- The Canadian citizenship certificate backlog swelled to 99,500 applications following the implementation of Bill C-3.
- Processing times have more than doubled, with applicants now facing a 19-month wait period.
- The surge follows the removal of the first-generation limit for descendants of Canadians born abroad.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has allowed the citizenship certificate queue to swell to 99,500 applications as Bill C-3 expands eligibility for Canadians born abroad. The pending total stood at approximately 70,000 in May 2026.
The department’s estimated processing time has also more than doubled. Applicants now face a 19-month wait, compared with nine months in late 2025.
Free toolREAL ID Requirements Checker tool
The law took effect on December 15, 2025. It followed a 2023 court ruling that found the former first-generation limit on passing Canadian citizenship to children born abroad unconstitutional.
The changes opened a new route to citizenship-by-descent for people previously excluded because their Canadian parent was also born outside Canada. Many affected descendants live in the United States.
The queue reached its July high quickly. IRCC recorded 99,500 pending proof-of-citizenship applications on July 7, 2026.
The pressure has extended beyond the federal department. Provincial archives in Quebec and Ontario are also handling requests for the records applicants need to establish their family history.
A three-year Canadian presence now governs new overseas births
The revised rules apply differently depending on when a child was born. A Canadian parent seeking to pass citizenship to a child born abroad on or after December 15, 2025, must show at least 1,095 days, or three years, of physical presence in Canada.
Applicants must document an unbroken chain of original birth and marriage records. The required documents must come from vital statistics agencies, rather than third-party genealogical websites.
The reform was designed to help “Lost Canadians,” people who had been denied status because their Canadian parents were born abroad. It retroactively granted citizenship to millions of descendants of Canadians.
That expansion created a sharp increase in applications. The records trail can stretch across several generations.
IRCC reviewed thousands of certificates after a June recall
The processing surge coincided with a separate review of citizenship certificates issued under the new rules. In June 2026, IRCC flagged roughly 4,100 to 6,500 certificates for review.
The department said June 30 that its review of 6,500 certificates had finished. It acknowledged that its “guidance on acceptable documentation was unclear.”
By that date, IRCC said 99% of the cases had been resolved or reinstated. The review still had 67 outstanding cases.
Peggy Sun, Registrar of Canadian Citizenship, told thousands of new citizens that some certificates could not be retained when required records had not accompanied the proof-of-citizenship application.
“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that I have information in my possession that indicates that you may not be entitled to hold a Canadian certificate of citizenship. as this documentation was not submitted with your proof of citizenship application, I am requiring the surrender of your certificate.”
Immigration Minister Lena Diab said June 23 that she had ordered an investigation into the recalls.
“something happened to trigger a wave of citizenship document recalls.”
The notices unsettled people who had already relied on their certificates. Some had relocated or accepted jobs in Canada after receiving proof of citizenship.
The wait is delaying passports, jobs and clearance disclosures
A certificate often serves as the proof needed before a new citizen seeks a Canadian passport. The 19-month estimate can therefore delay plans to move to Canada or work there under the new status.
The delays also affect some U.S. citizens who became Canadian citizens automatically on December 15, 2025. Those holding U.S. security clearances may need to report the new citizenship to their security officers under foreign-preference guidelines.
The issue is administrative as well as personal. A certificate recall can disrupt arrangements made after the document was issued.
The department’s 67 unresolved reviews remain separate from the wider application queue. Together, the figures show two pressures facing the citizenship system: new claims arriving under the expanded law and questions about documentation in cases already decided.
The official estimate stood at 19 months as of August 1, 2026. The pending queue had reached 99,500 three weeks earlier.
