How long spousal sponsorship actually takes.
IRCC publishes one number per category. This page puts that number next to what applicants reported at every stage in between — the part that tells you whether your own wait is normal.
What IRCC says today
Estimate your own dates
Free, no account. Tell us when you submitted and we will place the same windows on your own calendar.
You are 450 days in. These windows come from 159 reported applications, inland.
Usually behind you by now
These are the windows for everyone who submitted when you did. They do not know anything else about your case — so they are wider than they need to be. Tracking your own milestones narrows them: each stage you log tells the model where you actually are, instead of where the average applicant would be.
Track this applicationWhat applicants reported, stage by stage
Every row is measured from the day the application was submitted, so the figures accumulate rather than describing gaps between stages. A stage marked never scored is one the model has never been able to check against real outcomes — the window is still the best estimate available, but its early edge is the part to distrust.
Outland applications
The applicant is outside Canada, or chose the outland route while living in it. Finalised through a visa office, ending in a passport request.
Median days from submission, with the 10th–90th percentile range beside it: eight in ten reported cases landed inside that span. n is the weighted number of cases behind the row — nothing is published below 25.
Inland applications
The applicant is in Canada and stays through processing, usually with an open work permit. Finalised through the PR Portal.
Median days from submission, with the 10th–90th percentile range beside it: eight in ten reported cases landed inside that span. n is the weighted number of cases behind the row — nothing is published below 25.
Outland, applicants from India
The largest single country group in the reported data, and the one people most often ask about.
Median days from submission, with the 10th–90th percentile range beside it: eight in ten reported cases landed inside that span. n is the weighted number of cases behind the row — nothing is published below 25.
Outland, applicants from the Philippines
The second country group with enough reported cases to publish a full stage list.
Median days from submission, with the 10th–90th percentile range beside it: eight in ten reported cases landed inside that span. n is the weighted number of cases behind the row — nothing is published below 25.
By submission month
IRCC publishes a separate queue position for every month someone could have applied in. Each month below has its own page: how many applications are still ahead of it, which way that is moving, and what to expect from a start date in that month.
Outland applications
Why the two numbers disagree
IRCC’s figure is forward-looking: it estimates how long an application submitted today should take, and it covers 80% of cases. The ranges here are backward-looking — what already happened to applications that were submitted months or years ago, many of which are still waiting. When a queue is getting slower, the official number is the optimistic one; when it speeds up, the reverse.
Neither is wrong. They answer different questions, which is why both are on this page instead of one being quietly picked.
Estimates only — not immigration advice. These dates are modelled from timelines that other applicants reported, and describe a range of likely outcomes, not a commitment. Your case can differ substantially. Not affiliated with or endorsed by IRCC. Please do not make irreversible plans — flights, resignations, leases — on a predicted date.
Method, sample sizes and measured error: how these numbers are made · IRCC figures as of 2026-09-03.
Track your own application