Canada revises citizenship proof rules for applicants, i.e., some holders of Canadian citizenship certificates have recently received letters asking them to give up their certificates while officials review their citizenship claims.
On June 13, 2026, an unknown number of people who obtained Canadian citizenship by descent received notices from the Registrar of Citizenship. The letters instructed them to surrender their citizenship certificates under Citizenship Regulations 26(1) because questions had been raised about their eligibility.
According to a sample letter reviewed by immigration professionals, officials stated that the documents submitted with the citizenship application were not obtained from the original government authorities responsible for creating or maintaining historical records.
The letter explained that acceptable records should come from official sources such as civil registries, vital statistics offices, or other authorized government bodies.
However, immigration lawyers argue that this requirement was never clearly outlined in the government’s published instructions for citizenship by descent applicants.
Ala Bujac, a lawyer, reviewed the letter and raised concerns about the government’s position.
She noted that this was the first time officials had specifically stated that documents must come only from what they described as “original source authorities.”
According to Bujac, neither the application guide nor the existing regulatory framework previously contained a clear list of these authorities.
She also pointed out that people who received the letters would still have an opportunity to submit additional records while their files are being reviewed.
Even so, she questioned whether the government had provided enough explanation for requesting the surrender of citizenship certificates.
Bujac stated that the letters claimed applicants had failed to provide the required evidence, despite the fact that no detailed public guidance had been issued identifying exactly which authorities or documents would be considered mandatory.
Questions Raised About Document Requirements
The government’s official document checklist for proof of citizenship applications, known as CIT 0014, requires birth certificates issued by the original government authority in the place of birth.
At the same time, the checklist does not specifically state that records must come from original source authorities as described in the recent letters.
The document checklist also allows applicants to submit a wider range of evidence.
Examples include:
- “any other evidence that your parent is a Canadian citizen”
- “pre-birth orders, court orders, surrogacy agreements, hospital records”
- “any other proof of citizenship/immigration status in Canada or another country, such as immigration documents, visas, passports, etc.”
Because of these broader options, some lawyers believe the recent requests may have surprised applicants who followed the published instructions when preparing their files.
A long-standing principle of Canadian immigration law is that applications should generally be assessed using the requirements and standards that were made available to applicants when they submitted their forms.
Citizenship Regulation Allows Certificate Surrender Requests
Despite the concerns raised by lawyers, the government does have authority under Citizenship Regulations 26(1) to request the surrender of a citizenship certificate.
The regulation states that the Registrar may require a person to surrender a certificate if there is reason to believe that the person may not be entitled to it.
Some legal experts believe this provision could eventually face a court challenge.
Questions have been raised about whether the regulation is fully consistent with protections contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
No court decision has been made on the matter.
New Citizenship Applicants Among Those Affected
Many of the individuals who received these letters were part of a large group of citizenship by descent applicants who became eligible after changes to Canada’s citizenship law in December 2025.
Those changes removed the former first-generation limit that had restricted citizenship by descent for many people born outside Canada.
As a result, eligibility was expanded to individuals around the world, including millions of people in the United States with Canadian ancestry.
Since the law changed, thousands of people have submitted applications seeking proof of Canadian citizenship.
Some applicants traced their family history back several generations. In many cases, families had lived outside Canada for decades, making the search for records more difficult.
Some claims relied on ancestors born in Canada during the nineteenth century, before modern record-keeping systems were fully established.
Applicants often spent months gathering birth records, family documents, and other historical evidence to prove an unbroken line of descent from a Canadian-born ancestor.
What Happens Next?
People who received these letters have been asked to surrender their citizenship certificates immediately and provide additional evidence supporting their claim.
Officials will review the new documents as part of their investigation.
If the government determines that the citizenship claim remains valid, the certificate will be returned to the holder.
If officials conclude that the person is not entitled to citizenship, the certificate will be cancelled.
For now, lawyers and affected applicants are closely watching how the government handles these reviews and whether further guidance on acceptable documents will be provided.
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