Refugees & Protected Persons
Private Refugees (Rest of Canada) Processing Time
About 71,000 people waiting · IRCC data as of October 9, 2026
Privately Sponsored Refugees (PSR) come to Canada through the support of sponsorship agreement holders, groups of five, or community sponsors who commit to supporting the newcomers financially and socially for their first year.
Demand from sponsoring groups far exceeds annual admission spaces, producing long queues at overseas visa offices. This page tracks IRCC's published processing time for PSR files destined outside Quebec.
Processing Time History
| Date | Processing Time (months) |
|---|---|
| October 9, 2025 | 60 |
| November 6, 2025 | 51 |
| December 9, 2025 | 52 |
| January 14, 2026 | 49 |
| February 12, 2026 | 47 |
| March 9, 2026 | 46 |
| April 7, 2026 | 43 |
| May 12, 2026 | 42 |
| June 8, 2026 | 41 |
| July 7, 2026 | 41 |
| August 10, 2026 | 40 |
| September 3, 2026 | 40 |
| October 9, 2026 | 40 |
People Ahead by Application Month
IRCC also publishes how many applications submitted in each month are still ahead of you in the Private Refugees (Rest of Canada) queue.
| Month | People Ahead |
|---|---|
| 2024/10 | 48100 |
| 2024/11 | 52000 |
| 2024/12 | 55000 |
| 2025/01 | 55500 |
| 2025/02 | 55900 |
| 2025/03 | 56600 |
| 2025/04 | 57700 |
| 2025/05 | 58900 |
| 2025/06 | 59800 |
| 2025/07 | 60500 |
| 2025/08 | 61400 |
| 2025/09 | 62300 |
| 2025/10 | 63400 |
| 2025/11 | 64600 |
| 2025/12 | 66300 |
| 2026/01 | 66500 |
| 2026/02 | 66700 |
| 2026/03 | 67200 |
| 2026/04 | 67600 |
| 2026/05 | 68200 |
| 2026/06 | 68800 |
| 2026/07 | 69200 |
| 2026/08 | 70500 |
| 2026/09 | 71000 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Private Refugees (Rest of Canada) take right now?
As of October 9, 2026, IRCC reports a processing time of about 40 months for Private Refugees (Rest of Canada) applications, with about 71,000 people waiting.
Who can privately sponsor a refugee?
Sponsorship agreement holders (often faith or community organizations) and their constituent groups, groups of five or more citizens or permanent residents, or community sponsors — all of whom commit to one year of financial and settlement support.
Why do private sponsorship files take years?
Annual caps on private sponsorship admissions are far below the number of applications submitted, and processing capacity varies widely between overseas visa offices — some regions move several times slower than others.