Visitor visa · applying from China (People’s Republic of)
Canada visitor visa processing time from China (People’s Republic of)
A visitor visa lets you come to Canada for a holiday, to see family or for a short business trip, if your passport needs one.
Current processing time
42 days
about 6 weeks
IRCC figure, update of October 21, 2026. Check IRCC's tool
If you apply today
If IRCC keeps this pace, 8 in 10 applications sent today would be decided by about December 5, 2026.
In plain English
- 8 in 10 visitor visa applications from China (People’s Republic of) were decided within 42 days, counted from the day IRCC had a complete application.
- Waits are getting longer. The figure was 28 days in July.
- The wait from China (People’s Republic of) is longer than in 61% of the other 169 countries IRCC lists. The typical (middle) country's figure is 38 days.
- Since 2018, the figure has ranged from 13 days (September 2018) to 566 days (March 2022).
Is it getting faster or slower?
IRCC's figure for visitor visa applications from China (People’s Republic of) at each update.
In days. Each point is an IRCC update. Lower means a shorter wait.
Every published figure
| IRCC update | Figure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| October 21, 2026 | 42 days | +2 days |
| October 14, 2026 | 40 days | +4 days |
| October 1, 2026 | 36 days | +1 day |
| September 22, 2026 | 35 days | +3 days |
| August 19, 2026 | 32 days | +4 days |
| July 22, 2026 | 28 days | +1 day |
| July 7, 2026 | 27 days | −4 days |
| March 12, 2025 | 31 days | −15 days |
| May 28, 2024 | 46 days | −54 days |
| October 31, 2023 | 100 days | +6 days |
| October 24, 2023 | 94 days | +45 days |
| September 6, 2022 | 49 days | +3 days |
| August 30, 2022 | 46 days | +3 days |
| August 23, 2022 | 43 days | +3 days |
| August 16, 2022 | 40 days | −6 days |
| August 9, 2022 | 46 days | +4 days |
| August 2, 2022 | 42 days | +1 day |
| July 26, 2022 | 41 days | −1 day |
| July 12, 2022 | 42 days | −7 days |
| June 28, 2022 | 49 days | −11 days |
| June 21, 2022 | 60 days | +20 days |
| June 15, 2022 | 40 days | +1 day |
| June 1, 2022 | 39 days | +8 days |
| May 24, 2022 | 31 days | −4 days |
| May 17, 2022 | 35 days | −5 days |
| May 11, 2022 | 40 days | −516 days |
| March 22, 2022 | 556 days | −10 days |
| March 16, 2022 | 566 days | +17 days |
| March 8, 2022 | 549 days | +27 days |
| March 1, 2022 | 522 days | −3 days |
| February 22, 2022 | 525 days | +6 days |
| February 16, 2022 | 519 days | +12 days |
| February 8, 2022 | 507 days | +258 days |
| February 1, 2022 | 249 days | +121 days |
| January 25, 2022 | 128 days | +41 days |
| January 18, 2022 | 87 days | −284 days |
| February 2, 2021 | 371 days | +358 days |
| September 4, 2018 | 13 days | first figure |
How China (People’s Republic of) compares
Shorter bars mean shorter waits. The typical country is the middle of all 170 countries with a figure.
What does this number mean?
It looks back, not forward
IRCC's figure is how long it took to decide 8 in 10 of the applications of this kind that it finished recently. The other 2 in 10 took longer.
The clock starts with a complete application
It counts from the day IRCC had a complete application to the day it made a decision.
It changes often
IRCC revises the figure regularly, usually every week. A single application can be faster or slower.
Common questions
How long does a visitor visa application from China (People’s Republic of) take?
IRCC's latest figure, from October 21, 2026, is 42 days (about 6 weeks). That means 8 in 10 recent visitor visa applications from China (People’s Republic of) were decided within that time. Some were faster and some took longer.
Is the wait from China (People’s Republic of) getting shorter?
Waits are getting longer. The figure was 28 days in July.
How does China (People’s Republic of) compare with other countries?
The wait from China (People’s Republic of) is longer than in 61% of the other 169 countries IRCC lists. The typical (middle) country's figure is 38 days. The shortest right now is Palestine (Gaza) (1 day) and the longest is Eswatini (804 days).
Is this an official government website?
No. Canada Visa Wait is an independent site and is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. The figures are IRCC's own. Before you rely on a date, check IRCC's official processing-times tool.