Lawyers Criticize Canada’s Citizenship Certificate Review

Some Canadian citizenship certificate holders have been told to return their documents after federal officials questioned the evidence used in their applications, according to immigration lawyers who say Ottawa is applying a standard applicants were not clearly given.

On June 13, 2026, the Registrar of Citizenship sent letters to an unknown number of people who had received proof of Canadian citizenship through descent. The letters ordered them to surrender their certificates under Citizenship Regulations 26(1), which allows the Registrar to demand a certificate back when there is reason to believe the person may not be entitled to it. The move has left some recipients unsure how their approved files became disputed.

The letters said the documents supporting the applications did not come from “original source authorities responsible for creating or maintaining historical records,” such as civil registries, vital statistics offices or other government bodies.

Lawyers Question New Standard

Immigration lawyer Ala Bujac of Cohen Immigration Law said the wording marks a new position from the government.

“This is the first time the government has said that the documentation must be only from ‘original source authorities,’” Bujac said on June 17 after reviewing one of the letters.

She added that, until the letters were issued, the government had not clearly identified a formal list of acceptable “original source authorities” in its rules or guidance.

Bujac said affected applicants can respond with more documents while officials investigate their files. However, she questioned whether the government gave enough explanation for taking such a serious step.

“The letter says the applicant didn’t provide the necessary documents,” she said. “But the government had not established clear official guidelines specifying which documents and issuing authorities would be mandatory for such applications.”

Checklist Allowed Wider Evidence

The federal document checklist for proof of citizenship applications, known as CIT 0014, says birth certificates must be “issued by the original government authority” in the country of birth. Lawyers say that wording does not clearly require every supporting document to come from an original source authority.

The checklist also allows several other forms of evidence. It refers to “any other evidence” showing a parent is a Canadian citizen, as well as court orders, surrogacy agreements, hospital records, immigration documents, visas and passports.

In Canadian immigration law, applicants are generally expected to have their files assessed according to the standards in place when they applied.

Descent Cases Grew After Law Changed

Many of the people who received the letters had applied after Canada changed citizenship-by-descent rules in December 2025. Those changes expanded access to citizenship for people born outside Canada, including many Americans with Canadian ancestry.

Since then, thousands of people have applied. Some families have lived in the United States for four or more generations, and some applicants traced their Canadian-born ancestors back to the mid-1800s, when official record-keeping was often limited.

Applicants now face immediate surrender demands. If officials accept their additional evidence, the certificates will be returned later. If not, the certificates will be cancelled.