Some permanent resident applicants left in limbo by changes to Canadian citizenship law

To my recollection, this possibility never raised during parliamentary committee hearings by government officials and witnesses:

…CBC News has learned that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada quietly put permanent resident applications on hold for an unknown number of people who could now qualify for citizenship under Bill C-3. The legislation makes those who can prove they have a Canadian ancestor eligible for Canadian citizenship.

That leaves those affected in limbo — without permanent resident status and stuck in a nearly three-year processing backlog of applications for citizenship certificates.

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…Briannah Dale, senior communications adviser for IRCC, said under the department’s policies, you can’t be both a permanent resident and Canadian citizen at the same time.

“If someone applies for proof of citizenship while also applying for permanent residence, their permanent residence application will be placed on hold while a concurrent citizenship application is assessed,” she wrote in an emailed response.

“If citizenship is confirmed, the permanent residence application will be considered withdrawn. If citizenship is not confirmed, the permanent residence application will return to its original place in the processing queue and resume processing.”

Dale said an IRCC officer can also put a permanent residence application on hold even if someone hasn’t applied for a citizenship certificate if the officer has “compelling reasons to believe an applicant may already be a citizen under Canadian law.”

Dale said due to “systems limitations” the department can’t say how many permanent residence applications it has put on hold because the applicant may also qualify for citizenship.

However, she said those who already have permanent resident status won’t lose their status while they wait for their citizenship certificate.

The wait time for those who apply today for family sponsorship of spouses outside Canada (and outside Quebec) like Pottier’s wife is 18 months. But the wait time for citizenship certificate applications is now 34 months, in part because of the surge of applications since the adoption of Bill C-3, particularly from Americans.

Between Dec. 15, 2025, when Bill C-3 went into effect and Aug. 31, IRCC has approved 7,900 applications for Canadian citizenship certificates under the new legislation. Another 22,570 people born abroad to a Canadian parent also received citizenship certificates….

Source: Some permanent resident applicants left in limbo by changes to Canadian citizenship law