Canada private refugee processing time from Pakistan
Unchanged from the previous official update (September 22, 2026).
How long is private refugee processing from Pakistan right now?
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) currently publishes 14 months for the refugee-processing part of privately sponsored refugee applications from Pakistan. This is distinct from the sponsor-processing value; both official stages are linked below.
IRCC notes its published figures show "how long it took us to process most complete applications in the past" — a backward-looking statistic covering roughly 80% of recently finalized cases, not a guarantee for new applications.
Which part of the private-refugee process this measures
A privately sponsored refugee application has a sponsorship part and a refugee part. This page tracks IRCC’s 14-month refugee-processing value for Pakistan, not the separately published sponsor-processing value.
IRCC says the sponsorship part is reviewed first at its Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa. If that part is approved, the refugee part goes to an overseas migration office for review, including the refugee interview and admissibility steps. The 14-month figure is not a promised arrival date.
Pakistan’s refugee-side value is 14 months shorter than the current 28-month median across the 18 countries for which IRCC publishes a value in this snapshot. GovWait derives that comparison from the official data; it is not an IRCC ranking and does not predict one case.
Route facts checked September 7, 2026. Official links: IRCC processing-time tool · IRCC private-sponsorship process · IRCC application-status guide.
Recorded history
| Official value | Published/updated | Verified by us |
|---|---|---|
| 14 months | October 1, 2026 | October 2, 2026 |
| 14 months | September 22, 2026 | September 25, 2026 |
| 13 months | August 26, 2026 | August 28, 2026 |
| 13 months | August 19, 2026 | August 21, 2026 |
Tracking began August 2026; a new row appears whenever the official figure changes.
Compare
See all 212 applicant countries for privately sponsored refugee: refugee processing, currently ranging from 16 months (Kenya) to 38 months (Djibouti).
Other Canada routes from Pakistan
Common questions
Is 14 months a guarantee?
No — it is the agency's own statistic about recently completed applications. Individual cases vary with documentation completeness, verification checks, and application volume. Always confirm against the linked official source before making travel or financial decisions.
Does the published time include biometrics? What about "after biometrics"?
IRCC's published clock runs from receipt of a complete application to the final decision, and IRCC states it includes the time taken to provide biometrics. Stage-by-stage clocks ("after biometrics", "after medical") are not published officially — breakdowns you see on forums are applicant anecdotes, not data. We track only what the agency publishes.
Why might an application take longer than the published time?
Resettlement timelines depend on referral pathways, interview scheduling abroad, and security and medical checks — each adds variance the headline figure averages away. The published number covers most, not all, recently finalized cases.