An IMGlobalWealth.com News Report
Canada’s attempt to repair one citizenship problem has produced another.
Some people who recently obtained Canadian citizenship certificates under the country’s expanded citizenship-by-descent rules are now being told to send them back while Ottawa reviews their files.
The move has alarmed applicants who believed their status had already been confirmed and who, in some cases, had used the certificate to prepare for a Canadian passport, Social Insurance Number or relocation.
The issue follows Bill C-3, which came into force on December 15th 2025 and eased the old first-generation limit on citizenship by descent.
The reform opened the door for many so-called “Lost Canadians”, including people outside Canada tracing citizenship through parents or earlier generations, to apply for proof of status.
But the latest letters from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada suggest the problem is not necessarily eligibility, but evidence.
Applicants are reportedly being asked to surrender their certificates because their files relied on documents not issued by an original source authority, such as a civil registry, vital-statistics office or recognised archive.
Where official records were unavailable, officials appear to have expected a written explanation and evidence of attempts to obtain them.
Legally, the request is not the same as revocation. Under Canada’s Citizenship Regulations, the Registrar may require a certificate to be surrendered where there is reason to believe the holder may not be entitled to it. If the review confirms entitlement, the certificate should be returned. If not, the document can be cancelled.
The episode nevertheless exposes an uncomfortable administrative gap. Canada has broadened citizenship by descent, but proving a chain of citizenship across generations can be difficult, especially where old birth, marriage or baptismal records are incomplete, archived or held outside Canada.
For applicants, the lesson is clear. Genealogy websites and secondary records may help build a family tree, but they are unlikely to satisfy officials on their own.
Stronger applications will rely on certified records from source authorities, supported by marriage certificates, name-change documents, letters of no record and clear explanations for any missing link.
In Canada’s expanded citizenship regime, lineage matters. So does proof.
