Canadian Citizenship Proof Wait Climbs to 25 Months

The wait for proof of Canadian citizenship has risen sharply, with applicants now facing an estimated processing time of 25 months as of August 10, 2026.

That is a major increase from July, when the federal government’s processing-time tool showed a 19-month wait. In May, the same type of application was taking about 12 months. In just three months, the estimated wait has more than doubled.

Backlog Passes 121,000 Applications

The number of people waiting for a decision from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has also grown quickly.

As of August 10, IRCC’s proof-of-citizenship inventory stood at 121,800 applications. That was roughly 22,300 more than in July, representing an increase of about 22 per cent.

The growing queue follows a major change to Canada’s citizenship-by-descent rules.

On December 15, 2025, Canada removed the first-generation limit for people born before that date. The change means someone with an unbroken line of descent from a Canadian ancestor may already be a Canadian citizen, even if several generations separate them from that ancestor.

The change expanded potential eligibility for many people outside Canada, including millions of Americans with Canadian family roots. Interest has been especially strong in parts of New England, where large numbers of French Canadians settled between 1840 and 1930.

In January 2026, the estimated processing time for proof-of-citizenship applications was about 10 months. Since then, applications have surged and processing estimates have risen with them.

Certificate Review May Have Added Pressure

Another development may have contributed to the longer wait.

In June 2026, IRCC contacted a group of people in the United States who had recently received Canadian citizenship certificates, informing them that their approved claims were being reviewed.

For about a month, the department paused the finalization of new citizenship-by-descent files while it checked documents linked to certificates that had already been issued. IRCC completed that review on June 30.

Processing has since resumed, but the pause came while the application inventory was already growing. That overlap may have added further pressure to the system and contributed to the sharp increase in estimated wait times.

Applying Later May Not Shorten the Wait

People who apply now are joining a queue of more than 121,000 files, meaning a decision could take more than two years under the current estimate.

Delaying an application does not necessarily mean a shorter wait. IRCC bases processing estimates on the number of applications already in the system, available staffing and expected future application volumes.

If demand continues to rise, someone who waits before applying could enter an even longer queue.

Who May Already Be a Canadian Citizen?

People born before December 15, 2025, who can trace their family line to a Canadian grandparent, great-grandparent or more distant Canadian ancestor may already have Canadian citizenship.

According to the original report, this can apply regardless of where the person was born or whether their parents or grandparents ever lived in Canada or held Canadian passports.

Thousands of Americans have applied for citizenship certificates since the law changed. The certificate serves as official proof of Canadian citizenship and can be used to access rights and documents available to citizens, including a Canadian passport.