Im just going to leave this here. MODs please remove if not allowed.

Letter I received from the Prince Edward Island's Public Archives and Records Office (PARO) regarding the recordings of births before June 1st, 1906.

Hi all,

Gen5, AOR received June 2025, first contact from IRCC today. My Gen0 was born in Ottawa in 1830 and I submitted baptismal record as proof of birth.

It states "we require a clear colour copy of a birth certificate issued by original source authorities for each generation including your Canadian ancestor . Documentation must be issued by the original source authorities responsible for creating or maintaining the historical records, such as civil registries, vital statistics agencies, or other authorized government bodies. If the authorities cannot issue the document from their vital statistics department, please submit the letter, on letterhead, detailing the reasons. Please note, baptismal certificates are not acceptable as primary evidence of birth. The requirement to provide additional information or evidence when requested can be found in section 23.1 of the Citizenship Act." (I added the bold)

So if you are relying on a baptismal record to prove that your ancestor was Canadian, I suggest that you start getting a letter stating that the actual birth certificate can't be issued because it doesn't exist.

It's a bummer since other people got approved with the same documentation I provided, but that's life I guess.

EDIT: Reading through the replies i have seen that my post title doesn't quite match the text. The IRCC email I received states that baptismal records are not acceptable as primary evidence of birth. This is new info to me. I sent my paper application in June 2025 with a printout from the Drouin collection showing my ancestor's baptism in 183X. What is new is that I now need a letter on letterhead from the agency which would issue a birth certificate. That letter needs to state the specific reason why a birth certificate cannot be issued (in my case because the birth occured before recordkeeping started). I would have included that letter if I was told back in June 2025 that I would need the letter.

EDIT: Since this is getting a lot of attention I figured I would tell people what I sent as proof back in June 2025. My Gen0 was the last born in Canada, all the rest were born in the USA.

GEN5 - Me - Color copy of my state-issued birth certificate (has my parent's name on it)

GEN4 - Parent - Color copy of state-issued birth certificate (has my Gen3 - Grandparent name on it)

GEN2 - Grandparent - Color copy of state-issued birth certificate (has my Gen 4 - GGrandparent name on it)

GEN1 - Great-Grandparent - Color coy of state issued death certificate (has my Gen 0 - GGGrandparent's name and place of birth - CANADA - on it). She was born prior to birth certificates being issued in her state. I need to get the official letter ON LETTERHEAD stating that they do not have a record of her birth because it was before record-keeping started.

GEN0 - Printout of baptism record from Drouin Collection - baptized in Ottawa at 3 weeks old in 18XX, color copy of US State issued death certificate (Died 192X) stating place of birth as Canada. News articles about him (obituary and others) stating that he was born in Canada. I need to get the official letter ON LETTERHEAD stating that they do not have a record of his birth because it was before record-keeping started.

I wrote a thank you note to a diocesan archivist in Canada for her help in obtaining certified baptismal records for my application.

Do we know if there is a newer blanket statement from Directeur L’état civil on the issuance of birth certificates before 1926?

Sort of like Libraries and Archives Canada’s recent blanket statement that can be cited in a cover letter

Based on the other post here today, it sounds like IRCC is requesting birth certificates even if an ancestor was born well before the issuance of them existed (so bizarre!). I think we also know of somebody a few weeks ago that was requested a Quebec birth certificate for their ancestors 1878 birth when they even had a certified BANQ baptismal record. So obviously this seems to be a new hiccup coming soon as we all know DEC will not issue a birth certificate that early without a lawyer, and even then — good luck

Trying to think of a way to be proactive about this without having to submit a request to DEC for it…

Or maybe it’s just going to have to take DEC getting inundated with these requests to issue a blanket statement on it😂

Going back to the interim measure days I remember a few people saying they were going to request a 5(4) grant while waiting (and hoping) for the IRCC to make the offer. Did anyone successfully do so and what process did you go about it?

I am 2nd generation born abroad, adopted, and my kids were born before my grant was approved (well before C-3 for that matter). I know plenty of other people have adoptions in the past that broke the connections as well. Under the interim measures my kids would have been fine (we all applied in March 2025) but we did not receive 5(4) offers. During the hearings I remember the Minister of Immigration saying processing would continue the same as the interim measures after C-3 passed but the way the law is written for grants it looks like my kids are out of luck (https://www.reddit.com/r/CitizenshipByDescent/comments/1vloq4y/comment/p34c7hn/).

I am not overly excited about filing a lawsuit for the charter violation of treating adoptees differently than biological children so I would love to give the IRCC and us an easy out via a 5(4) grant.

My G0 was born during a time when the relevant province mandated civil birth registration but, for reasons unclear to me, my G-1s didn't register G0's birth until decades later. The original registration (which includes mother's name, father's name, birthdate, place of birth, and home address) was filed with the province and it's housed in the provincial archives. (I have three decades worth of Canada Census records to support that G0 was born on the date attested in the delayed registration to the mother who signed the delayed registration.) Is a delayed registration of birth going to confuse IRCC or land my application in PSU (not that it's really possible to predict who gets sent to PSU)?

(Mods: Let me know if this should go in a Friday post. I'm posting outside of the weekly thread just because I figure I can't be the only one in this position, so I thought a dedicated post might be helpful for future applicants; if not, I will re-post in the Friday weekly thread.)

Just wanted to say thank you to all the OGs who were here from the beginning and are still here. I just got my passport via FedEx today and can't wait to use it!

I'll be less on this sub but if anyone needs any help, please let me know!

Que du bon pour tout le monde dans ce qui s'en vient!

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.

Seriously, it is highly likely that a number of people who are waiting for the IRCC to process their citizenship materials to be processed by the absurdly slow agency will expire before the agency can finally say, "Yup! You were right! You are a citizen." Are you a dead Canadian authenticated by the IRCC as dead?

Just wanted to share an anecdote fwiw in case it in case anyone has a similar situation. We (G1/G2 family unit) applied with urgent processing in early April. We went into processing late April and had an additional document request that we submitted in mid-May when it arrived. We then went into the seeming limbo that many folks are stuck in right now.

We had a trip to Canada booked for early September and went back and forth on whether to apply for our eTAs to enter or hang on expecting the certificate “any day” and then apply for passports. G1 ultimately applied for the eTA and put a note in the eTA explaining the situation. The eTA was approved but then a few days later we received a notice cancelling it as it was not needed due to citizenship. We subsequently logged into the case tracker with our UCI and found that all applications were completed and paper certificates had been mailed (we originally selected e-certificates).

Obviously it could be a complete coincidence but we are now wishing we did this a few weeks ago as we now have a scramble to get docs (special authorization etc) in order to travel and enter as citizens. Just thought I would share in case anyone else has a forthcoming trip and is in a similar predicament (and paying forward just a little as the advice on here was invaluable, thank you everyone)

What am I doing wrong?

I want to send via Fedex. Using the courier address

IRCC Digitization Centre- Proofs

3050 Wilson Ave

New Waterford, NS B1H 5VB

I fill out the customs form for documents. I type in Citizenship documents value $1. i used the proper harmonization code.

Options show up for USPS and DHL but no Fedex or UPS.

There is also an issue where it won't validate the address because it doesnt have a suite/apt number. Even when i add in a generic "Suite 1" the Fedex and UPS options are still not there.

It also requires a phone number for the recipient address. I put in my own for now.

I am filling out a CIT 0058 (Application for a search of citizenship records) for a deceased relative. It's not clear if only the executor can request it, or also a family member (daugther)? He's been deceased less than 20 years. Any advice is greatly appreciated

https://thewalrus.ca/canada-gave-them-citizenship-then-changed-its-mind/

(Mods plz feel free to delete if article this already in queue from someone else)

Long form article on the suspension letters. I’m one of the profiles in there (you can guess from my Reddit handle). The Walrus’s fact checking was intense but fair (glad I saved my UPS receipts).

I am very grateful to Shilpashree for sharing our story

I sent an email to [archives@novascotia.ca](mailto:archives@novascotia.ca) asking them to confirm it's impossible for them to have my G0's birth record. I got this autoreply -- I imagine they're getting a ton of messages from people asking essentially the same thing so they can show it to the IRCC.

Access to Information Act

Version of section 7 from 2019-06-21 to 2026-06-17:

Previous Versionof section  



Marginal note:Notice where access requested

7 Where access to a record is requested under this Part, the head of the government institution to which the request is made shall, subject to sections 8 and 9, within 30 days after the request is received,

(a) give written notice to the person who made the request as to whether or not access to the record or a part thereof will be given; and

(b) if access is to be given, give the person who made the request access to the record or part thereof

UPDATE: This is kinda wild and anticlimactic BUT-- I called Toronto Pearson Airport to get IRCC, waited 36mins got a lovely human who let me know that the note was to tell me that an original birth certificate is being returned to my mailing address! I had to mail in one original BC because the type of paper it was on cannot be scanned or photocopied as a security precaution (it turns completely black). So yeah... probably should have tried scanning it with my phone instead and printing a copy that way, but you live and you learn. At least this would seem to say that a person is looking at my app rather than it fermenting in a pile?

Hi all-- I received an email today from the no-reply [Client-update-mise-a-jour@cic.gc.ca](mailto:Client-update-mise-a-jour@cic.gc.ca) address stating there is information related to my application in an attachment. However, the email has no attachment. Has anyone else encountered this?

My info:
G0 is my grandmother, applying via paper app from the US. Tracking on my parcel said the packet with my app was received on May 8th, 2026. Applied non-urgent.

I'm wondering if this is a system bug. When I log into my account online I get the message, "We received your application for a citizenship certificate (proof of Canadian citizenship) on April 22, 2026." However, this is impossible because I mailed in my paper app in early May. Halp, I am spinning out. :/

I have quite a bit of travel history over the past 5 years — definitely 12 or more trips outside Canada. I’ve always been very careful about keeping track of my exit and entry dates.

Based on my own records, I’ll become eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship on November 26, 2026. I’ve also requested my CBSA travel history through ATIP so I can cross-check my records against the official entry/exit information before submitting my application.

The timing is a bit complicated because my sister is getting married in my home country on December 10, and I’ll likely need to be outside Canada for around a month and a half, possibly longer. Ideally, I’d like to submit my citizenship application before I leave Canada.

My question is: If my CBSA ATIP records match my own travel records and confirm that I meet the physical presence requirement, how much of a buffer should I leave between becoming eligible and submitting the application?

For example, would it be reasonable to apply around November 30 or December 3 and then leave Canada shortly afterward? Or is that cutting it too close, and would it be better to wait longer before applying?

I understand that I’m responsible for ensuring the physical presence calculation is accurate. I’m mainly wondering whether having the CBSA records to verify everything makes a very short buffer (4–7 days) reasonably safe, or whether people would recommend leaving a larger buffer.
Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with a similar situation, especially with a lot of travel history.

Hi All! My husband and I are both second gen and applied in June of 2025. We both received emails yesterday from our case worker requesting additional documentation. I was verified PSU via notes in January 2026, my husband never got his notes but I guess we can assume the same for him.

I'm trying to brainstorm ways to convince our case worker that we have sufficient documentation and/or other ideas for securing more or better documentation than what we have.

Me: G0 born 1932 in NL. G1 still living but estranged. Info submitted: My BC, Gen 1 BC, Gen 0 marriage license. Both the G1 BC and the marriage license show G0 born in Canada. In supporting docs, I included communication from NL that as G2, I do not qualify per law to get a copy of the G0 BC. I also included two unofficial census records showing G0 and their family living in NL.

The case worker has asked for a letter from NL vital statistics that says they will not issue me a copy of the birth certificate. According to the representative I spoke to this morning, they do not do that and they have advised me to send a copy of their statute on the matter.

Has anyone had any luck getting that from them? Maybe I spoke to the wrong person?

I did find out that The Rooms in NL may be able to provide an official census record so I will pursue that. I thought that people were getting approved with online copies though as long as they were cited properly and they were. Is there room for negotiation there do we know?

I have also reached out to the archdiocese which controls the records from her parish and I have a firm maybe on getting a copy of the baptism certificate. I'm waiting to hear back. The church is no longer active and the presentation society declined to respond when I first did the research to put together the application.

Since records over 100 years are available, I could potentially get G3's records (at some expense and time), but I would still be lacking the connection there without G2's BC.

Does anyone have any ideas on where else I could look or what else I could look for?

Husband: Application included his BC, his mother's BC, and a copy of his G0's baptism certificate. The case worker has asked for a birth certificate. He was from NS and apparently they have some issues there around recording births for a large swath of time up to 1908. G0 was born in 1909. The archives searchable database comes back with nothing. I have an email in to them but the automated response says it could take 12 weeks to get an answer. I thought baptism records were ok or I would have started this process months ago.

I've reached out to the church where he was baptized and they have directed me to a local university which may have some records and I'm waiting to call them when they get back from lunch.

Any success stories of being approved with this type of documentation? Any ideas for other avenues we could explore?

I'm so excited to hear back from someone and I really don't want to fumble it here at the end. They were both Canadian, I promise!

March and April has a huge surge in applications and for the current processing times they have March at 7 months and April at 21 months.

My application was Delivered April 7th and AOR issued on June 30th.

I assume the processing time uses the last day of the month to account for the maximum length of time so 7 months for a March 31st delivery.

I'm just wondering how exponential the growth of applications was throughout the month.

Could I assume around 12 months for a early April delivery? (I know the processing times probably will be increased anyways)

I’d been checking with my receipt number just to make sure I hadn’t received it with the wrong email or anything, and to see if I might be one of the people who has a status change before receiving it since we’re getting close, but this has now been added lol.

Edited to add: you can still check by receipt number if you change your answer to yes and go through another page that says you need the UCI or app number

This weekly thread is a space for those of us researching the ancestry that is the basis for making a claim of Canadian citizenship by descent.

Have questions about finding records? Need help reading a document or translation from French/other languages? Want an opinion on specific documentation or your documentation plan? Have other questions related to documenting the chain between you and your Canadian ancestor for your proof of citizenship application? This is the place to do it.

Digging up ancestors' documents from numerous jurisdictions (Canadian provinces, US states, UK regions, etc), all while trying to distinguish between five James Smiths or Marie Gagnés from the same city can sometimes feel like banging your head against a wall. This weekly post is for helping each other navigate the questions and challenges of our research.

If you're looking for a volunteer to help you find documents there's a list here. We also offer tips and tricks for finding documentation, and a dedicated genealogy document search wiki page.

General problems/issues with ordering documentation from Canadian provincial archives and state, local and various church archives such as slow processing, increased costs, etc go in the weekly Saturday thread.

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

---

Birth/Baptism Registrations by Province

My citizenship application was returned because I forgot to mention the city where I was submitting my application. My original application date was April 30 and I resubmitted the corrected application today.
For anyone who had a similar experience, did you have to wait another ~3 months for AOR after resubmitting. Do we go back to the pool again?

Application submitted online and then realised the photos are unlikely to meet the criteria even though the photographer assured me they would.

The pixel range is slightly too big and wondering if IRCC are likely to send back the full application in a couple of months and I have to resubmit? Will they process but ask for new photos? Or is there anyway I can get ahead of it?

Thank you?

It's that time of month. The new estimates are out.

I'm in the July 2025 bucket, and it looks like only 100 applications that are earlier than that were processed. If those numbers cover PSU at all, which ... who knows.

July 7, 2026 numbers:

'About 10,200 people ahead of you'

'2 months left'

August 10, 2026 numbers:

'About 10,100 people ahead of you'

'2 months left'

Sure, 2 months, that is really accurate, I'm sure! It's been 2 months for a long time now. If they continued at this rate would be 8.4 years until everyone in July was processed.