Americans are flooding Canada’s proof-of-citizenship system as a rule change opens ancestry claims beyond the first generation, pushing the wait for certificates to 25 months. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s processing-time tool showed that estimate on August 10, 2026.
Later figures put the queue at 121,800 applications awaiting decisions. The demand has grown as the United States and Canada face an escalating trade war.
The applications are mainly for citizenship certificates by descent, not ordinary naturalization. The certificate serves as proof for people who may already hold Canadian citizenship through a parent or a longer family line.
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Americans account for nearly half of those recognized through the new pathway. The department issued 6,100 certificates under that route between mid-December 2025 and May 31, 2026, including 3,110 to U.S. citizens.
Canada changed the law on December 15, 2025. The measure, known as Bill C-3, allowed citizenship to pass beyond the first generation in certain cases involving people born outside Canada.
The records show two separate American routes to certificates
The figures cover two different groups. One involves the newly expanded ancestry route; the other involves people claiming citizenship through a Canadian parent.
| Certificate route | Total recipients | U.S. citizens |
|---|---|---|
| New pathway, between mid-December 2025 and May 31, 2026 | 6,100 | 3,110 |
| Canadian-parent route during the same period | 17,390 | 8,125 |
The parent-based group was larger. In that period, 17,390 people born outside Canada received certificates through a Canadian parent, including 8,125 U.S. citizens.
The numbers do not describe one single application pool. They show separate certificate routes operating after the law changed.
The court ruling forced Ottawa to reopen the first-generation limit
Before the change, Canada generally restricted citizenship by descent to the first generation born abroad. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in 2023 that the limit was unconstitutional.
That decision forced Ottawa to revise the law. The revised rules allow people born abroad to establish citizenship through an unbroken line to a Canadian ancestor in certain circumstances.
The change expanded the number of families able to seek documents from Canadian authorities. It also shifted attention toward historical records, including birth records and evidence linking generations.
Applicants are seeking proof of citizenship, not ordinary naturalization
A person who qualifies through descent is applying for a citizenship certificate. That is different from applying to become a citizen through ordinary naturalization.
People born before December 15, 2025, who can trace an unbroken line to a Canadian ancestor may already be Canadian citizens. They use the certificate process to obtain formal proof of that status.
The route has drawn particular interest in the United States. The figures show U.S. citizens represented nearly half of those receiving certificates under the new pathway through May 31.
The process has slowed. IRCC finalized 31,980 proof-of-citizenship certificates during the first half of 2026, while processing dropped in June.
Birth date now determines the physical-presence requirement
The revised framework treats births before and after the rule change differently.
| Birth date | Requirement described in the research |
|---|---|
| Before December 15, 2025 | Applicants who trace an unbroken line to a Canadian ancestor may already be citizens and seek proof |
| On or after December 15, 2025 | The Canadian parent must show 1,095 cumulative days in Canada before the child’s birth |
The physical-presence test applies to the Canadian parent for children born on or after December 15, 2025. The requirement is 1,095 cumulative days in Canada before the child’s birth.
That additional test does not apply in the same form to the pre-change cases described in the research. Those applicants focus on proving the family connection and their existing citizenship status.
Archives are absorbing a separate wave of ancestry searches
The rush has reached Canadian archives. Sarah Hanahem, an archivist, said U.S. requests overwhelmed her centre.
“They come looking for proof that they had a Canadian ancestor.”
Hanahem’s team received more than 12,000 requests since January 2026, compared with 520 during the same period in 2025. The increase amounted to a 2,000% surge.
The requests show how applicants are building cases before or alongside certificate applications. Many need records that connect a parent, grandparent or earlier Canadian ancestor to the applicant.
The administrative pressure is now visible in both record searches and government processing. Applicants face a much longer wait after assembling the evidence.
The backlog had already reached 99,520 applications by June 30, 2026. That figure preceded the later count of 121,800 awaiting a decision.
The department nevertheless finalized 31,980 proof-of-citizenship certificates in the first half of the year. Its internal processing data also showed 162,020 new citizens finalized since January 1, 2026.
The certificate figures and the broader new-citizen total measure different activity. The certificate queue remains tied to the descent expansion and the records applicants must assemble.
The new rules took effect less than a year before the August processing estimate. For families tracing Canadian ancestry from the United States, the next stage is a wait that now stretches beyond two years.
