Immigration Minister Says Canada Is ‘Not Finalising Any New’ Citizenship-by-Descent Applications, Reviewing All Files

Canada’s citizenship-by-descent program, opened to hundreds of thousands of eligible applicants after the first-generation limit was struck down and replaced under Bill C-3, has hit an unexpected roadblock. Immigration Minister Lena Diab confirmed in late June 2026 that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is not finalising any new citizenship-by-descent applications and is reviewing every file connected to the program, including certificates that have already been issued to successful applicants. For the tens of thousands of Canadians, Americans, and other descendants of Canadian citizens currently in the queue, or holding a certificate that arrived only months ago, the announcement raises urgent and practical questions about timelines, documentation, and what happens next. Canada Pauses Citizenship by Descent Applications

What Minister Lena Diab Actually Said Canada Pauses Citizenship by Descent Applications

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Immigration Minister Lena Diab addressed growing concern from applicants and immigration lawyers after a wave of unexpected letters landed in mailboxes across the country and abroad. Diab confirmed that her department has paused decision-making on new citizenship-by-descent claims while it reviews the files of everyone who has applied under the updated rules, including people who were already approved and issued a proof of Canadian citizenship certificate.

In her words, the department is not finalising any new applications while all files, both pending and previously approved, undergo scrutiny. She added that applicants whose files pass this internal check are simply being told their status is confirmed, while others may face further requests for evidence or, in a smaller number of cases, a temporary suspension of their certificate.

Diab was careful to stress that the review is not a reversal of the law itself. Eligibility for citizenship by descent has not changed. What has changed is the level of scrutiny being applied to the evidence submitted to prove an unbroken family line back to a Canadian ancestor.

How We Got Here: Bill C-3 and the End of the First-Generation Limit

To understand why this review matters, it helps to understand what changed just months earlier. For years, Canadian citizenship by descent was limited to the first generation born abroad to a Canadian parent. A child born outside Canada to a Canadian-born parent was a citizen automatically, but that child’s own children, born outside Canada, generally were not, unless specific exceptions applied.

That rule was challenged in court and ultimately found to be unconstitutional. Parliament responded with Bill C-3, legislation that removed the first-generation limit entirely for people born before December 15, 2025. Once the amendments took effect on that date, an entire new population became eligible: grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and further descendants of Canadian citizens, provided they could demonstrate an unbroken line of descent and, for many applicants, a connection to Canada through a parent who met a physical presence requirement.

The change reopened the door to Canadian citizenship for a huge number of people, most visibly in the United States. Historians point to a period between 1840 and 1930 sometimes called the Great Haemorrhage, during which roughly 900,000 Canadians, a large share of them from Quebec, left for mill towns and manufacturing centres across New England and the American Midwest. Their descendants, scattered across the United States for four, five, or six generations, suddenly had a legitimate path to Canadian citizenship, and by extension, a Canadian passport, without giving up their American one.

The response was immediate. Immigration lawyers and citizenship consultants across Canada and the United States reported a wave of new client interest, and proof-of-citizenship applications climbed sharply through the first months of 2026.

The Surrender Letters That Triggered a National Story

The current controversy traces back to a batch of letters sent in mid-June 2026. IRCC contacted a small number of people, described by officials as a few dozen, who had already received a proof of Canadian citizenship certificate under the new descent rules. The letters instructed recipients to surrender their certificates while the department re-examined the evidence behind their approval.

For people who believed their citizenship claim was settled, the letters were unsettling. Some recipients had already used their approval to plan moves to Canada, apply for provincial health coverage, or begin the process of obtaining a Canadian passport. Being told, after the fact, that their file needed a second look raised immediate questions about fairness and due process.

IRCC later clarified that people affected by a surrender letter do not lose their underlying citizenship status while the file is under review, and that those already in Canada may continue to work. What they lose, temporarily, is the ability to rely on the certificate itself, including for passport applications, until the review concludes.

The Numbers Behind the Review

By early summer 2026, IRCC had approved proof of Canadian citizenship for roughly 6,500 applicants under the post-Bill C-3 rules. Following the wave of media coverage and public pressure, the department confirmed that it had reviewed all of these approved files as part of an internal audit.

The result of that audit, according to the department, was that 67 certificates were suspended pending further review, a figure IRCC described as representing approximately one per cent of all certificates issued under the new law to date. The department said the review found that internal guidance on what counted as acceptable supporting documentation, for both officers assessing files and applicants preparing them, had been unclear, and that this lack of clarity may have contributed to some certificates being approved without sufficiently strong evidence.

For context, the broader proof-of-citizenship queue has grown substantially since the law changed. Wait times for a decision, which sat at roughly three months in mid-2024, had climbed toward ten months by early 2026 and, according to some tracking, closer to fifteen months for a share of applicants, with more than 82,000 applications reported to be in the pipeline. The pause on new decisions is expected to add further delay for anyone whose file has not yet reached a final decision.

What Documentation Standard Is IRCC Now Applying?

Perhaps the most important practical detail in this story is the shift in evidentiary standards. Minister Diab specifically flagged that some of the documentation submitted in support of citizenship-by-descent claims, including material sourced from third-party genealogy websites rather than original vital records offices, was not treated as sufficient proof of the family relationships being claimed.

IRCC’s own document checklist was updated in the same week the surrender letters went out. The revised guidance places more weight on records issued by the original government or religious authority responsible for maintaining historical vital statistics, such as a provincial vital statistics office, rather than transcriptions, indexed copies, or records hosted on genealogy platforms.

The updated guidance also clarified how applicants can prove ancestry for relatives born before birth certificates were commonly issued. A certified baptismal record, for example, can now stand in place of a birth certificate for an ancestor born in an era when civil registration was inconsistent, so long as the record is certified rather than an uncertified transcription. Census records, hospital records, and other historical documents remain acceptable as supporting evidence in specific circumstances where a birth certificate simply does not exist.

Several immigration lawyers have pushed back publicly on parts of this messaging, pointing out that IRCC’s published checklist, at least before the mid-June update, did not explicitly disqualify genealogy-site records, and only required colour copies of supporting documents rather than certified originals. The result has been some confusion among applicants and representatives about exactly what standard is being applied and when it took effect, underscoring the value of working with a representative who is tracking the guidance closely as it evolves.

Timeline: How the Citizenship-by-Descent Review Unfolded

The events leading up to Minister Diab’s statement moved quickly, and the pace of developments is part of why the story caught so many applicants off guard. Understanding the sequence helps explain both the department’s current position and why guidance has shifted more than once in a short period.

December 15, 2025 marked the effective date of the Bill C-3 amendments, removing the first-generation limit and opening citizenship by descent to a much wider pool of applicants born before that date. In the months that followed, application volumes climbed steadily, driven in large part by American descendants of Canadian emigrants tracing their eligibility through grandparents and great-grandparents.

By early 2026, IRCC had approved thousands of proof-of-citizenship certificates under the new rules, and processing times, while lengthening, remained broadly manageable. The situation shifted in June 2026. On June 13, the department sent surrender letters to a small group of certificate holders, asking them to return documents that had already been issued while their files were re-examined. Word of the letters spread quickly among affected families and immigration lawyers, prompting media inquiries.

On June 17, Minister Diab spoke with reporters on Parliament Hill and acknowledged that something had prompted her to order an internal review, though she did not detail publicly what specifically triggered it. A department statement issued later that week confirmed that new decisions were being paused while officials examined how the surrender-letter situation had occurred and whether existing guidance to both applicants and officers was clear enough.

On June 23, Diab gave her most detailed public comments to date, confirming that all files, not just the small number connected to the surrender letters, were being reviewed, and that no new decisions were being finalised in the meantime. By June 30, IRCC had completed a review of all roughly 6,500 approved applications issued under Bill C-3 and disclosed, for the first time, that 67 certificates had been suspended as a result, describing the figure as about one per cent of the total issued.

This timeline matters for two reasons. First, it shows that the review was reactive, prompted by a specific batch of surrender letters, rather than a planned, long-scheduled audit. Second, it shows the department moving from a narrow, quiet action affecting a few dozen people to a full review of the entire program within roughly two and a half weeks, a pace that has left both applicants and their representatives working to keep up with evolving guidance.

Does the Pause Change Who Is Eligible?

No. This is the point Minister Diab and the department have repeated most consistently: the law has not changed, and the eligibility test for citizenship by descent introduced under Bill C-3 remains exactly as it was before the review began. Anyone who can trace an unbroken line of descent from a Canadian ancestor, born before December 15, 2025, and who can meet the applicable connection-to-Canada requirements, remains eligible to apply and, eventually, to be approved.

What has changed is not the rule but the rigour with which the evidence supporting a claim is checked, both for new applications and for files that were already approved. In practical terms, that means an applicant with a strong, well-documented file, built on certified original records rather than convenient shortcuts, should still expect to succeed. The applicants most exposed to delay or a request for further evidence are those whose files rely heavily on secondary sources, incomplete chains of documents, or records that do not clearly establish the biological or legal relationship between each generation.

What This Means If You Already Have a Certificate

If you are one of the small number of certificate holders who received a surrender letter, the immediate practical guidance from IRCC is as follows. Your underlying citizenship status is not cancelled while your file is under review. If you are already in Canada, you may continue to work. What is suspended is your ability to rely on the certificate itself, including using it to apply for or renew a Canadian passport, until the department completes its review and either confirms your eligibility or requests additional documentation.

The department has begun issuing what it calls revalidation letters to some certificate holders whose files, on review, were found to be adequately supported. These letters confirm that the review is complete, that the evidence on file is sufficient, and that the person remains entitled to hold their certificate, in some cases without the applicant having submitted any new evidence at all. This suggests that, for many affected people, the review is a paperwork exercise rather than a substantive threat to their citizenship claim, though the experience of receiving a surrender letter in the first place has understandably caused real anxiety.

If you have received a surrender letter and are unsure how to respond, or whether the original evidence in your file meets the newly clarified standard, this is exactly the kind of situation where a consultation with an experienced Canadian immigration lawyer can make a meaningful difference, both in how quickly your file is resolved and in how the response is framed.

What This Means If Your Application Is Still Pending

For applicants who have not yet received a decision, the pause means exactly what it says: no new approvals or refusals are being finalised while the broader review continues. IRCC has not published a specific date for when finalisation will resume, and the department has said only that the process will take the time needed to be thorough and to be able to explain its findings clearly to Canadians.

This is frustrating for anyone who has already waited months for a decision, but it is not, on its own, a sign that your specific application is in trouble. The pause applies across the board. What matters most for pending applicants is making sure the file itself is as strong as it can be before a decision is eventually made. That means prioritising original, certified records from the government or institutional body that issued them, over indexed or uncertified genealogy-site material, and making sure every link in the generational chain, including name changes through marriage, adoption, or other legal processes, is clearly documented and explained.

The Broader Surge Behind the Story

It is worth stepping back to appreciate why this review has attracted so much attention. Since the first-generation limit was removed, interest in Canadian citizenship by descent has grown dramatically, particularly among Americans who can trace ancestry back to the wave of Canadian migration into the northeastern and midwestern United States a century or more ago. Some estimates suggest as many as one in four residents of parts of New England may have a Canadian ancestor within a qualifying number of generations, a striking illustration of just how large the eligible population may be.

The appeal is straightforward. Canadian citizenship acquired through descent carries no new tax obligations for Americans and does not affect their existing United States citizenship in any way, since Canada permits dual citizenship without restriction. What it adds is the unconditional right to live and work in Canada, along with a Canadian passport that, on several recent global mobility rankings, has offered visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to more destinations than the American passport. For retirees eyeing a move north, entrepreneurs looking at Canadian real estate, or simply families wanting to preserve options for their children, the appeal of dual citizenship is significant, and it explains the flood of new applications that followed the December 2025 change.

That surge is also, in part, what has strained IRCC’s processing capacity and prompted the closer look at documentation standards now making headlines. A program built to serve a modest, well-documented population of applicants has had to absorb a much larger and more geographically dispersed wave of claims, many resting on records that are decades or, in some cases, more than a century old.

This pressure is not unique to citizenship by descent. Other Canadian immigration streams have experienced similar strain as demand outpaces processing capacity. Some economic immigration pathways aimed at entrepreneurs and skilled workers have seen their own processing times stretch from months to years over a comparable period, a pattern immigration observers point to as a warning sign of what could happen to the citizenship-by-descent queue if application volumes continue to climb without a corresponding increase in processing resources. For applicants weighing when to apply, that broader trend is a reminder that an early, well-documented application, submitted well ahead of any further surge, is likely to fare better than one submitted once volumes climb further still.

Practical Steps for Applicants and Certificate Holders

Whether you are just starting to explore your eligibility, waiting on a pending application, or holding a certificate that has come under review, a few practical steps can help protect your position. None of these steps requires waiting for IRCC to announce when the pause will lift; they can, and should, be taken now, while your file is fresh in your mind and original records are still reasonably easy to track down.

• Prioritise original, certified vital records over genealogy-website transcriptions wherever possible. Contact the relevant provincial vital statistics office, church registry, or other original record-holder directly.
• Document every change of surname across the generational chain, including marriage certificates, divorce decrees, adoption orders, and legal name changes, so the connection between records is unmistakable.
• Keep copies of everything submitted, along with proof of when and how it was submitted, in case a request for additional evidence arrives later.
• If you receive a surrender letter, respond within any stated deadline and seek legal guidance before assuming the worst; many files are being confirmed with no new evidence required.
• If your application is still pending, resist the temptation to submit large volumes of loosely related documents. A smaller number of strong, original, clearly explained records is generally more persuasive than a large file of secondary material.
• Monitor your IRCC online account regularly, since updates and requests are often issued there before any other communication arrives.

Why Legal Guidance Matters More Than Ever

Citizenship-by-descent files are rarely simple. They are not just a question of whether a Canadian ancestor existed somewhere in the family tree; they require proving, generation by generation, a legal and biological relationship that satisfies the requirements of the Citizenship Act as it stands today. Names change through marriage, immigration, and translation across borders and generations. Records are sometimes incomplete, inconsistently spelt, or held by an authority that no longer exists in its original form.

As the current review demonstrates, the margin for error has narrowed. A file that might have been approved on secondary evidence months ago may now attract closer scrutiny, additional requests for information, or delay. For applicants with a genuine, well-documented claim to Canadian citizenship, working with counsel who understands the current evidentiary expectations under Bill C-3, and who can anticipate the kind of documentation IRCC is now looking for, can be the difference between a straightforward approval and months of avoidable back-and-forth.

This is precisely the kind of file where Prestige Law’s Canadian immigration team can help, whether you are building an application from scratch, responding to a request for additional evidence, or have received a surrender letter and need to understand your options.

Looking Ahead

IRCC has not set a firm end date for the review, and Minister Diab’s public comments suggest the department intends to take the time it needs before resuming normal decision-making on new files. In the meantime, expect continued media attention, further clarifications to the published documentation checklist, and likely additional communications to a small number of existing certificate holders whose files require a closer look.

For the much larger group of applicants building a family tree back to a Canadian ancestor, the fundamentals have not changed. The law that opened this pathway remains in force, and a well-prepared, properly documented application continues to be the strongest protection against delay or a request for further evidence, whether it is decided during the current pause or once processing resumes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Canadian citizenship by descent? Citizenship by descent allows a person born outside Canada to claim Canadian citizenship through a Canadian parent or, following the changes introduced under Bill C-3, through an earlier generation such as a grandparent or great-grandparent, provided an unbroken chain of descent and any applicable connection-to-Canada requirements can be proven.

Why has Canada paused citizenship-by-descent decisions? Immigration Minister Lena Diab confirmed that IRCC is reviewing all citizenship-by-descent files, including previously approved certificates, after concerns arose about the consistency and sufficiency of supporting documentation. The department paused finalising new decisions while this review is underway.

Has the law on citizenship by descent changed? No. Eligibility rules under Bill C-3 remain the same. What has changed is the level of documentary evidence IRCC expects to see before approving a claim, with a stronger preference for original, certified records over genealogy-website material.

Will my Canadian citizenship be taken away if my file is under review? Underlying citizenship status is not affected while a file is under review, and applicants already in Canada may continue to work. Reliance on the certificate itself, including for passport applications, is temporarily restricted until the review is complete.

What documents are strongest for a citizenship-by-descent application? Original or certified records issued by the government or institutional authority that created them, such as birth certificates from a provincial vital statistics office, carry the most weight. Marriage certificates, adoption orders, and legal name-change documents help connect records across generations where surnames differ.

How long does it currently take to get proof of Canadian citizenship? Processing times have lengthened significantly as demand has grown, moving from roughly three months in mid-2024 to closer to ten months, with some applicants reporting waits of nearly fifteen months. The current pause is likely to add further delay for files awaiting a final decision.

What is Bill C-3 and how does it relate to citizenship by descent? Bill C-3 is the legislation that removed the previous first-generation limit on citizenship by descent, following a court ruling that the old limit was unconstitutional. It took effect on December 15, 2025, opening eligibility to descendants born before that date across multiple generations.

I received a surrender letter for my citizenship certificate. What should I do? Respond within any deadline stated in the letter and avoid assuming the worst; many certificate holders are being confirmed as eligible without submitting new evidence. Speaking with an immigration lawyer familiar with the current review can help you understand what, if anything, needs to be provided.

Can I still submit a new citizenship-by-descent application during the pause? Yes, applications can still be submitted, but IRCC has said it is not finalising decisions on new files while the review is ongoing. Building the strongest possible file now can help avoid delay once processing resumes.

Speak With a Canadian Immigration Lawyer

If a citizenship-by-descent review, surrender letter, or pending application affects you or your family, Prestige Law is available to review your file and advise on next steps. Immigration lawyer Zeesean Sheikh and the Prestige Law team assist clients across Canada and internationally with citizenship-by-descent applications, documentation strategy, and responses to IRCC requests.

Lawyer: Zeesean Sheikh
Richmond Hill Office: 100–100 Mural Street, ON
Toronto Office: 55 Town Centre Court, Suite 700, ON
Telephone: +1 (647) 925-2222 Website: prestigelaw.ca

This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration policy and IRCC guidance can change quickly; contact Prestige Law directly for advice specific to your circumstances.