Immigration Update
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New international student and temporary worker arrivals to Canada fell by 66% between January and July 2026 compared to the same period in 2024, representing a decrease of 275,010 arrivals.
Official government data shows that new international student arrivals reached 28,200 during the first seven months of 2026 against an annual target of 155,000, down 80% from 2024 levels. Total active study permit holders declined to 590,205 by July 31, 2026, dropping from over one million in mid-2024.
Meanwhile, temporary worker arrivals stood at 113,360 through July, down 59% from the same period two years earlier. Despite lower overall intake, former temporary residents comprised 57% of all new permanent residents landed between January and July 2026.
#canada_immigration, #international_students, #temporary_foreign_workers, #study_permit_canada, #work_permit_canada, #ircc_stats, #permanent_residency, #immigration_targets
The total number of pending refugee protection claims before the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) fell to 259,085 by the end of August 2026, marking a continuous decline from a peak exceeding 300,000 cases in late 2025.
Official monthly statistics provided by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) show that intake of new claims remained low at 2,898 in August 2026, down sharply from 13,235 claims reported in August 2024.
Meanwhile, RPD finalizations reached 11,590 cases in August, following a peak of 13,072 decisions processed in June 2026. Conversely, pending appeals before the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) rose to 6,199 in August 2026 as appeal filings continued to exceed finalizations.
#canada_refugee_claims, #immigration_and_refugee_board, #rpd_statistics, #refugees, #canada_immigration, #asylum_seekers, #refugee_appeals, #ircc_stats
IRCC has released updated application processing data as of July 31, 2026. Since the beginning of the year, the department has finalized 1,832,065 temporary residence applications, including 126,230 study permit applications and 1,530,125 visitor visa applications.
Another 394,325 temporary residence applications had not yet been finalized.
In permanent residence processing, IRCC reported 255,325 pending economic immigration applications, 165,445 family-class applications and 295,830 protection-related applications. Among economic applications, 78% were in processing, while 22% were waiting for space under annual immigration targets.
For Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class applications, about 78% received a decision within the six-month service standard between August 2025 and July 2026. Citizenship inventories remained substantial as well, with 328,200 citizenship grant applications and 121,800 proof-of-citizenship applications not yet finalized.
#ircc, #applicationprocessing, #permanentresidence, #temporaryresidence, #citizenship, #canadaimmigration
Canada has ended a temporary public policy that allowed certain permanent residents to sponsor immediate family members who had not been declared or examined when the sponsor originally immigrated to Canada.
The policy applied primarily to certain resettled refugees, protected persons and people who had obtained permanent residence as sponsored spouses, partners or dependent children. Under the exemption, eligible sponsors could sponsor a spouse, partner, or dependent child even if the family member was not declared or examined during the sponsor’s own immigration process.
The public policy ended on September 10, 2026. IRCC will continue to process eligible applications received by that date under the exemption, but applications submitted after September 10 will no longer qualify.
Under the regular rules, applicants for permanent residence must declare all family members, even if they are not accompanying them to Canada, and those family members generally must undergo the required examinations. Failure to declare and have a family member examined can therefore prevent that person from being sponsored later.
#ircc, #family_sponsorship, #family_reunification, #permanent_residence, #immigration_to_canada
