This spring, thousands of Americans have found what they believe might be the perfect backup plan: a Canadian passport.<\/p>\n
Last December, Canada eliminated the generational limit to inheriting Canadian citizenship for people born before December 15, 2025, making millions of Americans eligible for dual citizenship overnight.<\/p>\n
Get a Free Consultation on Applying for a Canadian passport Since then, the processing time for proof of Canadian citizenship certificates<\/a> has doubled in under a year, from five months in July 2025 to 10 months today.<\/p>\n Canadian provincial archives, from which Americans must request official copies of documents proving their ancestry<\/a>, are being overwhelmed.<\/p>\n Quebec’s national archives has seen a 3,000% increase in document requests. Nova Scotia received more requests in the first three months of 2026 than it did in all of 2024. And New Brunswick’s requests have quadrupled, yielding a backlog of over 1,000 requests, with 400 new ones arriving every month.<\/p>\n The vast majority of these requests are from Americans, many of whom have no immediate intention of moving to Canada<\/a>, but have become increasingly uneasy in today\u2019s era of ICE raids, executive orders against birthright citizenship, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n As U.S.-Canadian dual citizens<\/a>, Americans with Canadian ancestry hold the full rights and privileges of both countries, including the unconditional right to enter, live, and work in Canada permanently. Their Canadian citizenship<\/a> comes with no additional tax obligations. Unlike the United States, Canada imposes no worldwide tax on its citizens.<\/p>\n How to apply<\/p>\n If you have even one Canadian ancestor, no matter how many generations removed, you\u2019re eligible for Canadian citizenship.<\/p>\n To apply, you\u2019ll need to submit a complete application form to Canada\u2019s citizenship department<\/a> and include official copies of the necessary documents proving your Canadian ancestry, such as birth certificates and marriage licenses.<\/p>\n Once you receive the certificate, you can apply for a Canadian passport<\/a>, which currently takes 10 to 20 business days.<\/p>\n You can check whether you may be eligible using CanadaVisa’s citizenship by descent calculator<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n