July 31, 2026: 394,325 Temporary Residence Files Still Open After 1,832,065 Decisions

IRCC has published the next cut of its application processing dashboard. The page was last modified September 15, 2026. Data is as of July 31, 2026. New temporary residence applications finalized since January 1, 2026 now total 1,832,065. Applications not yet finalized total 394,325.

Those are new student, worker, and visitor files only. IRCC states that extensions are not in this count. Values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5. The data is approximate and subject to change.

This is not a new program. It is the seven-month look at the same queue we covered after June 30. The change that matters for you is the movement in each line, and the new spouse and partner processing figure of about 15 months.

What moved since June 30

IRCC’s June 30 snapshot showed 1,566,455 new temporary residence files finalized and 401,280 still open. One month later, finalized files are up by 265,610. The open temporary queue is down by 6,955.

Most of the open temporary queue is still visitor visas. That visitor inventory fell from 337,100 on June 30 to 327,980 on July 31. Study and work inventories rose slightly. Study files still open went from 36,520 to 37,730. Work files still open went from 27,655 to 28,615.

IRCC notes that student filings rise and fall with fall and winter intakes, and that students should file as soon as a designated learning institution accepts them. Faster work-permit tracks exist for some cases. They do not cover every file.

Permanent residence is still a space problem

The same page separates economic, family, and protection inventories.

Economic class: 170,790 applications finalized since January 1, 2026, and 255,325 not yet finalized. IRCC says 78% of that open inventory is in processing and 22% is waiting for space under yearly targets. On June 30 those shares were 77% and 23%.

Family class: 62,825 finalized and 165,445 not yet finalized. 59% in processing. 41% waiting for space. Those shares did not move from June 30. What did move is the spouse line. From August 2025 to July 2026, IRCC processed spouse, partner, and child applications filed in Canada or abroad for people who want to live outside Quebec in about 15 months. The June 30 cut used a July 2025 to June 2026 window and said about 14 months.

Protection: 71,985 finalized and 295,830 not yet finalized. 58% in processing. 42% waiting for space.

Express Entry is not the same as the economic inventory. From August 2025 to July 2026, about 78% of Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class applicants received a decision within the 6-month service standard, and about 50% received a decision in 5 months or less. The prior window was 79% inside six months. IRCC is separately transitioning up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residence in 2026 and 2027, outside the levels-plan targets. We covered July landings in our July 31 permanent residence explainer.

Citizenship is still a long tail

Citizenship grant applications produced 193,320 new citizens since January 1, 2026. 328,200 grant files were not yet finalized on July 31. Proof-of-citizenship applications finalized total 34,400, with 121,800 still open, up from 99,520 on June 30. A grant inventory larger than the year’s new-citizen count is not a processing-time promise for a file you file this week.

What this means if your file is in the queue

An arrival target and a landing target are not the same as an inventory. The student and worker arrivals dashboard we covered on September 18 counts people who received a permit. This page counts applications decided or still waiting, including visitor visas that never become an arrival target.

If you filed a new study permit, 37,730 files were still open on July 31 against 126,230 already decided. File completeness still controls whether your file moves.

If you filed a new work permit, the open inventory is 28,615. An in-Canada extension is not in this table. Do not read that queue as a guarantee that an extension will be fast.

If you hold an Invitation to Apply, the 60-day filing clock is unchanged. A large economic inventory with 22% of open files waiting for space is a levels-plan constraint, not extra time on your ITA.

If you filed a spouse, partner, or child sponsorship to live outside Quebec, plan around the 15-month figure IRCC now publishes for the August 2025 to July 2026 window. Confirm the live page before you treat that as a personal timeline.

We covered the June 30 cut in our mid-year inventory explainer. Use that post for the first-half baseline. Use this one for the July 31 numbers.

If you need a structured review of a study permit, a work permit, or an Express Entry file, contact JSR Immigration & Legals through our consultation page, the study permit service page, the work permit service page, or the Express Entry service page.

This article is general information current to September 19, 2026, and is not legal or immigration advice. Confirm the live tables on Canada.ca before you file.