Individuals trying to obtain an official government certificate that confirms they are a Canadian citizen are being told that they must wait more than two years for their applications to be processed.
Processing times have increased in the past few years, according to federal government estimates and immigration experts.
Immigration lawyers blame an influx of applications on the Trump administration’s controversial policies, as well as the federal government’s passage of Bill C-3, an amendment to the Citizenship Act that came into effect last December. Bill C-3 removed the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent, opening the door to Canadian citizenship for those with ancestors in Canada.
The surge of people who suddenly decided to apply is primarily from the United States, according to Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer and policy analyst in Vancouver.
“Proof of citizenship used to be fast, but the Trump bump has dramatically increased the processing volumes for proof of citizenship, resulting in lengthy processing times,” Kurland said in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. “What used to take a few months is now going to take well over a year and longer.”
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data that Kurland received through access-to-information requests, there were 58,000 proof-of-citizenship applications at the end of July 2022, while the expected processing times for citizenship proofs as of December 2022 was 15 months.
The processing time was even shorter – at six months – from November 2023 to April 2024.
In a document dated for the week of Dec. 31, 2023, the IRCC stated that it was “committed to maintaining a processing time of 12 months or under for proofs.”
Cedric Marin, a Canadian citizenship and immigration lawyer based in Ottawa, said the processing time estimates grew from nine to 10 months earlier this year, and now stand at 25 months today.
“I’d say that it’s reasonable to expect a three-year processing by the end of the year,” he said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca Wednesday.
Marin said the federal government is prioritizing “more urgent processing cases,” contributing to delays experienced by the average applicant.
He cited examples such as applicants fearing harm based on their gender identity, and those who need the proof-of-Canadian-citizenship status now because their work permits are expiring.
“So, they may not be working towards the backlog, because they have all these other urgent cases and files coming in right now,” he said.
IRCC’s website says it may assess certain applications for urgency, such as those that need the certificates sooner to avoid “harm or hardship,” and process them faster than its typical processing times.
Applications processed ‘fairly and as quickly as possible’: IRCC
However, the average applicant today must wait an estimated 25 months to know the decision, which may take longer for those outside Canada and the U.S., according to the federal government. That’s more than double the estimated processing time for those who applied in May, which was about 12 months.
About 121,800 people are waiting for their applications to be processed, according to the tool.
The federal government said it updates the estimates each month, based on factors including the number of applications it has received and expects to process.
When asked about the concerns over longer processing times, IRCC spokesperson Anahita Beladi said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday that the department processes proof-of-citizenship applications “fairly and as quickly as possible, while maintaining the integrity of Canada’s citizenship program.”
“We verify that applicants meet all legal requirements for a citizenship certificate and that decisions are consistent and in accordance with the law,” Beladi wrote.
When asked about the lengthening of processing times, Beladi said they are “estimates and not guarantees,” reflecting “current application volumes and inventory levels.”
“IRCC processes proof of citizenship applications on a first-in, first-out basis,” she added.
Kurland said the government needs more staff to process the huge volumes of applications faster.
“There are serious problems ahead unless Ottawa does the right thing,” Kurland said.
With files from CTVNewsAtlantic.ca’s Ryan MacDonald
