Canada tightens citizenship-by-descent rules: 82,000 applicants affected
Canada has introduced stricter requirements for citizenship-by-descent applications under Bill C-3, the 'Lost Canadians' law, affecting tens of thousands of applicants. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated its Document Checklist (Form CIT 0014) on June 17, 2026, barring applicants from relying solely on third-party genealogy records such as Ancestry.ca or FamilySearch printouts. This change could impact approximately 82,000 people currently in the processing queue, as of June 10, 2026.
Bill C-3 received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025, and came into force on December 15, 2025, removing Canada's first-generation limit on citizenship by descent. This allowed Canadian citizens born abroad to pass citizenship to their children, even if those children are also born abroad. The updated checklist now requires that documents be authentic, reliable, and verifiable for every generation in the application. Applications cannot rest solely on third-party records; documents must come from the original authority, such as a civil registry or vital statistics office.
The IRCC has also added a warning to its online guide, stating that if applicants find records on genealogy platforms, official versions likely exist and should be requested directly from the original authority. This directly targets the practice of submitting genealogy website printouts as primary evidence. The update follows the IRCC's issuance of surrender letters to a 'few dozen' applicants who had already received citizenship certificates over the weekend of June 13-14, 2026. Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab defended the letters as necessary for documentary integrity, while immigration lawyers contested them, citing the IRCC's own checklist that explicitly permits 'any other evidence' of citizenship and Federal Court precedents protecting applicants who relied in good faith on published instructions.
The IRCC has temporarily paused the finalisation of some new citizenship by descent applications while conducting an internal review. The department stated it is 'reviewing how this occurred' and taking steps to ensure applications are assessed fairly and lawfully. People who received certificates and have already moved to Canada can continue working during the review, but they cannot use a Canadian passport while the review is ongoing. Under Canadian citizenship law, applicants who received a surrender letter remain considered Canadian citizens while their application is under review and will get a chance to submit additional evidence before any final decision.
As of June 10, 2026, approximately 82,000 people are waiting for citizenship certificate applications to be processed, up from 70,400 in May and 56,000 in April. Processing times have surged from five months in May 2025 to 15 months under the latest IRCC data. The IRCC has not issued specific guidance on whether the updated checklist standards apply retroactively to applications already in the queue. Applicants who relied primarily on genealogy platform records are being advised to proactively supplement their files with certified copies from source authorities before a decision is made. The tightening of rules underscores Canada's efforts to maintain the integrity of its citizenship process while managing a growing backlog.
