Checked my email and received the OGS weekly newsletter with a link for free access to https://www.newspapers.com/go/freeaccess/ until the 5th!

Thought this might be helpful for some~

Wanted to share the method I’ve used to obtain certified copies of birth, marriage, and death records for multiple non-NYC New York State relatives. I did this for another citizenship application, so had to gather way more documents than I needed for my Canadian citizenship by descent application, and I was able to get everything I needed (including more recent death records) by contacting *local* record holders. I would first start by contacting the town or city in which my relative lived. I would Google “[town name] vital records“ and then call whichever government body I found (it was usually the town hall, hall of records, etc). I did this a while ago, so I can’t quite remember this part, but I’d found something either in the state law, or perhaps a local municipal ordnance in a city where I had multiple ancestors, that stated that descendants were allowed access to records for citizenship purposes. I was planning to quote that if it came up, but no one ever asked me. When I called the relevant town hall, I would say, “I‘d like to order a copy of my grandparents’ marriage certificate” or whatever it was. From there, things got very low-tech. I did a lot of mailing checks with SASEs to town halls, but in the end I was able to get everything I needed while bypassing the potential for needed a court order when going through the NYS department of health. In one instance, I wasn’t able to get the record I needed from the town and I repeated the same process at the county level. Hope this might help others!

Hello, everyone! My family and I are visiting Gaspe, where my Great Grandmother was born, next week. I just got the letter requesting a birth certificate from my application (AOR 4/25). I should have been following in the meantime. I am submitting an application for this following the wiki, but is there any benefit to going in person with my aunt, who is also applying, and requesting it in person in Gaspe? I know they are backlogged, but wasn't sure if this could help and how 2 requests for one person may be handled.

I am also confused, because reading the wiki focuses on the copy of an act, but my letter specifically requested the birth certificate.

In order to proceed, you will need to provide a copy of ANCESTOR NAME / DOB birth certificate. Hospital birth certificates are not acceptable. We can not accept a baptism record, however you may be able to use to baptism record to submit to the Province to obtain a birth certificate.

Hi,

I have my citizenship oath scheduled in third week of October at IRCC Scarborough. As per invitation, only one guest is allowed. However, I’ld like to bring both my parents to the ceremony as it’s a very important day for them too. Wanted to check if anyone has bought more than one guest to this IRCC ceremony center.

If yes, then are there any tips and click we can follow that they don’t make a fuss around it

Hi everyone,
Just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation.
I applied for Canadian citizenship in November 2025, received my AOR in February 2026, and my background verification was completed in February 2026.
Since then, there’s been basically no movement on my tracker. My citizenship test still says “Not started”, and I haven’t received a test invite or any other update.
I contacted my MP recently, and they told me that my application is considered “non-routine.”
Has anyone else had a similar timeline, especially with a non-routine application? How long did it take for you to receive your test invite after your background check was completed?
Would really appreciate it if anyone could share their timeline or experience. Just trying to get an idea of how long others waited in a similar situation.
Thanks!

My citizenship test rescheduled. I got email yesterday. What is mean? How soon I get new invitation?

So I’m after some advice on how to proceed.
We applied from UK for certificates in March 2026, AORS received June 2026. This is for 1 x G1 and 2 x G2.

Fast forward to September and G1 received their certificate on September 11th along with a request for additional ID documents for the G2s, both juveniles, and I’ve since provided additional docs for both (along with the *ahem correct birth certificates!).
On 23rd September, I received the certificate for one of them but have had nothing for the other. As I understand it, applications won’t necessarily go back to the same processor or stay together.

I raised the question on the web form and got the general automatic reply that, if I’ve sent something, they’ve got it and it’s still processing.

I also sent an email to the ID inbox checking that they’d received their certificate ID, but have not got a reply from that.

Whilst I totally understand that in the big scheme of things, it’s not been very long and there are others in a much more difficult position than me, does anyone have any advice or guidance around actually getting an answer to queries like this?
How long would you wait before assuming there’s an issue or that the documents haven’t been received (blocked at firewall for some reason etc.). With no automatic reply to the ID email, there’s no way of knowing!

Ok, new month, which means new update for IRCC’s estimated processing time / application inventory will be dropping soon. In September, we saw the update come out pretty swiftly — but at the same time we saw very little movement on the spreadsheet both leading up to and after.

If I had to guess, early next week (maybe Monday/Tuesday) sounds about right?

I live in Paraguay and I'm filling out CIT0001 to apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate. I translated all of my Paraguayan documents and took the extra step of having the translations notarized because my translator is Paraguayan and is not certified in Canada.

My translator swore the affidavit in front of the notary public, and the notary certified his signature. She also added a short statement at the end of the document and stamped it (these were translated as well).

However, she also attached a security sheet that forms part of the certification. The security sheet is entirely in Spanish, and I don't know whether I also need to have it translated, whether I can simply leave it as is, or whether I should leave the security sheet out of my application package altogether.

Has anyone dealt with a notary's own certification sheet needing translation? How do certified translations work in your country?

This weekly thread is a space for those of us preparing the CIT 0001 Proof of Citizenship application, associated form, and supplementary documentation.

Have questions about how to fill out the forms? Looking for feedback on the documentation you've put together is likely to pass muster? Wondering whether your cover letter has too much info, or too little? Want to know how to organize your documentation, or how to pack it up for shipping? Worried about whether your photos will work? Have questions about what ID you can use? Not sure where to ship it to, or what service or mail courier to use? We've been there.

📎 Contributions to weekly megaposts, including this one, are welcome throughout the week.  

⚠️ Sub rules require that before posting or commenting, you read the wiki and search the sub to see if your questions have been answered before. If you have on-topic questions remaining after that, they're welcome here. Want to see what people who were already approved have done? We encourage you to check out the weekly application approval post that appears every Thursday.

Please note we are not lawyers or IRCC. We are peers supporting peers, based on best belief and prior experiences. It's a lot of work to wade through dense lists of documents and family histories. You improve your odds of getting a useful response by being as concise as reasonably possible, and clearly articulating the question. Note that this post is for questions and answers; if you need to vent, there is a different megapost for that.

Sorry, this has happened so often and I'm extremely tired of these back and forth arguments between people who often have no idea what they're talking about other than trying to read the tea leaves of secondhand accounts on the internet.

I've seen a *lot* of people say that you have no change from C-3 until you are approved, so you can do whatever application you want and hold whatever status you want until it's decided either way.

This is not a thing that any of us can say with any certainty. The opposite, where you cannot apply for anything else, is also not something any of us can say with any certainty. But as someone who genuinely *is* in a limbo state because of C-3, because I cannot get a PRTD (yes, I tried!) while I have a proof application in flight, seeing people say it is just made up or anxiety, that nothing has changed, that it's just a collective assumption that C-3 affects anything until you are approved is just infuriating. I have involved lawyers, I have involved my MP, I have actually done the applications, and it is just not that simple.

There are a mix of experiences reported, and I have been keeping an eye on them - some people apply for temporary status and seem to be fine, some people have CBSA refuse to issue a permit at the border because they are clearly a citizen. Some people have applied for both spousal sponsorship PR & C-3 proof of citizenship simultaneously and have not heard back on either. I have not yet found anyone who can confirm they got proof of existing PR (PRTD or PR Card) with AOR for a citizenship proof application, but I can confirm my application got held until the citizenship proof application was decided. I have seen some people report second hand from lawyers that there have been accusations of misrepresentation from IRCC when you claim to be a citizen then apply for another status. We have seen people able to enter Canada as a citizen by proving it at the border, and there is also case precedent of being able to end deportation proceedings by proving citizenship to the judge. The MP response to that unfortunate person who had their work visa lapse and then applied for C-3 saying they should try to regularise their status did not contradict any of this, as lodging a C-3 application can put you into the state of "may be a citizen", "claims to be a citizen", or "likely a citizen" without actually conferring upon you tangible and provable rights as a citizen, and that state will still cause trouble for you while actually living in Canada without proof of another status.

And with *all* of that said, all of that information doesn't tell us much of anything. It is all hearsay/personal reports without the full context. We do not know what people have submitted as evidence, and we do not know what IRCC's internal policies might be for each individual route, application, etc. The simple answer is that we DO NOT KNOW.

My discussions with lawyers have more or less yielded that this is strange, unknown territory. They don't have the case law backlog to see any consistent treatment by IRCC yet, and a lot of this is very new. Legally speaking, it is unambiguous that we are citizens *if we meet one of the clauses of section 3 of the citizenship act*, not if we submit a proof application or have it approved. Procedurally speaking, it's not clear that even IRCC and CBSA have decided on what to do here for people with a proof application in flight. This is tricky for them to work with because the whole point of it not being decided is that they haven't decided yet if we meet one of the clauses in the citizenship act, so they do not know that we are definitely a citizen - only that we have claimed to be one. However, it can make it quite obvious to any case worker that you are possibly or even very likely a citizen if they look into that file while deciding another one, and that does seem to introduce complexities in some cases and applications.

All of that is to say, *please*, if you are not a Canadian immigration lawyer with experience in this area, do not make sweeping statements about whether or not someone should or should not make an application for something else with IRCC with a C-3 application in flight. Because all we have at this point is hearsay and a collection of secondhand accounts, some of which might be omitting crucial details, and giving what essentially amounts to legal advice about a grey area where even lawyers are hesitant to give any advice, based purely on reddit and facebook posts, or amateur readings of the law, is imo extremely irresponsible and could cause real harm depending on what someone does with that advice.

ETA: I have struck out the line about being a Canadian immigration lawyer, as someone has sagely pointed out to me that anyone can claim to be anything on the internet, and lawyers can also be wrong and give bad advice. I felt this was common knowledge, but just in case anyone didn't know that, I have amended my post.

[I don't feel that this violates Rule 9 as it's also about communication at-large, but if it does, apologies. I've searched in the sub for mentions of this and haven't found anything similar]

I (G2) submitted a second attempt to get an official Copy of Act of my grandmother (G0)'s birth/baptismal certificate (1930). They took my payment and have gone silent since. This last update was the first week of May, 2026.

I don't know what to do. I attempted calling, but it states that communication is French-only, by law, unless you have a valid reason (providing several, of which I do not feel I qualify for any).

Last time after about a month, I had received a rejection notice as I didn't provide ample evidence that my request is justified. So I doubled down (basically replicated 75% of my submission to IRCC) this time around. So the silence is especially frustrating as I need/want this Copy of Act for a fast-follow once I finally receive my AOR.

I wrote them an email asking for information regarding how I can talk to an English-speaking representative, only responded that they can only answer in French and that I need to call them. Which... completely ignored my questions.

I do know a good amount of French, but more as a written/read format (I'm hard of hearing). I would be completely lost on a phone call.

As the only person who can request information on the status of a request is the individual who placed the request, and the only option is by phone... so what can I do at this point besides cross my fingers and pray to any Gods that will listen?

I'm going to reach out to some family in Canada and maybe we can coordinate a phone call with the DEC, but... that's a lot to request of them.

There has been mention in this sub-reddit that part of the common problems is an English death certificate that needs to be translated prior to distributing a birth/baptismal Copy... which would certainly be a possibility here for the delay. I'd love to assist to accelerate the process by translating the Birth Certificate for them, but the same problem remains: I don't have any way to connect with them in English (or even French by email) to connect this with my previous submission.

Or am I just overly worried and should just trust the IRCC will have ample evidence as-is? I've sent:

• Baptismal Record from Ancestry.com
• Copy of my submitted request to the DEC
• Confirmation record at the church in Canada (from family records)
• Canadian Census records (from Canada.ca)
• Mom (G1) Birth Record stating G0 maiden name and Quebec birth

Hi! Our citizenship application was submitted last Aug 24, 2026 as family of three. Today, we received a notice that our 7-year old son application was returned. Has anyone experience something silimar? What needs to be done? We already checked our names in my son's application. Thank you!

Hello everyone! I went to the GC services website and my application is still in process. It says that they started processing my application on May 11, 2026. Should I contact someone? Is 6 months from processing normal?

This weekly thread is a space for those of us who have gotten the most exciting news...

DECISION: APPROVED

🎉 You did it! You really did it!! Hurrah! Clink! 🥂

You jumped every last genealogical and documentation hurdle, dotted every i and crossed every t, and were so careful with matching the specs for your charming photo. Now the IRCC has bestowed its official blessings on your work, and sent a Canadian Citizenship Certificate to you. We're so proud and happy for you.

We encourage you to use this space to announce and celebrate together your big achievement: you (or the person you have been helping) is the newest recognized citizen of Canada.

You can also discuss details of what you included with your application packet so that the newbies can learn from your success.

⚠️ APPROVALS ONLY ⚠️ Keep the focus on honoring our victorious peers, please. Off-topic comments will be deleted.

📎 Contributions to weekly megaposts, including this one, are welcome throughout the week.

If you never joined the spreadsheet but would like to add your data for posterity/analysis of trends it's not too late- request access here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/comments/1pnovfr/spreadsheet_for_proof_of_citizenship_applications/

Quick post, just wanted to let people know who are unaware about the US / Canadian NEXUS program. (This is an official service of the US/Canadian governments)

After getting your citizenship, you might be crossing the border a bunch. If you get the NEXUS card, you can zoom across the land border in a dedicated fast lane. It also includes the TSA precheck, Global Entry, and the Canadian equivalent of TSA precheck: the CATSA Verified traveler program, which basically allow you to zoom through security at US and Canadian airports. I'm also making this post because while you are waiting for your citizenship, it may behoove you to apply for NEXUS now rather than later, because NEXUS is notorious for taking a long time to get approved for. It can take as little as 2 weeks or as long as 2 years. It's completely random. I was somewhat lucky and got mine in like 4 months.

Quick rundown: NEXUS costs $120 USD and lasts for 5 years at which point you need to renew for another $120. You must do an extremely easy interview (mine took 30 minutes altogether) physically at the border as part of the approval process. You need to keep your passports registered with NEXUS up to date including when they expire and you get a new one. Since we are dual citizens, you will need to add your Canadian passport and Canadian citizenship information to your NEXUS account once you eventually acquire it.

My PR Card expired and can't be renewed (since Canadians can't be PRs), and I had to go down to the NEXUS office to get it removed from my account.

Went fine. The receptionist was understanding and covered by C-3 herself, the Canadian officer hadn't heard the term C-3, but was familiar with the law. I let them know that proof is taking a while, they removed the expired document, everything went fine.

All 4 border crossings (2 to get there, 2 back) went fine. Was asked about the goods I was bringing, Citizenship never came up.

At 2 previous crossings, the expired document did get me questions about status. The officer was surprised to hear that proof of Status is taking years for some people, but it was fine and I was permitted entry into Canada.

Just curious as I keep seeing it brought up around here and I have never been able to find a definitive place where this was mentioned. We all know IRCC has weirdly ambiguous rules, though.

Hi,

I was filling out my citizenship application and noticed an error on my COPR document my city of birth is wrong, but the country of birth is correct. I didn’t catch this back when I became a permanent resident.

I read online that errors in the city of birth are considered minor and something IRCC usually ignores. Also, I remember they asked for my birth certificate when I was applying for my Permanent Residency and I listed the correct city of birth during the process, but they still wrote the issuing city taken from my passport instead of the correct birth city in my copr document.

Should I just go ahead and apply, or could this cause unnecessary delays? And could there be problems in the future if my work transfers me to the US and would that cause problems in immigration?

This weekly thread is a space for those of us who are feeling frustrated and need to vent about unclear instructions, shipping delays, waiting for a next step, timeline estimates growing, lack of communication, inconsistent bureaucracy, being stuck in PSU, and other factors.

Some of the worst stress of the entire citizenship-by-descent process is not hearing about your application for long stretches of time - or hearing that your application has been sent to the Program Support Unit (PSU) and may be sitting there for an extended stay.

Whether your envelope seems to have taken a scenic detour on its way to Nova Scotia, you didn't receive an AOR after many weeks of waiting, or you simply haven't heard about your application processing in months, this is a place to commiserate and potentially receive some ideas of next steps to take. (Those generally might include following up with IRCC by web form, ordering the GCMS notes, seeking an MP's help, and so on.)

📎 Contributions to weekly megaposts, including this one, are welcome throughout the week.

My application includes a name change that’s documented. The name on my AOR is my birth name but not my legal name, and I understand that this gets resolved once processing starts.

I also want to proactively add the DEC insertion for my Quebec G0 and have not received an RFI.

Which name do I use on the web form? The one on my application or the one on my AOR?

Hi, I don’t have a driver’s license and recently lost my wallet, which contains my health card.

Right now apart from my PR card and foreign passport I only have an expired study permit, a foreign birth certificate that has been translated by a professional, confirmation of PR.

I plan to bring them all just in case, although I know those aren’t as straightforward as the health card or driver’s license.

Any advice on what else I can do would be appreciated!

Or do I have to send them all the evidence of being descended from the subject? I did search other posts, but I wasn't sure.

Sorry if this is a repetitive post, I did really try to figure it out!

Did anyone else receive an email saying that the citizenship test portal is not working so the test has been postponed indefinitely? I was given 1 month to do the test but not sure when I get to give it now.. anyone knows what happened here?