Proof of citizenship: Canadian processing time passes 2 years (25 months) in August 2026 | ImmigraCan

On August 10, 2026, IRCC's (*Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada*, Canada's immigration department) official processing-time tool began showing 25 months of wait time for those applying for a Canadian proof of citizenship — more than two years. In July, the estimate was 19 months. The queue also jumped: 121,800 people were awaiting a decision as of August 10, a leap of about 22,300 applications since July. The main cause is the December 2025 change to citizenship law, which opened up proof of citizenship by descent to far more people — including Brazilians with Canadian grandparents or great-grandparents.

What "proof of citizenship" is (and why it's not the same as applying for citizenship)

It's worth separating two processes that get confused: someone who already is a Canadian citizen by birth or descent doesn't need to "apply" for citizenship — they just need an official document that proves it, the proof of citizenship certificate. That certificate is what's needed to get a Canadian passport, for example. Meanwhile, a permanent resident who wants to naturalize goes through a different process — a grant of citizenship — with residency time, language, and civics test requirements. The processing-time crisis of August 2026 is specifically in the proof of citizenship queue — the one that most affects Brazilians with Canadian ancestry.

The escalation of processing times in 2026

The numbers show a curve that's been accelerating month over month:

• January 2026: 10 months
• May 2026: 12 months
• June 2026: 15 months, queue at 82,000
• July 2026: 19 months, queue near 100,000 (see our July coverage)
• August 2026: 25 months, queue at 121,800

In other words: the wait more than doubled in three months (from 12 to 25 months between May and August), and the queue crossed the 100,000-application mark for the first time.

Why demand surged: Bill C-3 and the end of the first-generation limit

The explanation behind the jump has a name and a date: Bill C-3, passed into law on December 15, 2025, which amended the *Citizenship Act* to eliminate the so-called "first-generation limit."

Since 2009, the law stated that a Canadian citizen born outside Canada could only automatically pass citizenship on to a child if that child was born inside Canada — anyone born abroad to parents who were also born abroad was left out, even with proven Canadian ancestry. In December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled this rule unconstitutional, and Bill C-3 formalized the change:

• Anyone born or adopted before December 15, 2025 who had a Canadian citizen parent at the time of birth is now recognized as a citizen automatically, without needing to prove the parent's residency time in Canada — and this applies retroactively
• Anyone born after December 15, 2025 only inherits citizenship if the Canadian parent can prove 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada before the birth (the so-called *substantial connection test*)

In practice: a large number of people who previously didn't qualify — including Brazilians with Canadian grandparents or great-grandparents born outside Canada — suddenly became entitled to citizenship by descent overnight. The result was a wave of applications that IRCC wasn't structured to process at its previous pace, and the backlog grew faster than review capacity.

What to do if you have Canadian ancestry

1. Confirm whether you fall under Bill C-3 — if you were born before December 15, 2025 and had a parent who was a Canadian citizen at your date of birth, the path has become more straightforward, even if earlier generations were born outside Canada
2. Gather your documentation early — the Canadian parent's birth certificate, their proof of citizenship (or a complete line of descent back to a Canadian citizen), marriage certificates where applicable. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of additional delay
3. Don't apply expecting it to be quick — with a 25-month average wait, plan any trips, enrollments, or deadlines that depend on a Canadian passport with plenty of buffer
4. Track your status through the IRCC portal — there's no way to speed things up outside the queue, but keeping your contact information current avoids extra delays from lost correspondence
5. If your case is more complex (name changes, multiple generations, deteriorated documents from another country), consider a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) — the chance of rejection due to documentation errors rises considerably in these cases

If you're still not sure whether you're entitled to citizenship by descent or whether it makes more sense to pursue the traditional immigration route, check out our full guide on citizenship by descent in Canada to understand the criteria in more detail.

And what about those without Canadian ancestry?

For Brazilians without Canadian grandparents or great-grandparents, citizenship remains the final step of an immigration journey — not a shortcut. The path goes through permanent residence first, via Express Entry, a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), or another federal route. ImmigraCan's free eligibility quiz calculates your CRS (*Comprehensive Ranking System*, Express Entry's points system) score and cross-references it with the programs you qualify for today — without promising guaranteed approval, since the final decision always rests with IRCC. To compare federal routes and the most active PNPs of 2026 side by side, ImmigraCan's catalog of immigration programs lays out the criteria for each.

What this jump to 25 months means going forward

The proof of citizenship processing time isn't likely to drop anytime soon: IRCC is still absorbing the volume generated by Bill C-3, and there's no public sign of structural reinforcement to the team reviewing these applications. Anyone entitled to citizenship by descent who needs the certificate for something with a firm deadline — like a job or study opportunity in Canada — should apply as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the queue to shrink.

*Data for this update is based on IRCC's official processing-time tool and the 2025 citizenship rule changes published on canada.ca, with reporting from CIC News. This content is informational and does not replace legal or immigration advice — ImmigraCan is not affiliated with the Government of Canada or IRCC. For your specific case, consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or specialized lawyer.*