Less than a year after legislation enabled individuals with Canadian lineage to obtain Canadian citizenship, there has been a significant surge in the number of pending citizenship certificate applications. The backlog now exceeds 136,000 applications, with many coming from American applicants. As of now, new applicants are facing an estimated wait time of 33 months, marking a 32% increase in processing time and an 11% rise in the total number of applications since the last update in August.
Before the enactment of Bill C-3 in December 2025, the processing time for citizenship certificate applications was a mere five months. However, following the implementation of the new law, the processing times have increased substantially, leading to concerns among legal experts about the delays in processing applications.
Christine Beltempo, the president of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration section, emphasized the urgent need for additional resources to handle the growing number of applications. She highlighted the necessity for the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to allocate more staff to address the backlog and prevent further delays.
The increase in processing times is attributed to various factors, not solely Bill C-3, according to IRCC spokesperson Briannah Dale. The department is actively monitoring application trends and volumes, implementing operational measures to cope with the heightened demand, such as expediting application triage, enhancing intake processes, and training additional staff to manage the workload effectively.
Bill C-3, which expanded Canadian citizenship eligibility to individuals tracing their lineage back to Canadian ancestors, has led to a surge in applications from individuals living abroad, particularly in the United States. The influx of applications has overwhelmed Canada’s archives with requests for documentation to establish ancestry links, resulting in significant delays in processing.
The delays in processing citizenship applications have raised concerns among legal experts, with some suggesting that the delays could potentially violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Singer, an immigration lawyer, warned that the growing backlog could lead to legal challenges, urging the IRCC to expedite the processing of applications to avoid potential court intervention.
The opposition parties have criticized the government for failing to address the backlog effectively, calling for urgent action to resolve the “growing crisis” in citizenship application processing. The need for additional resources and personnel to handle the surge in applications has been emphasized by opposition members to prevent further disruptions for families and individuals awaiting citizenship status confirmation.