In an unprecedented development, the processing times for Canadian immigration applications have surged to extreme lengths, with some permanent residency programs now facing wait times of up to 50 years. This has left applicants and legal representatives bewildered, deeming the system unfeasible.
Olha Kushko, who arrived in Ottawa in 2023 with her family under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) after fleeing Kyiv, expressed shock at the situation. Families applying for permanent residence (PR) through Canada’s humanitarian and compassionate stream are encountering delays ranging from 12 to 600 months, as per the recent immigration minister’s May 2025 “transition binder.”
Various economic immigration programs are also experiencing prolonged wait times, such as up to 108 months for the caregivers pathway, 228 months for the agri-food stream, and a staggering 420 months for entrepreneurs under the startup visa stream. Legal professionals have raised concerns over these unprecedented processing times disclosed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), with apprehensions of potential mass application cancellations if the government enacts new border security legislation granting expanded powers to the minister.
Applicants like Kushko are left uncertain about their future, having applied under the humanitarian and compassionate program in June. The processing time checker on IRCC’s website indicates a wait of “more than 10 years” for those who applied in June 2025 under the humanitarian stream, with a substantial number of applicants ahead in the queue.
Kushko, whose youngest child has autism, expressed distress over the situation, especially considering the uncertainty surrounding their work permits and the possibility of returning to conflict-ridden Ukraine. Others in similar circumstances are also anxious about the prolonged wait times and potential implications.
Lawyers specializing in immigration law are demanding clarification and transparency from IRCC, expressing dismay at the decades-long limbo faced by their clients. Speculations arise about possible mass application cancellations in certain streams should the government’s border security bills come into effect. IRCC has emphasized the need for transparency in sharing processing time data, attributing the delays to a recalibration of the immigration system in line with reduced admission targets.
As uncertainties loom over the fate of many applicants, the government has reiterated its commitment to restoring the immigration system’s balance, while refraining from unilateral decisions on the use of proposed powers under Bill C-12.