The Canadian government revoked citizenship for many recent applicants encouraged by a weakened ancestry rule, after many were accepted despite insufficient documentation.
Canada has long held that citizenship by descent only extends to the first generation, those born abroad to Canadian parents. People born to second-generation Canadians were traditionally excluded, but a recent amendment to the country’s Citizenship Act broadened citizenship-by-ancestry to ensuing generations. Thousands of these so-called “Lost Canadians” applied for citizenship under the new rules after they took effect in December, and many were granted. On Saturday, an unknown but significant number of these received letters or emails from the Canadian government, demanding the return of their citizenship certificate.
“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that I have information in my possession that indicates that you may not be entitled to hold a Canadian certificate of citizenship,” read one notice, signed by Peggy Sun, registrar of Canadian citizenship.
“As this documentation was not submitted with your proof of citizenship application, I am requiring the surrender of your certificate of citizenship,” it continued, adding that recipients will be able to submit additional evidence to be reviewed.
Those affected vented their frustrations online, providing copies of their letters.
The recall was prompted after authorities discovered that many applicants were approved by submitting documents that didn’t meet standards. Some used printed-out papers from Ancestry.com or other ancestry-related sites. Others had records from an archive rather than a statistics office.
Some users on forums complained that the list of accepted documents was less clear last year, feeding confusion.
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Many, if not most, of those applying lived in border states with the United States. Some claimed they were in the process of making moving arrangements to Canada when they received the letter.
The exact number of people who received the notices is unclear. Roughly 4,075 people worldwide have received citizenship certificates under the new law since it was passed, according to CBC.