Fall 2025 Canadian Immigration Updates

2025 is coming to a close, and significant changes have occurred in Canada’s immigration system. These changes are essential for potential newcomers to Canada to be informed about how they may affect them.

News on Which Immigration Applications are to be Processed by the End of 2025

The new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Lena Metlege Diab, was appointed to her role in May 2025, following her re-election as a member of Parliament in the April 2025 Canadian federal election. When a new minister takes over as Minister of Immigration, a transition binder is left to help the new minister acclimate to their role. These binders are publicly available and provide insight into the state and future of immigration in Canada.

For instance, the binder details that some immigration categories are slated to have their entire backlogs of applications processed before the end of 2025. The categories that will have their entire backlogs processed before 2026 include: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, Enhanced Provincial Nominee Program streams and community pilots such as the Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots.

However, some programs, such as the Agrifood pilot, the Atlantic Immigration Program, and Caregiver Pilots, have been put on the back burner, as they are not slated to have their entire inventory processed in 2025. Most applicants in those programs will likely have to wait until at least 2026 for their applications to be processed.

Application Numbers may change in the Upcoming Immigration Levels Plan

It is worth noting that the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan is expected to be released shortly, as the Plan for 2026-2028 is scheduled for release in late 2025. The Plan will provide even more insight into the short and medium-term future of immigration in Canada. The 2025-2027 plan includes information on the number of applications slated to be accepted in each category per year, and the new plan will likely contain the same information. The numbers are likely to remain similar for most immigration programs, given the prevailing guideline of keeping Canada’s temporary resident volume at 5% of Canada’s total population.

IRCC Application Processing Tool Update

There is some good news for those who have applied for permanent residence or citizenship, as an update to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s online processing tool has been added. The update to the tool shows the processing time and number of applications in the queue for many economic, family, citizenship, refugee, and humanitarian and compassionate grounds applications. Before the update, the tool would only display the average processing time for applications and did not account for when an application was submitted or show the number of applications in the backlog.

The update will provide increased clarity to those with pending immigration applications, as applicants can now use the tool to determine when they can expect their applications to be processed. The expected processing time is adjusted based on when the applicant submitted their application. Furthermore, the applicant can view their application’s position in the backlog, indicating how many people are ahead of them and the total number of people awaiting a decision. The tool shows that processing times are updated monthly, so those waiting for an application to be processed do not need to check the tool daily for updates. For those who have yet to apply, the tool will inform them of the processing time if they use it today, as well as the number of people currently awaiting a decision on their application.

However, as the tool is new, it gives the caveat that the times given for application processing are not maximums or guarantees, so the application processing may take longer than the times shown. Additionally, changes in policy, funding, and IRCC focus could result in some applications being fast-tracked, while others could be delayed. It is also possible that the tool is not functioning as intended for certain types of applications. As of the time of this writing, the estimated wait time for humanitarian and compassionate grounds applications submitted in 2025 is 10 years. While the new features of the tool are helpful, they should be viewed as estimates that are subject to change, rather than guarantees of processing time. Nonetheless, the update is still beneficial for applicants for estimating when they may hear back on their application.

Permanent Resident Pathway for Caregivers outside of Canada Closed

In March 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada established the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots. At inception, only the in-Canada pathway was open. The pilot allowed people in Canada to apply for permanent residence in Canada if they had a full-time job offer in home care, relevant work experience or training, and the required language skills and education. The application for the workers in Canada closed shortly after the pathway opened, and there is no indication that the path will reopen.

At the time of inception, the pilot indicated that applicants not working in the Canada stream would be opened at a later date. However, the applicants not working in the Canada stream have been suspended indefinitely, as the application page indicates that the stream is closed. It is unclear why applicants not working in the Canada stream have had their applications closed without ever being opened, especially given that the application page still states that the stream will open at a later date.

It is possible that the decision to shelve the applicants not working in the Canada stream could have been made because of shifting policy decisions, as the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots were opened before the 2025 Canadian Federal Election. Alternatively, the reason for closing the applicants working in Canada stream could be due to the high volume of applications still pending processing for the in-Canada pathway. As noted in the Minister’s transition binder referenced above, the in-Canada stream inventory will not be processed before the end of 2025, and the number of applications far outweighs the number of planned admissions. As a result of this situation, it is possible that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deemed it fitting to suspend the out-of-Canada pathway, given that processing times are already quite long. For those who were counting on the applicants not working in Canada stream to apply for permanent residence, there are still other options available, such as through Express Entry or the Provincial Nominee Programs.

Experienced Immigration Lawyers Helping You Navigate Canadian Immigration Updates

Navigating the constant updates and shifting priorities in Canadian immigration—from Express Entry processing to new policy changes, such as the suspension of the out-of-Canada Caregiver pathway—requires precise, up-to-date legal guidance. The skilled immigration lawyers at Garson Immigration Law are exclusively dedicated to the practice of immigration law, providing robust legal solutions for challenging situations for both businesses and individual clients. We assist with a wide variety of immigration matters, including permanent residence, citizenship, work and study permits, and U.S. immigration. Don’t let policy ambiguity or application backlogs delay your future. To schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your specific immigration strategy, please call us directly at 416-321-2860 or contact our firm online.