The immigration department says unclear department guidance for both immigration officers and applicants on how to apply for citizenship-by-descent may have led to people being issued proofs of citizenship without sufficient evidence.
The department said Tuesday that 100 people were told to surrender their citizenship certificates after a "routine review" found documents issued under Bill C-3 had "potentially insufficient supporting documentation."
The department issued this explanation — and confirmation of the number of people who were told to turn over their citizenship certificates — a full 17 days after the initial emails demanding the surrender of citizenship certificates were sent out.
A statement from the department issued on June 16 said "a limited number" of people were told to surrender their citizenship proofs.
When Immigration Minister Lena Diab was asked what led to the surrender orders last week, she said she ordered an investigation "the second" she "found out there was something" wrong, although she added she "wasn’t sure what it was."
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday those who received surrender orders deserved to know why and he would follow up on the matter.
When C-3 became law last year, it allowed anyone born before Dec. 15, 2025 to claim Canadian citizenship as long as they had a provable link to a Canadian ancestor.
Diab's spokesperson said she would not be available for an interview Tuesday. A request for an interview with someone else from the immigration department was also declined.
The department said in its statement it has restored proof of citizenship for 33 people who received those surrender emails, while reviews of another 67 cases should be completed in a matter of days.
The department said it is working to contact affected people directly and their citizenship will either be confirmed under C-3 or they will be asked to provide additional information to verify their eligibility for citizenship-by-descent.
People whose citizenship-by-descent files are under review are still considered citizens while the reviews take place, so they are still able to work and live in Canada. But some who were issued passports saw those documents cancelled and were told they will need to surrender them.
The department says a review of roughly 6,500 other citizenship-by-descent certificates issued under C-3 is now complete.
Diab's spokesperson said in an emailed response that the finalization of pending citizenship-by-descent applications made under Bill C-3 is expected to resume "within the next few days."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
