IRCC Citizenship Certificate Backlog Hits 33 Months, Stranding Canadians Born Abroad
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is facing a 33-month processing backlog for citizenship certificates, with 136,000 applications pending as of September 3. The delays, driven largely by Bill C-3, have left children born abroad to Canadian parents unable to obtain passports or visitor visas to enter Canada.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is currently taking 33 months to process citizenship certificate applications, leaving thousands of people—many of them children born abroad to Canadian parents—unable to secure the documentation needed to travel on Canadian passports. As of September 3, there were 136,000 citizenship applications waiting to be processed.
The surge in applications followed the implementation of Bill C-3, which expanded eligibility for Canadian citizenship to individuals with Canadian ancestors. Between December 15 and July 31, 6,810 people obtained Canadian citizenship certificates under Bill C-3, more than half of whom were Americans. During the same period, another 20,515 people obtained certificates under pre-existing provisions for those born abroad to Canadian parents.
The resulting backlog has created severe complications for families. Pascal Sud and Meisha Smith's daughter, Sofianne, has been waiting over eight months for her citizenship certificate, far exceeding the initial four-to-six-week estimate provided by IRCC. When the family attempted an alternative route, IRCC rejected a visitor's visa application for Sofianne because she was deemed a Canadian citizen who must travel on a Canadian passport.
Robert Woodrich applied for citizenship certificates for his children in February 2025 and had waited nearly 600 days by early October without receiving them. Immigration lawyer Colin Singer argued that since Robert Woodrich's daughter lacks a citizenship certificate, she is not legally a Canadian citizen and should be able to travel on her Swiss passport. This position directly conflicts with IRCC's stance that children like Sofianne are already Canadian citizens and must use Canadian passports.
Beyond travel restrictions, the inability to provide proof of citizenship is affecting access to provincial services in Alberta, such as driver's license renewals. Families are being separated for extended periods while waiting for document processing.
Opposition parties have sharply criticized the federal government's handling of the situation. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner stated that the government ignored warnings when adopting Bill C-3, resulting in a "dumpster fire" regarding immigration issues. NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan called the processing delays unreasonable and demanded the restoration of staffing and resources at IRCC.