IRCC Reveals Which Permanent Residence Applications Will Be Processed in 2025
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has officially announced which permanent residence (PR) applications it plans to process in 2025. The department confirmed that not all PR inventories will be cleared this year — only select streams will be fully processed.
According to IRCC’s Minister Transition Binder, only certain economic PR pathways — including all Express Entry programs, Express Entry-aligned Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams, federal community pilots, and Quebec’s skilled worker pathway — will have their full application inventories processed by the end of 2025.
Other PR categories, such as pilot programs and business immigration streams, will see only a portion of their applications processed depending on their pathway.
Programs Whose Entire Inventories Will Be Processed in 2025
IRCC plans to clear all pending applications for the following programs this year:
Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
Express Entry-aligned PNP streams (Enhanced PNP)
Community Pilots (e.g., RCIP, FCIP, RNIP)
Quebec Experience Class (PEQ)
Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ)
Quebec Pilot Programs
Programs with Partial Processing in 2025
The following programs will only have a fraction of their application inventories processed 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 (Non-Express Entry) | 35% |
| Quebec Business | 3% |
| Start-up Visa | 2% |
Express Entry Programs
All currently active Express Entry streams will have their entire application inventories processed in 2025, including the CEC, FSWP, and FSTP.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory (as of Sept 11) | Applications to Be Processed in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| CEC | 19,300 | 19,300 |
| FSW | 12,500 | 12,500 |
Average processing times (months) over the last year:
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSW | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| CEC | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
IRCC will process:
100% of applications in Express Entry-aligned (Enhanced) PNP streams, and
35% of applications in Base PNP streams (non-Express Entry aligned).
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory (as of Sept 11) | Applications to Be Processed in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| PNP (Express Entry) | 16,300 | 16,300 |
| PNP (Base) | 87,700 | 30,695 |
Average wait times (months):
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNP (Express Entry) | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| PNP (Base) | 11 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 19 |
Quebec Immigration
Quebec’s skilled worker programs — including the PSTQ, PEQ, and Quebec Pilot Programs — will be fully processed in 2025.
Meanwhile, Quebec Business Programs (Investor, Entrepreneur, and Self-Employed) will see only 3% of their inventories processed this year.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory (as of Sept 11) | Applications to Be Processed in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec Skilled Worker | 27,600 | 27,600 |
| Quebec Business | 4,100 | 123 |
Average wait times (months):
| Program | 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 application inventory in 2025.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory (as of Sept 11) | Applications to Be Processed in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| AIP | 12,100 | 3,993 |
Average wait times (months):
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIP | 12 | 13 | 17 | 27 | 24 |
Federal Economic Pilots
These include the Agrifood Pilot, Caregiver Pilots, and Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP).
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory (as of Sept 11) | % of Inventory to Be Processed in 2025 | Applications to Be Processed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agrifood | 8,900 | 5% | 445 |
| Caregivers | 34,400 | 14% | 4,816 |
| EMPP | 2,500 | 12% | 300 |
Average wait times (months):
| 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 |
Note: IRCC has closed intake for the Home Care Worker Pilot (outside Canada), meaning no new caregiver applications will be added to the 2025 inventory.
Federal Community Pilots
These include the Rural Community Immigration Program (RCIP), Francophone Community Immigration Program (FCIP), and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) (now closed).
All remaining inventories under these programs will be processed in full this year.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory (as of Sept 11) | Applications to Be Processed in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Community Pilots | 3,500 | 3,500 |
Average wait times (months):
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Pilots | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 7 |
Start-Up Visa (SUV) Program
The Start-Up Visa Program will only process 2% of its total inventory in 2025.
| PR Pathway | Application Inventory (as of Sept 11) | Applications to Be Processed in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Start-Up Visa | 38,600 | 772 |
Average wait times (months):
| Program | 2024-Q2 | 2024-Q3 | 2024-Q4 | 2025-Q1 | 2025-Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUV | 48 | 51 | 71 | 420 | 420 |
Summary
In 2025, IRCC aims to focus on clearing the backlog of core economic immigration programs — mainly Express Entry, Enhanced PNPs, and Quebec Skilled Worker streams — while only partially processing slower-moving pathways like Start-Up Visa, Caregiver, and Agrifood Pilots.
This strategic prioritization will help IRCC reduce wait times and improve efficiency for Canada’s key permanent residence programs.