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Canada Citizenship Processing Time 2026 — Current IRCC Wait Times
The Canada citizenship processing time in 2026 is about 13 months for a citizenship grant and 15 months for proof of citizenship. Below are current IRCC wait times for citizenship, permanent residence, and temporary applications.
How long does it take to get Canadian citizenship?
As of June 2026, the Canadian citizenship grant takes approximately 13 months from application to ceremony. Proof of citizenship (by descent) takes about 15 months, Express Entry permanent residence about 6 months, and spousal sponsorship 16–25 months. Processing times vary by application type and individual circumstances.
These are approximate times based on publicly available IRCC data. Actual processing times vary by application type, country, and individual circumstances. Check the official IRCC processing times tool for the most current data.
How Long Does Citizenship Processing Take?
| Application Type | Est. Time | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Citizenship grant (test to ceremony)Steady at ~13 months through June 2026 — queue past 326,000 | ~13 months | → |
| Proof of citizenship (by descent)Up from 11 months — queue past 82,000 (June 2026) | ~15 months | ↑ |
| Citizenship certificate (replacement)Same queue as proof of citizenship | ~15 months | ↑ |
How Long Does Permanent Residence Processing Take?
| Application Type | Est. Time | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Express Entry (CEC)IRCC service standard: 6 months | ~6 months | → |
| Express Entry (FSW) | ~6 months | → |
| Provincial Nominee (Express Entry) | ~6 months | → |
| Provincial Nominee (non-EE) | ~14 months | ↓ |
| Spousal sponsorship (outland)Outside Quebec; Quebec ~34 months | ~16 months | ↑ |
| Spousal sponsorship (inland)Outside Quebec; Quebec longer | ~25 months | ↑ |
| Parent/grandparent sponsorshipOutside Quebec | ~33 months | ↑ |
How Long Does Temporary Residence Processing Take?
| Application Type | Est. Time | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Work permitVaries by country and type | ~1-6 months | → |
| Study permitVaries by country | ~4-16 weeks | → |
| Visitor visaVaries significantly by country | ~14-90 days | → |
| Super Visa | ~60-120 days | → |
| eTAOften approved in minutes | ~72 hours | → |
Embed a free citizenship practice quiz on your website
One line of HTML — used by settlement agencies, libraries, and ESL programs.
<iframe src="https://www.becomeacitizen.ca/embed/quiz" width="100%" height="600" style="border:none"></iframe>See live preview and copy-paste code →Source: IRCC published processing times (June 2026). Times are estimates and may vary.
Looking for test pass rates and application volumes? See citizenship test statistics 2026 →
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