Canadian immigration stakeholders woke up on 5 October to find that IRCC’s online processing-time tracker had partially refreshed: temporary-residence categories such as study and visitor visas now show data dated 1 October, while permanent-residence and citizenship timelines remain stuck on the 3 September update. The two-speed cycle is intentional—IRCC updates temporary streams weekly and permanent streams monthly—but it creates confusion for users who assume the entire table moves in lock-step. For example, the tool currently estimates a **six-week** turnaround for a study-permit application filed from India (updated 1 Oct) but still lists **six months** for Express Entry under the Canadian Experience Class (updated 3 Sep). Applicants who overlook the tiny "last updated" tag risk planning travel or start dates on outdated data. Behind the scenes, IRCC calculates the figures differently. Permanent-residence and citizenship times are **historical medians**—how long it took to finalise 80 percent of cases in recent months—so they move only after enough fresh decisions have accumulated. Temporary-residence times are **forward-looking estimates** that combine current inventory, staffing levels and projected intake. That methodological split explains why a work-permit-extension line can swing by weeks overnight, while citizenship appears frozen for a month. For business immigration teams the message is clear: treat the weekly numbers as "live" for short-term mobility planning, but verify the date stamp on all other categories. Employers scheduling overseas hires should pad timelines for biometrics, medicals and document courier time—none of which are captured in the headline estimates. IRCC’s next full monthly refresh could land at any moment, but historically drops around the first Friday of each month. Until then, September’s numbers remain the official baseline for permanent-residence and citizenship streams.
Source: IRCC.com
