Iranian Applicants and Canada Security Screening: What the Data Actually Shows

As of June 4, 2026.

If your Canadian application has gone quiet for months, there is a good chance it sits in security screening, and if you are Iranian that chance is higher than for almost any other nationality. The wait is real and it is stressful. What rarely gets said is the other half of the story, found in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) records released under the Access to Information Act: the number of Iranian applicants who actually receive a negative screening result is small. Thousands are referred every year; a handful are turned away. This guide shows the numbers, explains why the referrals happen, and tells you what to do while you wait.

How many Iranian applicants are referred for security screening?

Short answer: Thousands a year, across both temporary and permanent residence. Referrals dipped during the pandemic and then climbed sharply as application volumes recovered. The table below shows how many Iranian applications were sent to the security screening partner for review.

These counts come from IRCC records released under the Access to Information Act, covering January 1, 2019 to July 31, 2025. IRCC rounds them to the nearest 5, suppresses very small counts, and does not publish them on canada.ca, so treat them as approximate.

Being referred is routine, not an accusation. It means your file met a criterion that triggers a mandatory check, and it is the single biggest reason Iranian applications take longer than the published processing times.

How often does security screening actually block an Iranian applicant?

Short answer: Rarely, according to the same released IRCC records. Against the thousands referred each year, the number of Iranian applicants with a non-favourable screening outcome is in the single digits to low tens. Across January 2019 to July 2025, the released records show roughly 80 non-favourable temporary residence results and roughly 50 permanent residence results, about 130 in total against 47,635 referrals, or under 0.3 percent. The yearly split below is approximate.

The release rounds these yearly counts to the nearest 5 and shows any value from 0 to 5 only as a dash, so read a cell shown here as 0 or fewer than 5 as anywhere from 0 to 5. The takeaway does not change: for the overwhelming majority, screening is a delay, not a wall.

Why are Iranian applicants referred for security screening so often?

Short answer: Because of category, not individual suspicion. Several common features of Iranian profiles trigger a mandatory check: compulsory military service, study or work in fields Canada treats as sensitive such as nuclear science, advanced engineering, and the physical sciences, and any possible connection to entities Canada has sanctioned. None of these means an officer believes you are a security risk. It means a rule requires the file to be reviewed before approval. A talented engineer and a conscript who served two mandatory years can both land in the same queue for reasons that have nothing to do with wrongdoing.

How long does security screening take?

Short answer: Longer than anyone wants, and it is the main reason Iranian files blow past the standard timelines. A check can add several months, and in complex cases it stretches past a year. The application is not refused during this time; it is paused while the review runs. That distinction matters, because applicants who panic and abandon a file, or who switch streams midway, often restart a clock that was already most of the way finished. Track your file against the published IRCC processing times, and treat screening as a known stage rather than a sign of trouble.

What should you do if your application is in security screening?

Short answer: Keep your status valid, stay transparent, and do not sabotage the wait. Maintain legal status in Canada if you are already here, respond fully and quickly to any request for more information, and be upfront about military service or sensitive employment rather than hoping it goes unnoticed. Avoid repeated status inquiries that add nothing, and do not withdraw a file out of frustration. If your permit is close to expiring while screening drags on, that is the moment to get professional advice, because the fix is usually an extension or a bridging option, not abandoning the application. The general path to permanent residence is set out on the IRCC Express Entry page.

Does a non-favourable result mean an automatic refusal?

Short answer: Not on its own. A non-favourable screening outcome is a recommendation that feeds into the officer's decision, not the decision itself. The officer weighs it alongside the rest of your file, and you are usually given a chance to respond to concerns before a final call. Given how rare these outcomes are, most Iranian applicants never reach this stage. For anyone who does, a complete, honest, well-documented response is what protects the application, which is exactly where experienced help earns its place.

How a licensed RCIC can help

Short answer: The damage from security screening is rarely the result itself; it is the months of silence that push people into status problems or rash decisions. Go Far Global is a licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) firm in Toronto, regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), with Farsi-speaking staff who handle Iranian files daily. We keep your status valid while you wait, prepare clean disclosures on military service and sensitive fields so nothing reads as a red flag, and respond properly if a concern is ever raised. Book a consultation if your file is stuck in review.

Sources

• IRCC, Check application processing times
• IRCC, Express Entry
• IRCC, Situation in Iran: temporary immigration measures