There’s now a one-year wait for proof of Canadian citizenship certificates, as thousands of Americans apply

In the second quarter after Canada changed its citizenship law, the processing time for proof of Canadian citizenship certificates has increased to 12 months.

In July 2025, it was five months.

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The increase can be chalked up to Americans, millions of whom are now eligible for Canadian citizenship on the basis of their ancestry, and who require proof of Canadian citizenship certificates so as to obtain Canadian passports.

Demand for proof of Canadian citizenship certificates among U.S. citizens surged in February and March this year. In the span of the past month, over 14,000 applicants joined the queue.

Since processing times are based on application inventories, there's no telling how much these times may increase.

Why Canada is now seeing a surge in demand

On December 15, 2025, Canada changed its Citizenship Act, removing the first-generation limit to Canadian citizenship by descent for those born before that date. Today, anyone born before December 15, 2025 who can trace a continuous line of descent from a Canadian ancestor can apply for proof of Canadian citizenship, even U.S citizens whose families have lived entirely in the U.S. for four or more generations.

And many Americans have been taking notice. Often, it’s not out of an immediate desire to move to Canada, but simply for a second passport, tucked in their back pocket during volatile times.

Between December 15 and the end of January, Canada received over 12,000 citizenship by descent applications, with Americans leading the charge by a wide margin.

According to the latest available data, U.S. citizens accounted for the largest share of citizenship by descent applications by country. In January 2026, the number of applications from U.S. citizens outnumbered the applications filed by all other top nine source countries combined.

Archives across Canada have been reporting an increase in demand from Americans looking for vital records needed for their proof of citizenship applications. The national archives for the Canadian province of Quebec, the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), has seen a 3,000% increase in requests.

What are the benefits of Canadian citizenship?

U.S.-Canadian dual citizens under Canada's updated Citizenship Act benefit from the full rights and privileges of both citizenships.

As Canadian citizens, they have the right to enter Canada at will, live and work anywhere in Canada, purchase Canadian residential real estate, and qualify for publicly-funded healthcare through provincial and territorial health insurance plans, if they take up residence.

Upon receipt of their proof of Canadian citizenship certificate, a U.S.-Canadian dual citizen can apply for a Canadian passport, which outranks the U.S. passport on the Henley Passport Index, as of the time of writing, offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 182 countries.

Obtaining proof of Canadian citizenship does not result in any additional income tax obligations for U.S. citizens. Unlike the U.S., Canada does not apply a worldwide tax on its citizens.

Am I a Canadian citizen?

Following the coming into force of Bill C-3, “An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act,” anyone born before December 15, 2025 who can trace a continuous line of descent from a Canadian ancestor qualifies as a Canadian citizen, regardless of how many generations have passed.

It doesn't matter where the person was born, and it doesn't matter whether their parents or grandparents ever lived in Canada or held Canadian passports.

The new law applies to Americans across the U.S., with a particularly large concentration of eligible individuals with family roots in New England, due to the mass migration of roughly 900,000 French Canadians who settled in the northeastern U.S. between 1840 and 1930.

Those unsure whether they qualify can start by examining their family tree, speaking to relatives, and gathering family records.

To apply for a proof of Canadian citizenship certificate, an applicant will need documentation establishing their descent from a Canadian ancestor, such as birth certificates, baptismal records, marriage records, or death certificates.

What determines the processing time?

Those who are applying for a proof of Canadian citizenship certificate today can expect Canada’s immigration department to finish processing it by May 2027, as of the time of writing.

The federal government in Canada uses a forward-looking method to calculate processing times for proof of Canadian citizenship certificates.

The figure is based on the number of applications currently in the queue, the staffing capacity available to process them, and the volume of new applications the department anticipates receiving.

This estimate is refreshed on a monthly basis.

These processing estimates can change quickly due to sharp increases in received applications, according to the department.

Applicants can look up processing time remaining, based on when they submitted their application, by using the Canadian government’s processing times tool.

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