IRCC approved 99.3% of urgent citizenship files after Bill C-3

Bill C-3 took effect in Canada on December 15, 2025, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) later approved 5,804 of 5,845 urgent proof-of-citizenship files processed during the law’s first eight months.

IRCC received about 6,726 urgent-processing applications from December 15, 2025, through August 14, 2026. The department supplied the internal operational data to CIC News under the Access to Information Act; IRCC had not released some figures before, and its latest published figures ended at June 30, 2026.

What did Bill C-3 change?

Bill C-3 amended the Citizenship Act on December 15, 2025. It removed the first-generation limit that barred Canadians born abroad from passing citizenship to children also born abroad.

A proof-of-citizenship application asks IRCC for a Canadian citizenship certificate. The category now absorbs most demand from expanded citizenship-by-descent rules. It also covers replacement certificates for citizens who lost theirs.

Urgent processing offers a faster route when an applicant needs a certificate sooner than the standard queue allows. As of October 9, 2026, a new proof-of-citizenship application carried a 34-month estimate, and about 130,700 people awaited decisions; urgent processing can reduce waits to weeks.

Canadians born abroad can now pass citizenship to children also born abroad.

How many urgent files did IRCC decide?

IRCC processed 5,845 files in the eight-month period. It approved 5,804, refused 17, recorded 23 withdrawals and one abandonment. That produced a 99.3% approval rate, and no month brought more than five refusals.

Output averaged about 730 files monthly, peaked in February and March, and eased through spring:

• December 2025 (December 15–31): 213 processed; 213 approved, 0 refused, 0 abandoned, 0 withdrawn.
• January 2026: 815 processed; 800 approved, 0 refused, 1 abandoned, 14 withdrawn.
• February 2026: 970 processed; 964 approved, 2 refused, 0 abandoned, 4 withdrawn.
• March 2026: 960 processed; 954 approved, 5 refused, 0 abandoned, 1 withdrawn.
• April 2026: 848 processed; 844 approved, 4 refused, 0 abandoned, 0 withdrawn.
• May 2026: 717 processed; 716 approved, 1 refused, 0 abandoned, 0 withdrawn.
• June 2026: 319 processed; 317 approved, 0 refused, 0 abandoned, 2 withdrawn.
• July 2026: 649 processed; 646 approved, 3 refused, 0 abandoned, 0 withdrawn.
• August 2026 (August 1–14): 354 processed; 350 approved, 2 refused, 0 abandoned, 2 withdrawn.
• Total: 5,845 processed; 5,804 approved, 17 refused, 1 abandoned, 23 withdrawn.

CIC News treated blank IRCC cells as zero and calculated totals, averages and percentages. IRCC calls the data operational and “subject to change.”

Almost every urgent file that reached a decision received approval.

How large was the urgent share?

Separate public IRCC data show 34,400 proof-of-citizenship applications finalized from January 1 through July 31, 2026. The new data show 5,278 urgent files processed over those seven months, an estimated 15% of finalizations. CIC News cited two different IRCC sources, so the percentage remains an estimate.

Urgent files accounted for roughly one in seven finalizations.

When did requests peak?

IRCC recorded 220 requests in the last two weeks of December 2025. Monthly receipts were:

• December 2025 (December 15–31): 220.
• January 2026: 572.
• February 2026: 739.
• March 2026: 1,362.
• April 2026: 1,167.
• May 2026: 845.
• June 2026: 812.
• July 2026: 686.
• August 2026 (August 1–14): 323.
• Total: 6,726.

Requests rose each month through March, then fell each month. The data show no apparent relationship between request volume and IRCC’s processing estimate, which stood at 10 months in March and then increased to 25 months in August.

IRCC warns that a lag between receipt and system entry may make recent totals too low. Demand peaked in March and then declined.

Why did approvals fall in June?

IRCC approved 317 urgent files in June, down from 716 in May. On June 13, the department asked some recent certificate holders to hand back their certificates. Days later, it paused finalizing some new proof-of-citizenship applications. The review ended June 30.

Approvals recovered to 646 in July and reached 350 in the first 14 days of August. The June decline coincided with the review and partial pause, while refusals stayed low.

Who can request urgent processing?

IRCC updated its citizenship-certificate guidance on September 28, 2026. It may process a certificate faster when an applicant needs it to:

• Avoid harm or hardship tied to race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
• Move a child under 18, born outside Canada, to Canada where the child has a Canadian parent.
• Resolve statelessness.
• Travel because of death or serious illness in a family, when the applicant cannot obtain a passport from the other country.
• Give up foreign citizenship by a set date.
• Apply for a job, keep a current job, or attend school, college, or a university.
• Access social benefits, including a pension, health care, or a social insurance number.

The guidance sets specific grounds for seeking faster processing.

What does the data not show?

The figures cover only processed files that requested urgent or expedited processing. They do not count requests IRCC rejected for urgency. When IRCC rejects such a request, the application continues at the normal pace and is not refused for that reason, so it may not appear at all.

The dataset contains no processing time. IRCC’s guidance says urgent processing can reduce waits to weeks; applicants should consult the September 28 guidance for current eligibility and instructions.

The figures do not measure the full workload or processing speed.