Canadian Citizenship Proof Wait Jumps to 33 Months

Applicants seeking proof of Canadian citizenship now face a much longer wait, with the federal government’s latest estimate reaching 33 months.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated its processing-time tool in early September. The new estimate is eight months longer than August’s 25-month wait. Someone applying now may not receive a decision until around mid-2029.

Wait times rise sharply

The increase continues a rapid climb seen throughout 2026. In January, the estimated processing time was 10 months. It rose to 12 months in May, 15 months in June, 19 months in July and 25 months in August before reaching 33 months in September.

The application queue has also expanded. IRCC now reports about 136,000 people waiting for a decision, up from roughly 40,000 in December 2025. The latest figures show another 14,200 applications were added in less than a month.

Since December 2025, the quoted wait has risen from nine months to 33 months, while the number of people waiting has more than tripled.

Bill C-3 expanded eligibility

The surge followed changes to Canadian citizenship law. On December 15, 2025, Bill C-3 removed the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent for people born before that date.

The change means people who can trace an unbroken family line to a Canadian ancestor may already be Canadian citizens, even when several generations separate them from that ancestor. The change opened eligibility to many people outside Canada, including millions of Americans with Canadian ancestry.

Applications have increased steadily since the law changed, putting more pressure on IRCC’s processing system.

Urgent processing remains available

Some applicants may qualify for urgent processing, although approval is limited to specific circumstances.

IRCC may consider faster processing when proof of citizenship is needed for employment, education, urgent family travel, statelessness, moving a minor child to Canada, renouncing another citizenship by a deadline, avoiding serious hardship, or accessing social benefits such as health care, a pension or a social insurance number.

Qualifying for urgent processing does not guarantee approval of the citizenship claim itself.

Applicants can also help avoid additional delays by submitting complete and consistent documents. Missing records or differences in names across generations may lead IRCC to request more evidence.

Waiting may not help

IRCC bases its estimate partly on how many applications are already in the queue, staffing levels and expected new applications. Current trends show the department is completing fewer certificates than needed to keep the backlog from growing.

The department also paused final decisions on some citizenship-by-descent files for about a month while reviewing previously issued certificates. It ended that review on June 30 and resumed processing.

IRCC counts files already ahead of a new application when it arrives, so waiting can place applicants behind even more people.

The queue has grown each month.

For eligible applicants, delaying an application may only mean joining an even longer line later. A citizenship certificate confirms a status a person already holds and can help them access benefits such as a Canadian passport.