Canadian immigration authorities have confirmed that students who already qualify for Canadian citizenship through a parent or grandparent can request urgent processing of their proof-of-citizenship application, potentially getting the certificate in hand before their semester starts, even as the standard wait has stretched past two years.
The Specifics
- The standard wait for a proof-of-citizenship certificate hit 25 months as of August 10, 2026, up from 19 months in July and 12 months in May, with more than 121,000 applications in the queue.
Sources: IRCC processing times tool - The backlog exists because Bill C-3 took effect on December 15, 2025, removing the “first-generation limit” that had blocked many people born abroad to a Canadian parent from automatically qualifying for citizenship by descent.
Source: IRCC news release - IRCC’s own rules list “attending a school, college or university” in Canada as one of the qualifying grounds for urgent processing of a citizenship certificate.
- A qualifying request needs a cover letter asking for urgent processing, an explanation letter, and proof of Canadian study such as a letter of acceptance and tuition summary, submitted with the complete application.
Even a qualifying request isn’t a guarantee. IRCC reviews each request on its merits and states it cannot guarantee the certificate will arrive before the term begins.
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The decision doesn't touch the vast majority of Indian students in Canada, who arrive on a regular study permit. It's relevant to a narrower group: Indian-origin applicants who already have a Canadian parent or grandparent and may already be citizens by descent under Bill C-3 but haven't yet applied for or received their proof-of-citizenship certificate. For that group, an approved certificate can also unlock domestic tuition instead of the international rate once the institution has it on file, since the certificate, not the underlying citizenship, is what a Canadian school checks before applying the lower fee.
For anyone without this ancestry connection, the standard study-permit route and its costs still apply. For a complete breakdown of tuition and living costs on that route, see our Cost of Studying in Canada guide, and for the full study-permit process, our Study in Canada for Indian Students guide.
What to Do Now
If you or a parent were born abroad to a Canadian parent or grandparent and have an upcoming Canadian intake, don't wait out the 25-month standard queue. File your proof-of-citizenship application now, along with the urgent-processing cover letter, explanation letter, and your Canadian institution's offer letter and tuition summary, so the request is in front of an officer as early as possible.
Have questions about your options for studying in Canada? Book a free session with a LeapScholar counselor.
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