Canada’s wait time for proof of citizenship certificates has climbed to 12 months as Americans continue to flood the system after a law change widened access to citizenship by descent. The surge began in February and March, and more than 14,000 applicants joined the queue in the past month.

The rush follows Canada’s change to its Citizenship Act on December 15, 2025, when it removed the first-generation limit to Canadian citizenship by descent for people born before that date. Anyone born before December 15, 2025 who can trace a continuous line of descent from a Canadian ancestor can now apply for proof of Canadian citizenship, and the paperwork is moving through a system that is already strained.

Between December 15 and the end of January, Canada received over 12,000 citizenship by descent applications. U.S. citizens made up the largest share by country, and in January 2026 their applications outnumbered those filed by all other top nine source countries combined. The demand has not stopped at citizenship files. The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec reported a 3,000% increase in requests from Americans seeking vital records needed to support proof-of-citizenship applications.

For many of the Americans applying, the goal is not to relocate north. It is to secure a second passport. Under Canada’s updated Citizenship Act, U.S.-Canadian dual citizens hold the full rights and privileges of both citizenships. That includes the right to enter Canada at will, live and work anywhere in the country, buy Canadian residential real estate and qualify for publicly funded healthcare through provincial and territorial insurance plans if they take up residence.

Once an applicant receives a proof of Canadian citizenship certificate, the next step is to apply for a Canadian passport. That passport offers visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 182 countries, according to the Henley Passport Index, and it outranks the U.S. passport on that ranking. The attraction is practical as much as symbolic, especially for people who already have a Canadian parent or grandparent in their family line.

The backlog also has a quieter financial side. Getting proof of Canadian citizenship does not create extra income tax obligations for U.S. citizens, and Canada does not apply a worldwide tax on its citizens. That removes one of the biggest worries that often shadows dual citizenship applications and helps explain why so many Americans are moving ahead with the paperwork.

The mismatch now is between eligibility and capacity. Canada opened the door on December 15, 2025, and applicants rushed in almost immediately. The country’s archives are feeling the strain, the citizenship queue is growing, and the certificate wait has stretched to a year. Bill C-3, the law package behind the change, is titled An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act, and its impact is now showing up in real time on both sides of the border.