IRCC Processing Times April 2026: FSWP Speeds Up, CEC Queue Grows, AIP Hits 40 Months

IRCC released its latest processing time update on April 7, 2026, covering economic immigration and citizenship applications. The picture is mixed: the Federal Skilled Worker Program has improved for the first time in over a year, citizenship grants have reached their service standard, but the Canadian Experience Class queue is growing sharply and the Atlantic Immigration Program has jumped to its worst wait time on record.

Here is a complete breakdown of where every major program stands as of April 2026 — and what it means for applicants in each stream.

Express Entry: FSWP Improves, CEC Queue Swells

Federal Skilled Worker Program — 6 Months (Down from 7)

Good news: FSWP has dropped to 6 months — its first improvement since early 2025 and back to the program’s official service standard.

The FSWP queue shrank by approximately 1,200 applications to 44,100. The combination of a shorter queue and a one-month processing improvement suggests IRCC has been actively prioritizing this stream. For FSWP applicants who have been waiting, this is meaningful progress.

Context matters here though. The FSWP is the program IRCC has proposed retiring as part of its sweeping Express Entry overhaul announced this week. Applicants currently in the FSWP stream who receive an ITA and submit before any transition takes effect are operating under known rules. The improvement in processing times makes acting now under the current system more attractive than waiting for an uncertain new framework.

Canadian Experience Class — 7 Months (Unchanged, But Queue Growing Fast)

Warning: the CEC queue grew by over 10,000 applications in one month and has added more than 20,000 applicants since February. If this pace continues, longer wait times will follow.

The CEC processing time held at 7 months, but the queue now sits at 54,600 — up from roughly 44,300 in February. New applications are arriving faster than IRCC can clear them. Processing times are a lagging indicator; the queue growth is the leading one, and it is pointing in the wrong direction.

For CEC applicants, this reinforces the urgency of submitting as soon as eligibility is met rather than waiting. The longer the queue grows, the higher the probability of processing time increases in the May and June updates.

Federal Skilled Trades Program — No Data

IRCC does not publish processing time estimates for the FSTP due to insufficient data volume. This remains unchanged.

Provincial Nominee Program: No Movement, But Queues Tell a Story

Processing times for both enhanced and base PNP applications were unchanged from March. Enhanced PNP remains at 7 months against a 6-month service standard, with 13,700 applications waiting. Base PNP remains at 13 months against an 11-month service standard, with 108,100 applications in the queue.

The enhanced PNP queue grew slightly by 700, while the base PNP queue was essentially flat. Base PNP continues to sit nearly two months above its service standard — a persistent gap that has not meaningfully closed in recent months.

The broader context for PNP applicants is significant. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program is set to revoke its existing streams on May 30, 2026, and IRCC has proposed modifying or removing the 600-point PNP CRS factor as part of the Express Entry overhaul. The strategic value of pursuing a provincial nomination is shifting, and the window to use current streams may be shorter than expected.

Atlantic Immigration Program — 40 Months, Up 7 in One Update

The AIP has jumped 7 months in a single update to 40 months — more than three times its 11-month service standard. This is the largest single-month increase of any economic stream in this update.

The AIP had held steady at 33 months since at least February. The seven-month jump to 40 months is the largest negative shift recorded for any economic immigration stream this update. At 40 months, applicants waiting on AIP decisions are looking at over three years from application to decision.

Notably, the AIP queue actually shrank slightly by 300 applications to 13,200. IRCC may be working through older, more complex cases from the backlog, which typically take longer to process and push averages up. But the practical result for applicants is the same: a 40-month wait is a serious planning constraint.

Other Economic Programs: Start-Up Visa and Self-Employed

Both the Start-Up Visa and Federal Self-Employed programs remain at processing times exceeding 10 years, unchanged from March. The Start-Up Visa queue stands at 46,200 applications and the Federal Self-Employed queue at 8,100. Neither program has a published service standard. Both are effectively frozen from a practical planning perspective.

Citizenship Grants: 12 Months, Queue Shrinking

Citizenship grants have dropped to 12 months — meeting the service standard for the first time in recent memory. The queue shrank by 6,800 in one month.

Citizenship grant processing has now improved by two full months since February, when it sat at 14 months. The queue has contracted meaningfully for the first time in 2026, dropping to 313,200 from roughly 320,000 in March. IRCC is sending acknowledgment of receipt notices for applications filed on or around October 22, 2025.

The citizenship certificate queue tells a different story. It grew by 5,400 to 56,300 despite unchanged processing times of 10 months. If this trend continues, processing times for certificates could increase in the next update.

What These Numbers Mean in the Context of the Express Entry Overhaul

This processing time update lands in the middle of the most turbulent week in Canadian immigration policy in years. IRCC announced the retirement of all three Express Entry programs on April 8. On April 10, detailed CRS overhaul proposals were shared publicly, including changes that would reward high-earning occupations and remove French proficiency bonus points, Canadian education points, and sibling factors.

Reading the processing times update against that backdrop produces a clear strategic message. The FSWP is processing faster and the queue is shrinking — for applicants who currently qualify, this is the best combination of conditions in over a year. Acting under the current FSWP framework, before the new unified program takes effect under rules that have not yet been finalized, is strategically preferable to waiting.

The CEC queue growth is more concerning. Over 20,000 new applications in two months suggests a surge of candidates submitting before the CEC is potentially restructured or retired. If this pace continues, CEC processing times will likely increase in the May update.

How Cambria Law Can Help

Whether you have an active Express Entry profile, a pending application, or are trying to understand how these processing times affect your specific pathway, Cambria Law’s immigration team is available now.

We are monitoring IRCC updates in real time and advising clients on how the combination of processing time changes and the proposed Express Entry overhaul affects their individual strategy. Getting a legal assessment of your profile — including which stream gives you the fastest and most secure path under current rules — has never mattered more.