IRCC's August 10 refresh brought FSWP in line with CEC at 6 months and improved PGP timelines — but proof of citizenship certificates now take 25 months, with the queue past 121,800.
IRCC refreshed its permanent residence (PR) and citizenship processing times on August 10, 2026. Most of the news is quietly good: Federal Skilled Worker applicants now wait the same 6 months as Canadian Experience Class candidates, and parents-and-grandparents sponsors got a small break. But one number moved sharply the wrong way — a proof of Canadian citizenship certificate, the document Americans need to claim citizenship by descent, now takes 25 months, up from 19 in July, with the queue crossing 121,800 applications for the first time.
This is the monthly PR and citizenship refresh, separate from the weekly temporary residence update covered on August 5. The figures below compare the August 10 estimates against IRCC's previous July 7 update.
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) applicants got the best news in this release: their estimate dropped a full month, landing at the same 6-month mark as Canadian Experience Class.
| Application type | Current (August 10) | Previous (July 7) |
|---|
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 6 months | 6 months |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | 6 months | 7 months |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) | Not published* | Not published* |
*IRCC does not publish an FSTP estimate, citing insufficient data.
Service standard: 6 months across all Express Entry programs.
Both queues shrank this cycle — CEC to 59,700 (down 1,800) and FSWP to 52,400 (down 3,400) — which is why FSWP's estimate could fall even as CEC's held flat. For the first time in months, every published Express Entry PR stream sits right at the service standard.
The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) split in opposite directions, continuing last month's pattern.
| Application type | Current (August 10) | Previous (July 7) |
|---|
| Enhanced (through Express Entry) | 7 months | 7 months |
| Base (non-Express Entry) | 13 months | 12 months |
Service standards: 6 months (enhanced); 11 months (base).
Base PNP's estimate rose a month to 13 even though IRCC processed 1,400 applications out of that queue, which now sits at 102,400. Enhanced PNP held at 7 months with its inventory down slightly to 11,800. The gap between the two routes is now 6 months — enhanced nominees continue to clear PR meaningfully faster than base nominees.
Quebec's two economic streams didn't move this cycle, despite IRCC clearing 1,000 PSTQ applications from the queue.
| Application type | Current (August 10) | Previous (July 7) |
|---|
| Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) | 11 months | 11 months |
| Quebec Business Class (QBC) | 75 months | 75 months |
The Atlantic Immigration Program also held flat at 26 months, even with 200 fewer applications in its queue (now 12,100).
Two smaller economic programs remain in a category of their own: Start-up Visa and the Federal Self-Employed Persons Program both carry published estimates of 10+ years, unchanged from July. IRCC has separately flagged the Self-Employed Persons Program as "no longer fit for purpose" — worth knowing if you're weighing this route, since a redesign or replacement is plausible before an application filed today would ever be finalized.
Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) sponsors got the only meaningful movement in family class this cycle — a one-month improvement, both inside and outside Quebec.
Outside Quebec:
| Application type | Current (August 10) | Previous (July 7) |
|---|
| Spouse/partner inside Canada | 27 months | 27 months |
| Spouse/partner outside Canada | 17 months | 17 months |
| Parents and Grandparents (PGP) | 29 months | 30 months |
Service standard: 12 months for spousal sponsorship outside Quebec.
Within Quebec:
| Application type | Current (August 10) | Previous (July 7) |
|---|
| Spouse/partner inside Canada | 32 months | 32 months |
| Spouse/partner outside Canada | 33 months | 33 months |
| Parents and Grandparents | 64 months | 65 months |
Both spousal sponsorship tracks held completely flat this update, on both sides of the Quebec line. If you're sponsoring a spouse, nothing changed for you this cycle — for better or worse. If you're sponsoring parents or grandparents, the queue eased slightly for the second straight month, though 29–64 months is still years away; the super visa remains the faster way to get parents into Canada for a visit in the meantime.
Citizenship grants — naturalization after PR — held exactly flat.
| Application type | Current (August 10) | Previous (July 7) |
|---|
| Citizenship grant | 12 months | 12 months |
| Renunciation of citizenship | 4 months | 7 months |
| Search of citizenship records | 17 months | 17 months |
Service standard: 12 months for grants. The grant inventory sits at 328,200, up 2,000 from July.
Renunciation dropped 3 months — the biggest single-category improvement in this release — but it's a niche application type with a small caseload compared to grants.
Proof of citizenship is the story. This is a separate track from citizenship grants — it's the certificate that confirms someone is already a Canadian citizen, most commonly used today by Americans claiming citizenship by descent under Bill C-3. As of August 10, IRCC's published estimate for this certificate reached 25 months, and the queue hit 121,800 applications — both records.
| Month | Published wait | Queue size |
|---|
| January 2026 | 10 months | — |
| May 2026 | 12 months | 70,400 |
| June 2026 | 15 months | 82,000 |
| July 2026 | 19 months | 99,500 |
| August 2026 | 25 months | 121,800 |
The queue grew by roughly 22,300 applications in a single month — a 22% jump — and the wait has now more than doubled since May. Bill C-3, which removed the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent in December 2025, is the driver: American applicants with a Canadian grandparent, great-grandparent, or more distant ancestor continue to file in numbers IRCC's citizenship branch hasn't scaled to match. A June review of already-issued certificates, which paused new finalizations for several weeks, likely compounded the jump on top of an already-swelling caseload. For the full trend and what it means if you're applying, see our dedicated proof of citizenship coverage.
If you're an FSWP applicant: your estimate is now the fastest it's been all year and matches CEC. A complete application on day one is still the only part of the timeline you control.
If you're a base PNP nominee: your wait grew again, to 13 months. Enhanced nomination through Express Entry remains the faster route by 6 months if your province offers both tracks.
If you're sponsoring parents or grandparents: the queue eased for a second straight month, but a wait measured in years means the super visa is still the realistic way to see family sooner.
If you're applying for proof of citizenship: brace for a longer wait than you may have planned around. At 25 months and a queue past 121,800, this line is moving in the opposite direction from almost everything else on this page — filing sooner rather than later is still the better move, since IRCC's estimate only grows as more applicants join the queue ahead of you.
Tip
Processing times and service standards measure different things — the estimate is IRCC's forward-looking guess based on current inventory and capacity, while the service standard is the fixed internal target the department aims to hit 80% of the time. When a category like FSWP finally lands on its 6-month standard, that means the category is running as intended, not that any individual file is guaranteed to finish in exactly 6 months. Use the estimate to plan, but never book something irreversible — a lease, a resignation, a flight — around it.
August 5 Temporary Residence Processing Times | Proof of Citizenship Wait Times | PNP Guide | Parents & Grandparents Sponsorship | Canadian Citizenship by Descent for Americans
Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration advice. Always verify information with official IRCC sources and consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or licensed immigration lawyer for advice specific to your situation.