Processing Times For Canadian Citizenship Proof Certificates Pass Two Years

Wait times for a proof of Canadian citizenship certificate have climbed to 25 months as of August 10, according to IRCC’s own processing time tracker. That figure was 19 months in July, and just 12 months as recently as May, meaning the estimate has more than doubled in a single quarter.

The backlog itself has grown just as sharply. IRCC reports 121,800 applications awaiting a decision as of August 10, an increase of roughly 22,300 files, or 22%, since July alone. It is the first time the queue has surpassed the 100,000 mark.

A Rule Change Opened the Door to Millions of New Applicants

The surge traces back to a policy shift on December 15, 2025, when Canada removed the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent for anyone born before that date. Previously, citizenship by descent generally stopped after one generation born outside Canada. Under the new rule, a person with an unbroken ancestral line to a Canadian citizen, regardless of how many generations separate them, is considered a Canadian citizen and can apply for formal proof of that status.

That change has particularly resonated in parts of the United States, especially New England, where large numbers of French-Canadian families settled between 1840 and 1930. Descendants of those families are now eligible to apply for proof of citizenship in numbers few had anticipated.

A Certificate Review Compounded the Delay

A second factor layered on top of the rising application volume. In June 2026, IRCC contacted a group of recent citizenship certificate recipients across the US to inform them their approved claims were under review. For roughly a month, the department paused finalizing new citizenship-by-descent applications while it verified the documentation behind certificates already issued.

IRCC completed that review on June 30 and resumed regular processing shortly after, but the pause landed on top of an already-growing caseload, compounding the delay that followed.

Is It Worth Waiting to Apply?

For those weighing whether to delay their application, IRCC’s own processing logic suggests otherwise. Estimated wait times are calculated based on how many applications are already ahead of a given file at the point it’s submitted, along with staffing levels and expected future volume. Applicants who wait are generally stepping into a longer queue later, not a shorter one.

Anyone born before December 15, 2025 who can trace an unbroken line to a Canadian grandparent, great-grandparent, or more distant ancestor may already hold Canadian citizenship, regardless of their own birthplace or whether earlier generations ever lived in Canada or held Canadian passports. A citizenship certificate is the formal proof of that status, and it opens access to the benefits of citizenship, including a Canadian passport.

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