If your child's citizenship by descent is in question: a parent's guide
If you are a parent who received a Bill C-3 citizenship-by-descent certificate for your child, and now a letter has arrived asking you to surrender it, you are probably scared and confused. Take a breath. What is happening to many of these families in June 2026 is a document review, not an accusation. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is re-examining whether some certificates were issued correctly based on the proof of lineage in the file. Nobody is being called a liar. Nobody is being charged with fraud. This guide walks through what the review is, what it is not, and the practical steps you can take to protect your child's status.
This is general information, not legal advice. Please consult a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer or a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) about your specific file. Every family's documents and timeline differ, and only someone reviewing your actual letter can advise you properly.
What the review actually is
In mid-June 2026, IRCC's Registrar of Canadian Citizenship, Peggy Sun, emailed some recipients of Bill C-3 citizenship-by-descent certificates. The message, as reported, told them she had information they "may not be entitled to hold a Canadian certificate of citizenship," and asked them to surrender the certificate while the file is re-examined. The exact date of the emails varies by news source across June 13 to 15, so confirm the date on your own letter rather than relying on any reported one.
This is a review-and-surrender process. It is not a revocation. The government has stated plainly that these reviews are not revocations. If the review confirms entitlement, the certificate is returned. According to reporting in the Globe and Mail, the Registrar wrote she had "reasonable grounds to believe" the status was not valid because applicants had not submitted documentation from original source authorities, such as civil registries. The trigger was documentary, not fraudulent: files leaned on compiled genealogy rather than certified vital records, and some did not explain why originals were unavailable.
It helps to separate four words that get used loosely. "Suspended" is informal media shorthand and not IRCC's term. "Under review" is how IRCC frames it: the file is being examined and the certificate's status during that period is unclear. "Revoked" is a formal action under section 10 of the Citizenship Act, reserved for fraud or false representation, and it comes with Federal Court proceedings and full protections. "Surrendered" simply means you returned the physical certificate while the review runs. What is happening here is the third and fourth of those, not the second. For a fuller breakdown, see our explainer on the difference between a certificate, proof, and citizenship itself, and the overview at the certificate-review hub.
One detail many parents have flagged: in some families, an adult received a letter while their child, named on the same application with the same evidence, did not. A Toronto lawyer called that inconsistency "bizarre." If your household received letters for some members and not others, write down exactly who got what and when, and bring that to your lawyer.
Why the certificates are being questioned
None of this is about whether your family genuinely has a Canadian ancestor. The objection IRCC has raised is narrower and more technical: the quality and source of the documents used to prove the link at each generation.
Bill C-3, an Act to amend the Citizenship Act, received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025, and came into force on December 15, 2025. It followed the Ontario Superior Court decision in Bjorkquist et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152, in which Justice Akbarali found the second-generation cut-off in section 3(3) of the Citizenship Act unconstitutional under the Charter. Bill C-3 replaced that cut-off with a "substantial connection" test: a Canadian-born parent must show 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before the child's birth or adoption. The statute itself is not in dispute, and it has not been repealed or struck down. You can read the official summary on the Government of Canada's page on the 2025 rule changes, and our plain-language walk-through at the Bill C-3 policy page. Background on the court case sits in our Bjorkquist cut-off explainer.
The Minister, Lena Metlege Diab, defended the review in the House of Commons. Her central point was that genealogy alone is not enough. As she put it, applicants "must definitively prove your link to Canada at each and every generation." The practical translation: a printout from Ancestry.ca or FamilySearch, on its own, is treated as a research lead rather than primary proof. That does not auto-disqualify anyone. It means certified records from source authorities carry the weight, and compiled genealogy needs to be backed up.
If your child's eligibility rests partly on that 1,095-day presence figure, our physical-presence calculator can help you map out which days count, though the final word always belongs to IRCC and your lawyer.
Steps to protect your child's status
Treat this as an active legal matter that may run for months, and act methodically rather than in a panic.
Read the letter, then verify it. As of June 17, 2026 there is no dedicated canada.ca page about this June action, so scams are a real risk. Confirm everything against the actual letter you received and through official IRCC channels before you act on any reported detail. No published response deadline exists, and no source confirms a precise one, so do not assume you have only days.
Return a paper certificate if asked, but keep copies. If your child holds a physical certificate and the letter asks for it back, returning it is part of the process and does not mean the case is lost. If your child's certificate was issued electronically, there may be nothing physical to surrender. Photocopy or scan everything before sending anything.
Be careful about real-world decisions. No source confirms how "under review" status affects a child's passport, travel, schooling, or a parent's work authorization, in either direction. Do not assume it has no effect, and do not assume the worst either. If a passport renewal, a school enrolment, or a move depends on the certificate, raise that specific question with your lawyer before you commit. Our piece on the reported travel, work, and passport impact lays out what is and is not known.
Gather certified records from source authorities. This is the heart of the matter. Collect certified vital records from the bodies that actually hold them: provincial or territorial vital statistics offices, civil registries, and archives. Ancestry.ca and FamilySearch printouts are not a substitute. Where an original record genuinely does not exist, request a "letter of no record" from the relevant authority and assemble properly sourced alternatives, such as census records, baptismal records, hospital or midwife birth records, land deeds, immigration records, or boat manifests. Per IRCC's response in the House on May 26, 2026, alternative evidence assessed on a balance of probabilities is acceptable when it is properly sourced. Include a short written explanation of why originals were unavailable. The checklist form CIT 0014 expressly permits "any other evidence" of a parent's Canadian citizenship.
Submit through proper channels and consider legal review. File through the IRCC portal or through a licensed lawyer or consultant, and keep a full copy of everything you send. Because this process is reported to rely on the Registrar's surrender power rather than the section 10 revocation route, the procedural safeguards may be weaker, which is exactly why having a professional review your file matters. A Federal Court judicial review on grounds of procedural fairness is one avenue your lawyer may raise. Our guide on how to respond to an IRCC citizenship review and get legal help goes deeper, and the surrender-email walkthrough covers the immediate first moves.
What this means for your family, in plain terms
It is fair to feel that this is happening to your child rather than because of anything your child did. That feeling is reasonable, and it is shared. Families have taken jobs, enrolled children in school, relocated, and in some cases sold homes on the strength of these certificates. One affected newcomer, a Connecticut-born 26-year-old who moved to Canada in March 2026, said simply, "I did everything properly," and described being in limbo.
There is political and legal pushback underway. On June 16, 2026, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan sent an open letter demanding answers and calling for a halt to adverse action until the reviews are complete. Several immigration lawyers have called the approach unprecedented, and some affected people are reportedly contemplating a lawsuit or class action. As of June 17, 2026, no court challenge has been confirmed as filed, so treat any "case has been launched" claim with caution until you can verify it.
The scale is also widely misunderstood. Between December 15, 2025 and March 31, 2026, IRCC issued 4,075 descent certificates under Bill C-3, roughly half of them to U.S.-born recipients. That 4,075 figure is the number of certificates issued, not the number of review letters sent. The letter count is genuinely disputed: the Minister's office described "a few dozen" or "a limited number," while one lawyer estimated "at least a couple hundred." Nobody outside IRCC has a confirmed figure, so be skeptical of any precise count you see, including ours.
For the wider story of how Canadians lost and regained status through this saga, see our lost Canadians explainer and the question many parents are asking directly, whether Canada can revoke citizenship by descent. If statelessness is a worry for your child because they hold no other nationality, read our note on statelessness protections during a citizenship suspension and raise it with your lawyer immediately, as it can change how your file should be handled. The broader citizenship section collects the rest.
A few things worth holding onto. Your child has not been accused of wrongdoing. The certificate is meant to be returned if entitlement is confirmed. The law that granted the status still stands. And the burden the review places on you, assembling certified records and a clear explanation, is something you can start on today rather than wait for.
This is general information and not legal advice. Citizenship law is technical and the consequences are real, so please consult a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer or an RCIC about your specific situation before making decisions for your child or your family. Verify every detail here against your actual letter and official IRCC channels, because as of this writing no dedicated canada.ca page on the June 2026 action exists yet.