PR & Citizenship Update — October 1, 2026
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Processing times for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and two other categories rose by one month in the latest IRCC update — the largest single increase recorded in that update.
IRCC issued 112,600 permanent residence decisions in Q1 2026 (January–March), with 83,000 permanent residents admitted between April 2025 and March 2026.
Canada's 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan targets 380,000 new permanent residents annually, with economic class accounting for approximately 244,700 spots per year.
What You Should Do
- If you have a Federal Skilled Worker Program application in progress, log in to your IRCC account at ircc.canada.ca to check your current application status and updated processing time estimates, as FSW times have risen by one month.
- Check the official IRCC processing times tool at canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html to see the latest estimates for your specific application type before making travel or employment plans.
- Review Canada's 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan breakdown (economic, family, refugee class allocations) at canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-levels-plans.html to assess which stream best fits your profile, given the 244,700 annual economic class target.
- Note that the Ebola-related temporary measures affecting certain applicants have been extended until November 27, 2026 — check canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html to confirm whether your country or application type is affected.
Sources
Topics Covered
PR Card Processing Efficiency: Processing times for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and two other permanent residence categories rose by one month in the latest September 2026 IRCC data update — the largest increase recorded in that cycle.
2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan: Canada's 2026–2028 plan holds the annual permanent resident target steady at 380,000, with economic class set at approximately 244,700 per year and family class at 81,000.
Citizenship Processing Improvements: IRCC processed 112,600 permanent residence decisions in Q1 2026 and admitted 83,000 permanent residents in the 12-month period ending March 2026, reflecting continued high processing volume.
More PR & Citizenship Updates
PR & Citizenship Update — September 24, 2026
Sep 24, 2026
PR & Citizenship Update — September 17, 2026
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PR & Citizenship Update — September 14, 2026
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