IRCC reveals its 2025 PR application processing plan, i.e., Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has shared details about how it plans to handle its permanent residence (PR) application inventory this year. The department has clarified that it will not be able to finalize all applications currently in the system in 2025, except for a selected number of PR streams.
According to IRCC’s latest Minister Transition Binder, complete inventory processing will take place for programs under Express Entry, Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams, IRCC’s community pilots, and Quebec’s skilled worker categories.
Other economic PR programs will process only a portion of their total applications this year, with each program having different targets based on their capacity.
PR Pathways Expected To Be Fully Processed In 2025
IRCC aims to clear the entire application inventory for the following PR categories in 2025:
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
- Community Pilots
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
- Enhanced PNP streams (Express Entry-aligned)
- Quebec Experience Class (PEQ)
- Quebec’s Pilot Programs
- Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ)
Other economic programs will only see partial processing this year:
| PR Pathway | Proportion Of Inventory To Be Processed In 2025 |
| Agrifood Pilot | 5% |
| Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) | 33% |
| Caregiver Pilots | 14% |
| Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) | 12% |
| Base PNP (Not Express Entry-aligned) | 35% |
| Quebec Business | 3% |
| Start-up Visa | 2% |
Express Entry
All current Express Entry programs are set to have their entire application backlog processed in 2025. This includes both the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP and FSTP).
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory As Of September 11 | Applications To Be Processed This Year |
| CEC | 19,300 | 19,300 |
| FSW | 12,500 | 12,500 |
Recent processing time trends:
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
| FSW | 6 months | 5 months | 6 months | 6 months | 6 months |
| CEC | 6 months | 6 months | 6 months | 7 months | 5 months |
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
As IRCC reveals its 2025 PR application processing plan, let us discuss regarding the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs).
PNP streams connected to Express Entry (enhanced PNP) will also see their entire inventory processed in 2025.
However, Base PNP streams (not aligned with Express Entry) will only have 35% of their applications finalized this year.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory As Of September 11 | Applications To Be Processed This Year |
| PNP (Express Entry) | 16,300 | 16,300 |
| PNP (Base) | 87,700 | 30,695 |
Recent processing time trends:
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
| PNP (Express Entry) | 6 months | 6 months | 7 months | 7 months | 6 months |
| PNP (Base) | 11 months | 11 months | 13 months | 24 months | 19 months |
Quebec Immigration
For Quebec’s skilled worker programs, including the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ), Quebec Experience Class (PEQ), and Quebec Pilot Programs, the entire application inventory will be processed in 2025.
In contrast, only 3% of the inventory for Quebec Business programs (Investor, Entrepreneur, and Self-Employed) will be finalized this year.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory As Of September 11 | Applications To Be Processed This Year |
| Quebec Skilled Worker | 27,600 | 27,600 |
| Quebec Business | 4,100 | 123 |
Recent processing time trends:
| PR Pathway | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
| Quebec Business | 20 | 17 | 22 | 108 | 108 |
| Quebec Skilled Worker | 8 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 9 |
Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
IRCC plans to process 33% of the AIP’s total inventory in 2025.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory As Of September 11 | Applications To Be Processed This Year |
| AIP | 12,100 | 3,993 |
Recent processing time trends:
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
| AIP | 12 months | 13 months | 17 months | 27 months | 24 months |
Federal Economic Pilots
Canada’s federal economic pilots include the Agrifood Pilot (closed), caregiver programs (Home Care Worker Pilot, Home Child Care Provider Pilot, and Home Support Worker Pilot – all closed), and the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP).
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory As Of September 11 | Percentage Of Inventory To Be Processed This Year | Applications To Be Processed This Year |
| Agrifood | 8,900 | 5% | 445 |
| Caregivers | 34,400 | 14% | 4,816 |
| EMPP | 2,500 | 12% | 300 |
Recent processing time trends:
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
| Agrifood | 22 | 32 | 60 | 180 | 228 |
| Caregivers | 31 | 29 | 27 | 84 | 108 |
| EMPP | 10 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 54 |
IRCC has also closed intake for the “applicants not in Canada” stream under the Home Care Worker Pilot, meaning no new caregiver applications will be added to the inventory this year.
Federal Community Pilots
As IRCC reveals the 2025 PR application processing plan, let us discuss all about the Federal Community Pilots.
These include the Rural Community Immigration Program (RCIP), Francophone Community Immigration Program (FCIP), and the now-closed Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP).
IRCC plans to process the entire inventory for these programs in 2025.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory As Of September 11 | Applications To Be Processed This Year |
| Community Pilots | 3,500 | 3,500 |
Recent processing time trends:
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
| Community Pilots | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 7 |
Start-Up Visa Program
For Canada’s Start-up Visa (SUV) program, only 2% of the application inventory will be processed this year.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory As Of September 11 | Applications To Be Processed This Year |
| SUV | 38,600 | 772 |
Recent processing time trends:
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
| SUV | 48 | 51 | 71 | 420 | 420 |
What This Means For Applicants?
IRCC’s 2025 processing strategy shows a clear priority: programs under Express Entry, Quebec’s skilled worker pathways, and federal community pilots will move the fastest this year. Applicants under these streams may see shorter wait times and faster final decisions.
Meanwhile, pathways like the Start-up Visa and Quebec Business streams will face limited processing in 2025, with longer waits likely.
Moreover, applicants should plan their timelines carefully and monitor IRCC’s updates throughout the year to understand how their pathway may be impacted.
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