Maple News reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held a processing inventory of 1,517,770 applications as of May 31, 2026. The backlog spans permanent residence, temporary residence, and Canadian citizenship applications awaiting officer finalization.
The latest figures were released on July 21 via IRCC’s revamped Inside IRCC application processing system page. The updated site no longer presents a single, overall service-standard processing rate for the entire inventory or by individual categories.
IRCC’s data show that, from January 1 through May 31, the department finalized a total of 1,648,965 applications, providing a sense of throughput against the growing intake.
As of May 31, the permanent residence (PR) backlog stood at 705,315 applications awaiting a final decision. Previously, PR encompassed Express Entry, enhanced Provincial Nominee Program, and family sponsorship. IRCC has since reorganized PR into three broad streams—Economic, Family, and Protection—with a wider array of pathways under each category.
This shift toward more granular PR classification reflects an expanded set of routes to permanent residence and may influence how applicants are tracked and prioritized within the system. IRCC notes that figures are rounded to the nearest five, acknowledging minor fluctuations during batch processing and data revisions.
Maple News will continue monitoring IRCC’s data releases and provide updates on processing times, policy changes, and their implications for immigrants, permanent residents, and startup pathways.