Visa processing times
Processing times change every week. We link to each government's own tool rather than copy a number that would be out of date by the time you read it. Where a government publishes a fixed standard, it is shown with the day we read it.
Canada (IRCC)
IRCC processing times tool, on canada.ca
IRCC updates its times regularly. Your own application's progress is in the IRCC tracker.
United Kingdom (applying from outside the UK)
- Standard Visitor: 3 weeks. Transit: 3 weeks. gov.uk · read
- Student: 3 weeks. gov.uk · read
- Skilled Worker: 3 weeks. gov.uk · read
- Partner, parent or child: 12 weeks. gov.uk · read
The clock starts when you have proved your identity online or attended your appointment at a visa application centre. gov.uk · read
Schengen
15 days normally, extendable to 45 days. home-affairs.ec.europa.eu · read
United States
US processing depends mostly on how soon you can get an interview. US visa appointments
We could not read the appointment wait-time tool on travel.state.gov when we last checked, so we do not repeat them here. Read them on travel.state.gov, the State Department's own site, or your US embassy's website.
Last checked 4 October 2026. Not legal advice. What changed