Demand for Canadian citizenship certificates soaring, fuelled by Americans

Applications from people around the world seeking Canadian citizenship certificates have been rising rapidly in recent months, fuelled by thousands of applications from the United States, CBC News has learned.

The number of people who have already received certificates as a result of Parliament’s adoption of “Lost Canadian” legislation late last year rose nearly 50 per cent between April 1 and May 31, according to new data obtained by CBC.

Bill C-3 allows citizenship for those who can prove they're descended from a Canadian ancestor, even if that ancestor left the country several generations back. It was adopted after the courts ruled that limiting citizenship to the first generation born outside of Canada was too restrictive.

Between mid-December — when Bill C-3 went into effect — and May 31, some 6,100 citizenship certificates were granted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to those who now qualify.

That is up from 4,075 certificates issued as a result of Bill C-3 from mid-December until March 31.

Another 17,390 people have received certificates as a result of having a Canadian parent. Prior to the bill's adoption, those who were born outside Canada had to have a Canadian parent to qualify for citizenship.

The certificates allow the 23,490 newly recognized Canadian citizens to apply for Canadian passports and live and work in Canada.

Elections Canada, however, says they can't vote in federal elections unless they've lived in Canada at some point in their life.

People born in the U.S. account for nearly half of those recognized between mid-December and the end of May. According to the data from IRCC, 3,110 Americans have qualified for Canadian citizenship certificates as a result of Bill C-3, while another 8,125 Americans have been granted certificates because one of their parents was born in Canada.

Thousands are now Canadians under new citizenship law. Half of them are Americans

The number of citizenship certificate applications waiting for a decision has exploded. In April, around 56,000 applications were waiting to be processed. That climbed to 70,400 in May.

Now, the IRCC’s website says 121,800 people are waiting for a decision. Those applications could be for anything from seeking recognition as a citizen under Bill C-3 to requesting a routine replacement of a lost or stolen certificate.

At the same time, the estimated wait time for a decision has doubled from 12 months in May to 25 months as of Aug. 10.

Estimates of just how many people could qualify for Canadian citizenship as a result of Bill C-3 vary widely.