Federal Skilled Worker Program speeds up in April after a year, i.e., Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shared its latest update on processing times on April 7, 2026. The update covers both economic immigration and citizenship applications.
The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) showed a positive change. Its processing time dropped from seven months to six months. This is the first improvement seen in this program since early 2025.
Citizenship applications also improved. Processing time for citizenship grants was reduced by one month and now stands at 12 months. The number of pending applications also reduced for the first time this year.
However, not all programs showed improvement. The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) saw a large increase in its backlog. More than 10,000 new applications were added in just one month. At the same time, the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) recorded a sharp rise in processing time, increasing by seven months to reach 40 months. This is the biggest increase seen in any economic immigration category in this update.
This article covers the latest processing times for:
- Economic immigration applications; and
- Citizenship applications.
Processing times for economic immigration are compared with the March 9 update, while the current figures are based on data from April 7, 2026.
Economic Immigration
Express Entry
The FSWP showed its first improvement in several months. Its processing time was reduced to six months. On the other hand, the processing times for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) remained unchanged.
| Application Type | Previous (Mar. 9) | Current (Apr. 7) |
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | 7 months | 6 months |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) | N/A | N/A |
Note: IRCC does not release processing time estimates for the FSTP due to insufficient data.
- CEC applications currently waiting for a decision: 54,600.
- FSWP applications currently waiting for a decision: 44,100.
All Express Entry programs have a service standard of six months.
Even though the FSWP has improved, the situation for the CEC is different. The CEC backlog increased by around 10,300 applications since March. Since February, more than 20,000 new applications have been added. This shows that new applications are coming in faster than IRCC can process them. If this trend continues, processing times for the CEC may increase in the future.
In contrast, the FSWP backlog reduced by about 1,200 applications and now stands at 44,100. Along with the drop in processing time, this suggests that IRCC is giving more attention to this program.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
There were no changes in processing times for both enhanced and base Provincial Nominee Program applications.
| Application Type | Previous (Mar. 9) | Current (Apr. 7) |
| Through Express Entry (enhanced) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Non-Express Entry (base) | 13 months | 13 months |
- Enhanced PNP applications currently waiting for a decision: 13,700.
- Base PNP applications currently waiting for a decision: 108,100.
The service standard for enhanced PNP applications is six months, while for base applications it is 11 months.
The backlog for enhanced PNP applications increased slightly by 700. The base PNP backlog increased by only 100, which shows very little movement. However, base PNP applications are still taking longer than the expected service standard, with a current processing time of 13 months.
Quebec Immigration
Processing times for Quebec’s Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) did not change in this update.
| Application Type | Previous (Mar. 9) | Current (Apr. 7) |
| Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) | 11 months | 11 months |
| Quebec Business Class | 80 months | 78 months |
- PSTQ applications currently waiting for a decision: 25,700.
- Quebec Business Class applications currently waiting for a decision: 3,800.
The PSTQ program has a service standard of six months.
Even though the processing time remained the same, the backlog for PSTQ reduced by about 1,200 applications. This shows some progress in clearing pending files.
The Quebec Business Class saw a small improvement. Its processing time reduced by two months to 78 months. However, it still remains one of the slowest programs in Canada’s economic immigration system.
Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
The Atlantic Immigration Program showed a major increase in processing time.
| Application Type | Previous (Mar. 9) | Current (Apr. 7) |
| Atlantic Immigration Program | 33 months | 40 months |
- AIP applications currently waiting for a decision: 13,200.
- The service standard for this program is 11 months.
The AIP had been stable at 33 months for the past few months. This sudden increase of seven months is the largest negative change seen in this update.
Even though the backlog reduced slightly by 300 applications, the processing time increased. This may suggest that IRCC is now working on older or more complex applications, which take longer to process.
At 40 months, the AIP processing time is now more than three times its service standard.
Other Economic Programs
| Application Type | Previous (Mar. 9) | Current (Apr. 7) |
| Start-Up Visa | More than 10 years | More than 10 years |
| Federal Self-Employed | More than 10 years | More than 10 years |
- Start-Up Visa applications currently waiting for a decision: 46,200.
- Federal Self-Employed applications currently waiting for a decision: 8,100.
These programs continue to face very long delays. Processing times for both are still more than 10 years.
IRCC has not provided any service standards for these programs. At present, both programs appear to be moving very slowly with little progress.
Citizenship
Citizenship processing times showed steady improvement.
| Application Type | Previous (Mar. 9) | Current (Apr. 7) |
| Citizenship grant | 13 months | 12 months |
| Citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship) | 10 months | 10 months |
| Renunciation of citizenship | 10 months | 10 months |
| Search of citizenship records | 17 months | 17 months |
- Applications for a citizenship grant currently waiting for a decision: 313,200.
- Applications for a citizenship certificate currently waiting for a decision: 56,300.
IRCC only provides service standards for citizenship grant applications, which is 12 months.
Citizenship grant processing time is reduced by one month again. This is the second time in a row that the timeline has improved. The backlog also reduced by around 6,800 applications, which is a positive sign after months of growth.
Since February, when the processing time was 14 months, IRCC has reduced it by two full months. It now matches the official service standard.
At present, IRCC is sending acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) notices for citizenship applications submitted around October 22, 2025.
However, the citizenship certificate category shows a different trend. Its backlog increased by about 5,400 applications, even though the processing time remained unchanged. If this continues, processing times in this category may increase later.
Processing Times v/s Service Standards
Processing times and service standards are often confused, but they are not the same.
Well, processing times show how long a person may have to wait for a decision if an application is submitted on a specific date. For online applications, the time starts from the date of submission. For paper applications, it starts when the application is received at the office.
There are two types of processing times. Historical processing times are based on past data and show how long it took to complete most applications. Forward-looking processing times are estimates based on current workload and expected processing speed.
Service standards, on the other hand, are targets set by IRCC. These targets show how long the department aims to process most applications. Usually, the goal is to complete 80% of applications within this time. The remaining cases may take longer because they are more complex.
Understanding this difference helps explain why some applications may take longer even when the official timeline looks shorter.
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