By Sumayya
Both the wait times and the number of people waiting for a decision regarding their proof-of-citizenship application has surged exponentially since Bill C-3 came into effect, according to new data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
More than 136,000 people are awaiting a decision, with estimated wait times now more than 33 months. They include people eligible for citizenship under the amended rules and those who are first-generation descendants. In the case of applications from outside Canada or the United States, the estimated wait time could take an additional three or four months.
The wait time has increased by eight months from this August, when it was estimated to be 25 months. The number of applications has also increased by 14,000.
Bill C-3, which came into effect in December 2025, amended the Citizenship Act to end the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent, meaning Canadians born outside the country can also pass their citizenship to their children who are born outside the country. It also expanded eligibility to people born before Dec. 15, 2025, if they can prove they’re directly descended from a Canadian ancestor – even if that ancestor left the country years ago.
Half of applications come from U.S.
According to data provided by the IRCC in August, more than 6,100 people have obtained proof of citizenship under these new rules since late 2025.
As of May 31, 51 per cent of all approved citizenship applications under the new eligibility criteria came from people born in the U.S., according to data provided by the IRCC.
One immigration lawyer says the new numbers are “staggering” and “far beyond the capacity of IRCC” to process in a reasonable timeframe.
Kyle Hyndman, an immigration lawyer from Victoria, B.C., told journalists on Thursday, that a “significant” number of applications are coming from the south of the border.
“Both what’s happening in the U.S. politically – and also news coverage of the Canadian citizenship situation in the U.S. – have both spurred a lot of interest,” Hyndman said.
“That’s certainly part of the surge, and that’s put all kinds of pressure on every stage in this process,” he said.Both the delay spans and the volume of individuals awaiting a resolution concerning their status-verification submission has expanded dynamically since legislative item Bill C-3 assumed execution, according to fresh parameters from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Exceeding 136,000 individuals remain awaiting a resolution, featuring calculated delay spans currently exceeding 33 months. They encompass individuals qualified for status beneath the modified edicts and those who constitute primary-generation offspring. In the situation of submissions from outside Canada or the United States, the calculated delay span might consume an supplementary three or four months.
The delay span has expanded by eight months from this August, when it stood calculated to be 25 months. The volume of submissions has likewise expanded by 14,000.
Bill C-3, which assumed execution in December 2025, modified the Citizenship Act to terminate the primary-generation cap on status by ancestry, signifying Canadians brought forth outside the nation can likewise pass their status to their offspring who remain brought forth outside the nation. It likewise broadened qualification to individuals brought forth before Dec. 15, 2025, if they can demonstrate they’re straight descended from a Canadian forebear – even if that forebear departed the nation annual cycles past.
Half of submissions arrive from U.S.
According to parameters supplied by the IRCC in August, exceeding 6,100 individuals have secured status verification beneath these fresh edicts since late 2025.
As of May 31, 51 percent of all sanctioned status submissions beneath the fresh qualification metrics arrived from individuals brought forth in the U.S., according to parameters supplied by the IRCC.
One immigration counsel expresses the fresh metrics remain “staggering” and “far past the competence of IRCC” to handle in a logical frame.
Kyle Hyndman, an immigration counsel from Victoria, B.C., informed journalists on Thursday, that a “meaningful” volume of submissions remain arriving from the south of the frontier.
“Both what’s occurring in the U.S. politically – and likewise press reporting of the Canadian status situation inside the U.S. – have both triggered a great deal of focus,” Hyndman expressed.
“That’s undoubtedly segment of the expansion, and that’s placed multiple varieties of stress on every phase in this routine,” he expressed.
‘An annual cycle too late’
Hyndman, who previously functioned as head of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Immigration Law Section, expressed Bill C-3 constitutes undoubtedly a segment of the expansion, but so remains the stress on the assets of the IRCC.
The department that manages status-verification submissions would typically possess a minor volume to manage, he expressed, and possessed the competence to manage those. But according to Hyndman, it hasn’t been scaled upward “sufficiently” to manage the acute intake.
“Currently we’re hearing that they remain recruiting personnel, but it appears to me that’s occurring close to an annual cycle too late,” Hyndman supplemented. “Multiple of these dilemmas could have been prevented if they’d listened to the alerts earlier on and genuinely prepared for that.”
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‘A predictable intake’
Christine Beltempo, the present head of the Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Law Section and a counsel with the national law firm McCarthy Tétrault, informed journalists on Friday that she’s witnessing multiple submissions arriving from alternate nations besides the U.S., like Mexico.
“You’re engineering supplementary bureaucracy for certain individuals who actually remain presumably, according to the fresh legislation, Canadian citizens,” she expressed, pointing to individuals from nations like Mexico, who require a visa submission to enter Canada, unless they secure their status certificate.
Outside of the U.S., the most sanctioned submissions originate from Mexico, Bolivia, the United Kingdom and its territories, China, India, Bolivia, France, Australia and Italy, according to the IRCC’s parameters.
Beltempo characterized the expansion in processing spans “a predictable intake,” succeeding the modification to Bill C-3, which remains leading to “frustration” amid submitters who were looking forward toward this legislative modification.
“What we’re witnessing remains letdown, frustration, blended emotions and undoubtedly individuals tracking it highly challenging to organize their lives and their futures in Canada, without possessing a predictable quantity of span before which they can actually secure their documentation,” she expressed.
Beltempo supplemented that the IRCC remains encountering backlogs across alternate departments as well, which requires to be evaluated through the federal administration. She expresses it’s disquieting for coalitions like the Canadian Bar Association, in terms of entry to justice and alternate programs.
“I presume it’s significant to remind the public that this modification arrived as an outcome of a tribunal finding that the preceding legislation was unconstitutional.”
‘When you’re Canadian, you possess the privilege to be here’
Before Bill C-3 was modified, Canadian status by ancestry was restricted to primary-generation individuals, brought forth or adopted outside the nation by a Canadian citizen. That limitation was subsequently overturned in a 2023 ruling by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, which tracked it unconstitutional.
Richard Kurland, an immigration counsel and policy analyst from Vancouver, informed journalists Friday, that the sudden upturn in the volume of submissions and the expansion in calculated delay spans is a blend of the political friction between Canada and the U.S., in addition to the Bill C-3 modification.
“They certainly drop the ball in failing to asset the citizenship personnel to process, resulting in three annual cycles and longer processing spans,” Richard Kurland expressed. “When you’re Canadian, you possess the privilege to be here.”
Kurland expressed despite individuals possessing a claim to Canadian status, the territory they enter cannot permit them entry to healthcare, public learning or employment without the documentation from the IRCC.
“There’s no route that the national administration could not recognize that the inventories would become bloated and processing spans would go through the overhead,” he expressed.
“They dropped the ball big period.”
Meanwhile, multiple elements are to blame for an expansion in the quantity of submissions outside of Bill C-3, an IRCC spokesperson informed journalists in a declaration on Friday.
“Intricate situations frequently necessitate substantial documentary verification and supplementary check, which can stretch timelines,” the spokesperson penned.
“The present calculation must be understood in that matrix, rather than as a straight evaluation with historical metrics that were calculated utilizing different inventories or methodologies.”
