May 2025 - Citizenship Applications

[ChuckNorris]

Interesting that they have updated the processing time estimates.
The processing time depends on when you have applied.
For May applicants:

Estimated time left: 6 months left
Last updated: October 9, 2025 Updated monthly
People ahead of you:
About 134,300 people ahead of you
Total number of people waiting for a decision:
About 283,700 people waiting

 

[spreadpeace]

Whats your processing office? They are certainly not processing based on application submit date i think. People from other offices have got oath especially from GTA

Sydney, NS is mentioned in the AOR.

 

[vkamath]

Sydney, NS is mentioned in the AOR.

Thats the Central processing center. AOR's are generated from there. Check with IRCC or order ATIP notes. in my case Primary is Vancouver and Secondary is Sydney

 

[d-pen]

We are in the same boat. All stages except ceremony are completed on 22nd September for me. Waiting on my kid's language and test sections since 6th October, which are not required for kids under 16. I think they are processing based on the application submit date. Otherwise I don't see any reason for not getting ceremony by now.

I just don’t understand their processing system. This is exactly why millions of files are still waiting for updates. If the applicants have kids who don’t need a language test, then just finalize and close the file. It would bring relief to the family and be one less file for them to deal with. Instead, they’re putting the process on hold for no reason.

 

[d-pen]

Interesting that they have updated the processing time estimates.
The processing time depends on when you have applied.
For May applicants:

Estimated time left: 6 months left
Last updated: October 9, 2025 Updated monthly
People ahead of you:
About 134,300 people ahead of you
Total number of people waiting for a decision:
About 283,700 people waiting

Processing time begins the day they receive an application and ends when a decision is made. Beyond that, all those estimated timelines don’t mean much. If files were really processed according to those estimates, none of us would still be here on the forum. But that “ahead of you and waiting” figure does sound interesting

 

[rpcanada]

I got an email on 20th October that the Oath is scheduled for 25th October. Since I was not in Canada, I replied IRCC to reschedule the Oath Ceremony. Does anyone knows how long do they take to reschedule it ?

 

[aaron_matthew]

I got my GCMS notes back on the 30day marker. Says my LPP hasn't started but it also says:

Grant Review Ready (and a file number)

So, I dug a little deeper, and found this info:

• Grant Review Ready means your file has passed background verifications and eligibility checks, and it is ready for the “grant review” stage, where an officer reviews everything before final approval.
• Grant Review is the stage before the decision and oath invitation. If no issues are found, the next move in GCMS would often be “Decision Made (DM)” and then “Oath Scheduled.”

In short, your file is fully prepared for a final review by a citizenship officer in Vancouver. That usually means you are near the end of the process, awaiting the officer’s decision or the next available oath ceremony scheduling.

I feel like Vancouver has just a lot of files on hand (just look in the tracker and the March & April application numbers) and it's just patience game as they clear through the backlog of files on hand.