Canada’s new citizenship law took effect on Dec. 15 and immediately opened the door for people born before that date to claim citizenship if they can prove a direct Canadian ancestor. The change ends the old one-generation limit, which had allowed citizenship by descent to pass only from parent to child.
Immigration lawyers on both sides of the border say the rush began almost at once. Amandeep Hayer, whose Vancouver-area practice once handled about 200 citizenship cases a year, said he is now fielding more than 20 consults per day and estimates that millions of Americans may have Canadian roots. Nicholas Berning said his practice is “pretty much flooded with these cases.”
The new rule is broad. A direct Canadian ancestor can be a grandparent, a great-grandparent or even more distant relative, and descendants of Canadians are already considered citizens under the law. They need only apply for a certificate of citizenship to make that status official, a process that costs 75 Canadian dollars, or about $55.
For many applicants, the appeal is not abstract. Michelle Cunha said she spent 30 years trying to help make the United States “a place of freedom, a place of equality,” but added that “clearly we’re not there and we’re not going to get there anytime soon.” Maureen Sullivan said the law felt like “this little gift that fell in my lap,” while Zack Loud said citizenship pushed Canada higher on his family’s list as they considered work outside the country.
That urgency is colliding with a slow system. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says processing times for a certificate of citizenship are around 10 months, and more than 56,000 people are already waiting for a decision. Mary Mangan, who filed in January using advice from online forums, said many people may not need a lawyer at all, though she added some cases are complex enough to warrant one. The law has created a fast-moving path to recognition, but the paperwork backlog means many new Canadians will spend months waiting to see it in writing.
Before the change, Canada citizenship law changes were limited by that one-generation rule. Now the question is less who can claim and more how long they will have to wait for the certificate that proves it.
