Canada: proof-of-citizenship wait jumps to 19 months as the descent queue nears 100,000

Canada has again raised its published wait for a proof-of-citizenship certificate, the document Bill C-3 descent claimants need before they can apply for a passport. CIC News reported on 8 July 2026 that the tracker was updated to 19 months.

The numbers

• 19 months published wait as of 7 July 2026, up from 15 months in June and 12 months in May.

• 99,500 people waiting for a decision - roughly 17,500 more than a month earlier.

• The queue stood at 70,400 in May and 82,000 in June, so the growth is accelerating rather than levelling off.

Why it moved

Two things are compounding. Demand rose sharply after Canada removed the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent on 15 December 2025. On top of that, IRCC spent June reviewing roughly 6,500 certificates already issued under the new law and paused finalizing new descent applications while it did so. IRCC says that review completed on 30 June and that finalizations would resume shortly, but the overlap sat on an already-rising caseload.

What it means if you are applying

IRCC calculates this figure forward-looking, from the size of the queue ahead of you rather than from how long finished cases took. A file submitted now would, on the current estimate, be decided around February 2028. Waiting does not help: because the estimate tracks the queue, a later application generally faces a longer wait, not a shorter one.

One practical point worth acting on. IRCC updated its supporting-documentation guidance in June to require that proof of the line of descent come from the original source authority - a civil registry, vital statistics office or equivalent body - rather than an open or secondary source. Building the file to that standard before filing is the single best way to avoid being flagged.

Eligibility has not changed

None of this alters who qualifies. Bill C-3 remains in force and the descent rules are the same as the day it took effect. What has changed is how long the paperwork takes and how strictly the documents are read.