68%
Mar 23 61% 65%
Apr 23 50% 56%
May 23 45% 42%
Jun 23 46% 42%
Jul 23 46% 42%
Aug 23 50% 43%
Sep 23 56% 36%
Oct 23 58% 34%
Nov 23 59% 71%
Dec 23 61% 66%
Jan 24 62% 70%
Feb 24 61% 68%
Mar 24 - 62%
Apr 24 - 61%
Study permits

2022–2024 Percentage of backlog of study permits – Actual and projected

2022–2024 Percentage of backlog of study permits – Actual and projected
Month Backlog (Actual) Backlog (Projected)
Jan 22 42% -
Feb 22 34% -
Mar 22 27% -
Apr 22 32% -
May 22 31% -
Jun 22 30% -
Jul 22 31% -
Aug 22 38% 39%
Sep 22 31% 42%
Oct 22 26% 33%
Nov 22 28% 31%
Dec 22 32% 33%
Jan 23 35% 36%
Feb 23 29% 34%
Mar 23 23% 25%
Apr 23 18% 22%
May 23 17% 15%
Jun 23 15% 15%
Jul 23 16% 15%
Aug 23 25% 19%
Sep 23 30% 17%
Oct 23 25% 9%
Nov 23 24% 16%
Dec 23 18% 18%
Jan 24 23% 34%
Feb 24 43% 32%
Mar 24 - 22%
Apr 24 - 19%
Work permits

Note

  • Approximately % of work permits in our inventories are from the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel.

2022–2024 Percentage of backlog of work permits – Actual and projected

2022–2024 Percentage of backlog of work permits – Actual and projected
Month Backlog (Actual) Backlog (Projected)
Jan 22 48% -
Feb 22 51% -
Mar 22 29% -
Apr 22 23% -
May 22 26% -
Jun 22 28% -
Jul 22 28% -
Aug 22 34% 29%
Sep 22 27% 35%
Oct 22 23% 49%
Nov 22 24% 55%
Dec 22 25% 60%
Jan 23 26% 26%
Feb 23 23% 28%
Mar 23 18% 28%
Apr 23 22% 26%
May 23 27% 24%
Jun 23 27% 22%
Jul 23 25% 22%
Aug 23 37% 22%
Sep 23 55% 20%
Oct 23 57% 20%
Nov 23 53% 37%
Dec 23 49% 33%
Jan 24 43% 47%
Feb 24 37% 36%
Mar 24 - 29%
Apr 24 - 35%

What we’ve done

We’ll continue to review and improve our processes so we can eliminate steps, use technology to support our employees and speed up processing.

Page details

Date modified: