Data scraped from IRCC’s online processing-time portal at 07:00 ET on 25 July 2026 reveal that the average wait for Federal Skilled Worker permanent-residence approvals has fallen to 196 days, the shortest since pandemic backlogs began in 2020. Express Entry CEC files average 71 days, while study-permit times hover at 52 days. The numbers were posted by analytics site ImmiSignal, which tracks the government feed hourly. The improvement follows IRCC’s deployment of its second-generation Advanced Analytics Decision Support (AADS-2) engine in June, as well as the hiring of 1,250 temporary officers through a budget top-up approved in April. The department says it is on course to meet its public pledge of six-month service standards for 80 % of PR cases by year-end. Faster decisions are a relief for employers struggling to convert temporary foreign workers to permanent status before LMIA exemptions expire. HR teams should update relocation timelines; new hires receiving approvals weeks earlier than expected will need accelerated onboarding, housing and benefits setup. However, lawyers caution that quicker isn’t always better: several recent refusals cite automated credibility flags that may be misfiring on applicants with multi-country work histories. Clients are advised to front-load evidence of continuous employment and maintain identical job titles across documents to avoid red-flag triggers. IRCC will publish an official quarterly performance report in August, but the live dashboard already suggests the department’s digital-first strategy is paying dividends—at least on the speed front.
Source: ImmiSignal
