- Bill C-3 has expanded citizenship by descent rules, leading to a massive 70,400 application backlog at IRCC.
- U.S.-born applicants account for 48 percent of approvals as Americans seek a Canadian ‘Plan B’ during policy shifts.
- Proof of citizenship processing times increased to 12 months following the removal of the first-generation limit.
(CANADA) – Canada’s broader citizenship-by-descent rules drove a sharp rise in applications from Americans after Bill C-3 took effect on December 15, 2025, with a backlog at IRCC climbing to 70,400 by May 2026.
Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada showed the queue rose from 56,000 one month earlier. The law removed long-standing limits on inheriting Canadian citizenship and opened the door to descendants born abroad before Dec. 15, 2025.
Matthew Krupovich, IRCC Spokesperson, said the expansion did not create an automatic claim for anyone with distant family ties. “The new rules extend access to citizenship by descent, but having distant Canadian ancestry alone does not make someone automatically eligible. Those born outside of Canada before Bill C-3 took effect must show they have a parent or ancestor who was a Canadian citizen after January 1, 1947.”
Free toolCanada Express Entry Points CalculatorUnder Bill C-3, descendants born abroad before Dec. 15, 2025 now gain retroactive recognition if the family line is unbroken. Citizenship can pass through parents, grandparents, or more distant ancestors under that standard.
That change ended what had long been known as the first-generation limit. It also set off heavy demand from the United States, which accounts for a large share of the early increase in applications and approvals.
In January 2026, nearly 2,500 Americans filed for proof of Canadian citizenship, ten times the number from the U.K. Roughly 48% of all additional approvals for citizenship-by-descent in 2026 have come from U.S.-born applicants.
During the first three months of the law, from Dec 15, 2025 to March 31, 2026, officials approved 1,955 applications for U.S.-born individuals under the new C-3 rules. The surge also pushed wait times for a Proof of Citizenship certificate from 5 months in early 2025 to 12 months for applications submitted today.
Analysts and applicants have tied part of that demand to recent U.S. immigration policy shifts. They point to a tighter climate in the United States and a growing “Plan B” mentality among Americans with Canadian roots.
Zach Kahler, USCIS Spokesman, described one of those policy changes on May 22, 2026. “We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly. This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes.”
That mood was linked to a new U.S. policy requiring many green card applicants to return to their home countries. It also cited the rescission of certain expedited naturalization pathways as part of the shift drawing more Americans to examine Canadian eligibility.
Eligibility still turns on documents, dates, and family history, not ancestry alone. IRCC has emphasized that an applicant must prove a parent or ancestor was a Canadian citizen after January 1, 1947.
Another dividing line rests on date of birth. People born before Dec. 15, 2025 can inherit citizenship regardless of how much time their Canadian parent spent in Canada.
Children born after Dec. 15, 2025 face a stricter rule. Their Canadian parent must have spent at least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada for citizenship to pass by descent.
The filing fee remains relatively low at $75 CAD. Yet the total cost often runs much higher, because many applicants pay thousands for genealogists to locate old birth and marriage certificates, including records from provinces such as Quebec.
Interest extends beyond passport access. Some Americans seek Canadian citizenship as a “Plan B” during political uncertainty, while others are examining Canadian job markets.
An estimated 3 million Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship by descent under the broader rules. That figure helps explain why demand is rising faster than processing capacity at IRCC.
The increase has also turned attention to how quickly authorities can verify old family records and issue certificates. Applicants tracing a claim through several generations often need proof from more than one jurisdiction, while officials continue to stress that lineage must remain unbroken.
Canada’s legislative change arrived through Bill C-3, outlined in the Parliament of Canada legislative summary. U.S. policy statements cited in the discussion of rising interest were published through the USCIS newsroom.
By May 2026, the numbers pointed in one direction: American demand was climbing fast, U.S.-born applicants were dominating new approvals, and Canada’s wider citizenship-by-descent regime was putting fresh pressure on a system now carrying 70,400 pending cases.
