![\"Canadian](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134205582,imgsize-825835,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/canada-citixenship-certificate.jpg\" "\\"Over")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMore than 136,000 people are now waiting for Canada to process applications for proof of citizenship, with estimated wait times exceeding 33 months following changes to the country’s citizenship-by-descent rules, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data.The backlog has grown by about 14,000 applications since August, while the estimated processing time has risen from 25 months to more than 33 months. Applicants outside Canada and the US could face another three to four months of waiting, according to the IRCC estimate.The surge follows the introduction of Bill C-3 in December 2025, which removed the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent. The changes allow Canadians born abroad to pass citizenship to children also born outside Canada, subject to new requirements.The legislation also opened a route for people born before December 15, 2025, to establish citizenship if they can demonstrate a direct connection to a Canadian citizen and provide documents verifying how citizenship was passed down.More than 6,100 people had received proof of citizenship under the amended rules as of August, IRCC data provided to CTVNews showed. As of May 31, people born in the US accounted for 51% of approved applications under the new eligibility criteria.Immigration lawyer Kyle Hyndman, who previously chaired the Canadian Bar Association’s National Immigration Law Section, told CTVNews that the volume of applications was \u201cstaggering\u201d and beyond the department’s ability to process within a reasonable timeframe.Hyndman said interest from the US has been driven partly by political developments and increased attention to Canada’s citizenship rules.\u201cBoth what\u2019s happening in the US politically, and also news coverage of the Canadian citizenship situation in the US,have both spurred a lot of interest,\u201d he said.\u201cThat\u2019s certainly part of the surge, and that\u2019s put all kinds of pressure on every stage in this process,\u201d he added.Hyndman said the unit responsible for proof-of-citizenship applications traditionally handled a smaller volume and had not been expanded sufficiently to cope with the increase.\u201cNow we\u2019re hearing that they are staffing up, but it seems to me that\u2019s happening almost a year too late,\u201d he said. \u201cMany of these problems could have been prevented if they\u2019d heeded the warnings earlier on and really prepared for that.\u201dChristine Beltempo, chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Immigration Law Section and a lawyer at McCarthy T\u00e9trault, said the increase is not limited to applicants in the US. She told the outlet that she has also seen applications from countries including Mexico.\u201cYou\u2019re creating additional bureaucracy for some people who actually are presumably, according to the new law, Canadian citizens,\u201d Beltempo said, referring to applicants who may need documentation before they can exercise their rights in Canada.Outside the US, IRCC data showed Mexico, Bolivia, the United Kingdom and its territories, China, India, France, Australia and Italy among the countries with the highest numbers of approved applications under the new criteria.Beltempo described the rise in applications and processing times as \u201ca predictable uptake\u201d following the legislative change, but said it has left applicants struggling to make plans.\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is disappointment, frustration, mixed emotions and certainly people finding it very difficult to plan their lives and their futures in Canada, without having a predictable amount of time before which they can actually get their documentation,\u201d she added.She also noted that the citizenship changes followed a court ruling that found the previous citizenship-by-descent rules unconstitutional.The first-generation limit had restricted citizenship by descent to people born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down the restriction in a 2023 ruling.An IRCC spokesperson told CTVNews that factors beyond Bill C-3 were also contributing to the increase in applications.\u201cComplex cases often require substantial documentary evidence and additional verification, which can extend timelines,\u201d the spokesperson said.\u201cThe current estimate should be understood in that context, rather than as a direct comparison with historical figures that were calculated using different inventories or methodologies.\u201d<\/div>\n Over 136,000 await Canadian citizenship certificates, as per the IRCC data\/Image: AI Representative Image More than 136,000 people are now waiting for Canada to process applications for proof of citizenship, with estimated wait times exceeding 33 months following changes to the country’s citizenship-by-descent rules, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data.The backlog has grown 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136,000 await Canadian citizenship certificates, as per the IRCC data\/Image: AI Representative Image More than 136,000 people are now waiting for Canada to process applications for proof of citizenship, with estimated wait times exceeding 33 months following changes to the country’s citizenship-by-descent rules, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data.The backlog has grown […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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