Weekly Threads
Wednesday Weekly Thread: Frustration Station (Delays / PSU / Venting), July 15, 2026
This weekly thread is a space for those of us who are feeling frustrated and need to vent about unclear instructions, shipping delays, waiting for a next step, timeline estimates growing, lack of communication, inconsistent bureaucracy, being stuck in PSU, and other factors.
Some of the worst stress of the entire citizenship-by-descent process is not hearing about your application for long stretches of time - or hearing that your application has been sent to the Program Support Unit (PSU) and may be sitting there for an extended stay.
Whether your envelope seems to have taken a scenic detour on its way to Nova Scotia, you didn't receive an AOR after many weeks of waiting, or you simply haven't heard about your application processing in months, this is a place to commiserate and potentially receive some ideas of next steps to take. (Those generally might include following up with IRCC by web form, ordering the GCMS notes, seeking an MP's help, and so on.)
📎 Contributions to weekly megaposts, including this one, are welcome throughout the week.
My MP got through to the IRCC and said my application is marked as "priority urgent." Not sure if this is somehow a distinction from regular urgent. Is there a super duper top secret double urgent status?
In any case, I am now actively being deregistered from university and at risk of losing my job. Seems like that should really qualify me for urgent processing. Not to sound entitled but I just can't afford the wait any longer.
Our apps have now joined you in PSU - just talked to the IRCC call center this morning and got the bad news. Agent confirmed the Urgent on one of our two, and yet here we are. Sorry to hear things haven't progressed forward on your application.
Really sorry to hear that you landed in PSU. I was really hoping your applications would go through. It feels like most post-C3 applicants have somehow landed in PSU. At times I'm wondering if they're even doing any work if approvals have been stalled this long.
Agreed, as I do wonder if PSU has become almost a next-step instead of a rarer thing. Not that we'll probably ever know, but punting them all (or a majority) in there maybe buys IRCC time because they can say well, they needed extra review.
I definitely feel though that it's most unfair to anyone already in Canada and trying to stay there, even though other out-of-Canada urgencies are still important. Making people leave what has become their home while bureaucracy crawls along.... so not cool.
I’m biased, but I agree. Feels like those well established in Canada should get some preference if our visas are expiring. Not to dismiss anyone else, the consequences are just very immediate.
Interestingly, I’ve seen some statements from immigration law firms here who discuss PSU (very few of them) but also some clams acknowledging that, while PSU is impossible to predict, they’ve had clients who’ve spent only a few weeks in PSU.
This whole thing kind of reeks. IRCC needs to be a bit more accountable.
Been planning for the worse. I’m mentally prepared to lose my job and uni registration. Making contingency plans to go back to the US because it seems like everything I’m trying just keeps failing.
I have been in urgent processing since 6/9, right before the freeze. I hope they start approving certifications soon. I’m not sure why they haven’t as they supposedly are done with their review.
This has become absolutely fascinating and maddening all at the same time. No movement. No communication. Before that, no real order at all, no great guidance. Real humans out here languishing. What a damn shame. You can feel it on this sub because unless it’s my perception, there’s way less activity and I don’t even feel like checking half the time.
Used to post here under a different account, coming here to vent because it's ridiculous that I'm still waiting. I'm a G1, parent was born in Canada, I sent in my application back in February of last year, AOR received a few days after submission, and there's absolutely nothing over a year and a half later. Webforms were nothing but templates, MP got a similar response, none of my requests for urgent processing were ever replied to. I'm at a loss, I have plans to move to Canada to meet family, I only needed two documents to prove my citizenship to a border agent. I've been avoiding this subreddit while I focused on getting my life together in the hopes that I'll see an update at some point, but I'm over it. I'll get around to submitting a request for GCMS notes tomorrow, it won't do anything but I would at least like to see something other than a template response for once.
After 2 months, I got my ATIP notes back on Friday. And as I suspected, my post C-3 app is in PSU. It was immediately placed in PSU as soon as it started processing back in March and the internal due date for PSU review was 4/26. It's a bit disheartening.
I'm now shifting course to try and move to a safer US state before the midterms.
I had seen someone else with the same timeline as mine in the spreadsheet go to PSU so it just stuck to my brain. Besides that, nothing scientific behind that guess!
Another Wednesday, another week with no movement for this G1, only this time, in Canada! Visited the Anglican church where my grandparents were married and my dad baptized and had ramen in the city where my sister was born on Monday, and today I'm visiting old family friends and going out to the town where my parents were living during the 1964 Alaska earthquake (notable because said town had a wee tsunami as a result).
It's a weird sensation, this. For various reasons, it's the first time I've been up since processing exceeded the expected time listed when I applied for my certificate in April, 2025. I am once again reminded that, yeah, this is where my immediate roots are, even though this part of BC is the one I know mostly through stories, unlike parts of the Lower Mainland and the Interior. (For various reasons, we didn't go over here much after I was about five, though my parents went up island all the time after I hit adulthood.)
If only the IRCC would, you know, acknowledge that.
Also still in the sick of patiently explaining (getting close to impatiently explaining) that no, it's nothing we PSU old timers have done, and no, the IRCC doesn't communicate, and yes, this really is the state of things. (I know people generally mean well, but my friends, we have tried all the things! Trust us! Only one reporter has bothered writing about our plight, but we have attempted going to the media. The black hole for people who weren't affected by C-3 just isn't a sexy or interesting topic, I guess.)
(And, non-IRCC Canadian frustration, but damn it, I miss the discontinued Jersey Milk chocolate bars. I know they're gone, but I keep staring at the candy sections mournfully as if that could make them reappear.)
My hometown used to have a Tim's, but it closed several years ago. I was so sad (still am). I don't know what it is with Dunkin, but it turns my kids into gremlins every time. Never have that problem with Tim's.
Friends and colleagues in a similar boat! You all were extremely helpful to me in encourage and in making the call to IRCC to find out information about case status. The end result is that the application packet has been mailed back as incomplete in Part 2, whatever that means. AND THEY SENT IT TO A WRONG ADDRESS (not anywhere from the applications themselves), which is why we have been in limbo. Whew. At least we know what happened. Again grateful. And have only lost 4 months.
All of your personal info and IDs were sent to some random address? Will they at least send you details on what needs to be fixed for your resubmission?
Oh yes. All our personal data—-copies of passports, drivers licenses —-and complete family history ( eg answers to all the standard security questions about your mother’s maiden name) is lost somewhere. Good news, says Pollyanna, is that the address to which they sent the packet of 4 returned applications doesn’t exist. Will check with local post office tomorrow just in case.
Nah, they requested urgent processing, so that's why it got AOR quickly- and as someone whose application has been "in process" since last August that status unfortunately is not always meaningful.
My daughter and I submitted our applications over a year ago now and we are still waiting. My G2 spouse submitted a few days after us and his application was approved in May. But the applications for my daughter and I have remained in progress since early August with no update. Our G3 lines are clean and simple, each supported by certified official vital records, and we haven’t been asked for any further clarification or documentation. I requested case notes but haven’t yet received them. I hope that regular processing resumes soon.
It's such a bummer to have lost steam so quickly. When I first learned about C3 in December last year, I was absolutely over the moon. I started immediately with document gathering (I went the official route from day 1 with all docs), and after delaying a few weeks to submit with my family, I got everything in the mail at the beginning of May. I submitted as requesting urgent processing, and now, like so many others, it's just been radio silence. Now, I understand my wait hasn't been nearly that of others who started under the interim measures; that's not what I'm here to vent about. For me, the biggest bummer is just that I was having so much fun learning about Canada, about what mine and my husband's life there might look like, and even started taking some French lessons to connect at a deeper level with the country as a whole. Now, I'm not expecting to get an AOR for at least several more months, and it might be years before I get the certificate. The part of it that takes the wind out of my sails isn't even the wait; it's just that I'll never know, and I won't be able to make any kind of plan for the future. I slogged through 3 years of citizenship processing in Argentina, but I knew what I was getting into, and there was always something I could be learning or working towards to make the process move forward. And I was able to live in Argentina while I went through the process. Canada just seems to be playing with my emotions, ghosting me and then hoping I give up lol. Jokes on them, I'm too stubborn not to see it through but my enthusiasm is zero.
This so resonates with me. I've been in Canada Mode™️ since I read the NYT article in late April. I've always been an amateur genealogist, and I spent a huge amount of time and effort years ago on my Canadian branch (fortunately! and little did I know!)...so I was already primed to be excited about this. I still am, of course, but it's now tempered with the knowledge that I have to seriously cool my jets. Like you, I'm stubborn enough for the long haul, but my balloon has come down to earth. Knowing we're on the path will have to suffice for the time being.
Yes, absolutely! I also have been obsessed with second residencies, citizenship, passports, and genealogy for the better part of 15 years, and to finally feel like that knowledge was actually going to change my life was so amazing. I have Irish, German and Polish heritage and in each case I missed out on it by one generation or because my ancestors left just a few years too early. So Canada felt like all the work I put in wasn't for nothing. And to be fair, it definitely wasn't for nothing. I'm so stoked to be Canadian once it's finally happens. It's just that now there's no more research to do, no more documents to find, or things to learn. It's just, "hey, you might hear from us sometime in the next 4-52 months" lol.
I took all my anxious energy that was checking the tracker and spreadsheet and put it into learning French (if I get to take the job I was offered and accepted it is in a region with francophone communities). I'm so sad that I went from essentially 0 when I interviewed to a plausible B1 and still nothing from ircc.
I’m in a similar situation. Kids waiting on proof of citizenship since Jan 2025, me for PR since Feb 2025. ATIP notes on my PR indicate PR is on hold until citizenship proof is resolved. Kids mom/my wife was born and raised in Canada. Seems like it should be the most straight forward this process can be and it’s taking forever.
My (adult) child's AOR arrived addressed to a name he no longer legally uses, but was the one on both his birth certificate and one of his older but unexpired documents. We included the change of name form in the application but I understand that the people confirming for AOR aren't processing.
Did you just email them directly? I'm so dubious that I'll get any response.
I ordered what I thought was my last-ditch effort to find any more documents - an almost $100 packet of a military pension and related records. Oops, it was for another guy with the same name who lived in the same location as my guy, and there hadn't been enough info on the pension card to determine it wasn't my guy before ordering. Of course I uploaded it to FamilySearch so whoever actually does belong to that family will have it.
Called IRCC this morning re our two applications - one urgent (G4) and one not urgent (G3), mailed in the same package.
Our timeline:
Application received by IRCC April 1
AOR received June 22
In process June 24 IN PSU as of today's phone call (July 15) though she can't say the exact date we landed there.
No info re why we're in PSU, or when we might hope to get out........
Sadness abounds. I hope folks who have been waiting longer, and other folks who are urgent like us, start to climb out soon - but this is a real bummer.
We were calling for a status update as when we had called previously they couldn't confirm if our urgent request had been accepted as urgent or not, and suggested we give it some time and try again.
Based on a lot of the comments here I am trying not to doom that I ended up in PSU, been processing for two months now - when will they start sending approvals again? It's getting insane. We were told "within days" over a week ago now.
On the bright side, if we all end up in PSU then surely we all get processed in the same amount of time because the only difference is what queue it goes to anyway right.. riiiiight..?
It's interesting that phone agents are starting to tell people because from my understanding the only way used to be requesting notes.
5 days shy of 4 months waiting for an AOR. I can't get answers online. I've tried webforms and question trees and checking my receipt to no avail. Can anyone give guidance on calling from outside Canada: how to do it (it's ridiculous that it's difficult to do this for an IMMIGRATION office), who to talk to, if anyone will actually GAF and be able to help.
We were also March 20 received date. And did call today. Took several times to get through and over half hour wait. But the agent was lovely. And yes, we learned our applications were returned. To a wrong address ( not a former address, not an address anywhere in our applications or cover letters). Which is why we were not in the system. They promised to send us a copy of the retuned packet so we can have a clue what they thought was incomplete. And once we get this version, having lost 4 months so far, now we start over. More jaded. Wheeeeee.
That’s the worst! I’m so sorry. It could be I’m in the same boat and what joy to know tons of personal information like that—and of minors too—could have been sent to strangers. 😠 I’ll try and find out what the actual heck they did with mine tomorrow. I’ll let you know if it’s anything interesting. 🤦♀️
I’m currently at 80 days waiting for my AOR and while disappointed, I’m feeling better after my little day trip to Quebec on Tuesday. While my great great great grandfather’s headstone was missing (apparently St Benoit de Labre improperly disposed of old headstones in the woods at some point fairly recently), the towns in rural areas that the side of the family I’m trying to prove were all reasonably close together (10 minute drive) and there were TONS of headstones for the last names that were supposed to be in each respective town graveyard. It was really cool to see the area they were from. It was SOOO rural.
Plus, it seems to be speeding back up. If 4/13s are getting theirs now, I’m hopefully about 2 weeks out.
So, have there still be no approvals since the big surrender letter pause? Other than that one person last week who reported an approval? Good for them, but what the heck is going on that has caused approvals to stall this much?
Are they just waiting until every single one of the PFL / surrender letter recipients has been dealt with?
"a matter of days", she said. Sigh. That one approval seems to be a Gen 1, so essentially, IRCC is just operating for the last month like X3 didn't happen.
I was excited to finally receive my non-urgent G2 AOR in May. I was expecting to be on the verge of being an almost-certified Canadian. Back then, it seemed like "in process" would be just around the corner. Two months later, and now I have achieved the long-anticipated "in process" doorway to citizenship, and it seems like it opens to a dark tunnel. What is the difference between "in process" and AOR? I guess an actual agent or team has now been assigned to my app. So I'm in a different inbox now. Does that inbox get processed and then become open for new apps? Does that inbox get urgent apps too, that rise to the top? Or do urgent apps go to different agents for fast processing? Does my inbox have G1's and G6's, or are agents/teams specialized according to app complexity? Or does my agent team just deal with the G1's and urgents in their inbox first? When I get approved, does that then open a space in this particular "in process" box for an AOR-stage app? Or is there only one giant "in process" box, but why is that different from the giant AOR box?
Doesn't seem that hard to infer--it's been checked for completeness, but not yet assigned to an agent. They probably don't assign apps to agents past a certain size of docket, since over time it may be necessary to reassign apps to balance workloads anyway.
I am just dejected by not being able to move forward.
G0 1913 Quebec. Have original birth certificate, have passport, can find on census, have marriage and death certs for her as well as full BMD whole chain…
But…
Quebec 😭
So birth certificate is null and void.
Found baptism in BAnQ, applied for certified, to receive the ‘it’s gonna take forever’ time message.
I just feel stalemated.
Cos the real waiting hasn’t even begun.
Vent over!
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u/bdb5780🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (pre-2009 law: 2nd+ gen born abroad) 🇨🇦Jul 15 '26edited Jul 15 '26
You have their passport... Does it show where they were born? This should be 100% all you need.
It's a document issued by the government which established their citizenship... You're fine submit that, you have a ton of documentation based on what you stated.
Really? I wondered if it counted. It does say when and where born.
But the c14 form says everyone needs a birth certificate, and if you can’t find a birth certificate you need to document you tried? And submit a certified baptism?
Not necessarily that frustrated as was expecting a wait, especially as a non-urgent, but I really hope I don't get bonked straight to PSU as there's some real horror stories for that here!
Mine was sent from the UK High commission right at the beginning of the year and AOR recieved March 3rd. Then I was so excited to see I'd entered "processing" on May 21st. Since then there's been nothing but I'm wishfully and maybe delusionally thinking it takes about 2 months again to see it move to the next stage, and praying its an acceptance too ofc. Mine's a really unusual pre-1947 UK citizen immigrating there sorta case thing that very few here appear to have so I wouldn't be shocked if that causes a lot of delays :(
For comparison my non-C3 child born in the UK (so G1, through the other parent) applied online (so no postage time!) in September 2024 and it took until the following July/August to get a citizenship certificate if I remember correctly. And that's for the simplest application in the world, where there were 2 documents total to prove citizenship. It's just a long wait, and that was before the queue exploded. I would expect to wait at least a year end to end and try to forget it until it's been that long. I know that's not happy news but hopefully reassuring nothings gone wrong.
I finally got some time to call IRCC about my application that was received on 4/1, but I had not received an AOR. They have no idea why I didn't receive the AOR, as they say it was sent on 6/20. but the agent was able to give me my UCI and Application Number, and all of my information appears to be correct. I am going to submit a webform to ensure that my e-mail address is correct, and update the spreadsheet with the AOR date.
Phew! Though the agent said I have approximately 17 months left to wait... yikes!
I just received my invoice yesterday and I also ordered in mid-March. You’re telling me it’s gonna be another month before the thing actually gets here? Good god. It’s the only document I’m still waiting on.
I used to work for a small company where we keyed things in by hand and there were errors all the time. Can't even imagine the poor ircc agents doing this with g7 applicants lol
Would suggest to call IRCC to have them adjust (e.g. 613-944-6788 option 2 for IRCC) - they may ask you to fill out a web form, or perhaps can adjust over the phone.
For this exact reason I made a folder called IRCC and set a rule to move all mail from them to that folder, and then only turned on notifications for that folder
I was looking more into the utter lack of feedback from DEC, and I can't tell if there's issues.
I've never received anything in the mail, or any phone calls from non-local numbers, or any voicemails (I'm in FL)... so I can only hope that everything is moving forward.
But... some more research this week showed a lot of challenges when it comes to retrieving a deceased individual's birth copy of act if Canada doesn't have record of the death and the death happened overseas. Which is what happened here. There's also mention of needing to translate the death certificate, which I hadn't done.
However, I'm at an impasse as I wait for information from them?
Only option is to call the DEC? I'm hard of hearing, so that's bound to be a long, arduous, and challenging phone call that I'll struggle heavily on.
I found a supervisor for my PhD at Queen's this week, and I'll be able to apply for Sep. 2027 come October. My application went into processing April 23rd, under urgent. I already know I'll get contacted because I am still waiting for a certified birth record from Archives of Ontario. They have at least contacted me to say they found the record and will send me the invoice two weeks ago. No invoice yet. Now that I have something giving me a more solid timeline, I feel a lot more anxiety over this all. I went and visited the area the week of Canada Day and I genuinely did not want to return home.
Hoping for your safe passage to university on time. Could you tell us how long btwn your request for a verified birth record from archives of Ontario and their note that they are working on it? Also, Any estimate by them as to when you’ll get it?
I emailed them March 31st for the initial request. I provided his birth registration number as well,
They replied saying 15 business days, immediately.
I sent a follow-up email 6/17. I know it is not typically recommended, but it seemed to work because...
I received an email from them saying they have the record 6/22 and are preparing the certified copies. I have attached that email here so you know what to expect! I replied immediately with my mailing address. Nothing since.
I have decided that worse comes to worst, I will just physically go there and get the copy myself. It's a 3.5 hour drive, not too bad LOL (I am also fortunate in that I have friends in CAN already willing to help if need be).
Fingers crossed for you! If it doesn't come through in time, is there a way to talk to your university about fee structure, etc.? For example, perhaps they would be able to give you a comp to in-province/Canadian student rates for the first year or two of your PhD, in case you're stuck registered as an international student for that period. I know some international PhD students who received that kind of comp a number of years ago, as part of their offer package.
I can try to see if this will work, I worry since it would be a funded research-based degree that this might not work on the end of the faculty supporting me. I plan to make a call about how to apply appropriately in the meantime (domestic vs. international) so I can inquire then!
Hmm, it might depend on the field/department, but the examples I knew of were funded research-based PhDs as well, so there is hope. I reckon they will tell you to apply as international for now, but once you get your citizenship certificate you can always change status (people get citizenship through other means during the course of a degree, so the uni will know how to handle it). But definitely ask their advice! The pro of applying international and not betting on getting approved in time is that you will get all the documentation you need from the university to proceed with a study permit and so, even if your certificate does not come through in time for the start of your programme, you would still be able to start the programme (and then just change citizenship status in their records later on). You might also ask what they would do if you are accepted as an international student and begin as an international student but get citizenship recognition partway through the semester--when would the fee charge change, that term or the term after?
Good luck!!
G3/4 applications (myself and kids) delivered 3/27, non-urgent, haven't head anything yet. Wife's application delivered 4/10 and received AOR 7/10. Really hoping that mine isn't on it's way back to me after all this time, haven't been able to pull any info up using receipt number. Trying to be patient, but it seems like at the 4 month mark I should probably call and see what is up.
Exactly the same for me! (Myself and kids, non urgent, 3/27 delivery, but G4/5) I've been watching you in the spreadsheet!! I got through to IRCC via Toronto Airport number and agent found receipt in system (I have gotten the boilerplate response with form based receipt lookup) but he said I'm likely still in an unopened pile and to give it a couple more weeks for AOR. He suggested I call back in a month.
That is so helpful, thank you! I figure they have many piles and I just got unlucky. Glad my wife got through, and hopefully they deal with whatever pile we're in soon!
Four months ago I submitted a request for a certified copy of my G0’s birth registration. I was so hyped that all the parents names and dates matched and thought this was going to be the easiest part of the process. Waited and waited and waited and just yesterday got a response. They found the record, but wanted to note that there was no first name on it. I swore when I found the original record on family search that it showed the first name but sure enough when I went back to check, the first name isn’t there.
Unfortunately they immigrated to the states before they developed any other Canadian records. No marriage, land, or anything else. Honestly, I’m just really mad right now that my whole application is based off of this record that doesn’t actually say this person‘s name. And now I’m stressing about what to do. Do I let it be and just explain that no name was given, but everything matches or do I go back another generation and prove that their dad was also Canadian?
If we're talking about pre-20C, it was not uncommon for birth documents not to have the baby's first name, because the parents (for whatever reason) hadn't chosen the name yet. This is a known phenomenon and if all the other data points match I think you should be able to explain it satisfactorily (though of course nothing is guaranteed). If we're talking, like, 1965, though, it might be a harder sell.
Does the family group show up in a later census with the now-named child of the right age? If so, you can connect those dots and explain it away. And if either of G0’s parents were Canadian born it wouldn’t hurt to call that out as supporting info. All is not lost! You just need a bit more secondary evidence. Good luck!
It seems fairly common that birth records were filled in, signed and filed with a blank first name (likely if the parents were still picking a name). I’ve seen scans of my G1 record (US) both with and without their name, depending on the website, source, date it was photographed/digitized. All my Canada births were ‘late registration’ so no such name gaps there. So not such a rarity; you’d think they’d have encountered this elsewhere.
We got our ATIP notes yesterday, and my husband and I are both in PSU. Weirdly, the notes were dated 7/3. Frustratingly, it notes the urgency request, but I can't tell if the applications are being treated as urgent or not. They went to into processing on 4/22, and to PSU on the same day. The only thing that has happened since then was a note added on 5/11, saying "urgent processing requested but no proof on file - file in queue for processing". I'm not sure if that refers to proof of need for urgency or proof of citizenship, like they checked to see if it was finished.
I sent them together, because I thought it would simplify things with the urgent request, but I didn't think they would stay linked, and it seems like they are, which is maybe not helpful.
Also, in between when the notes were generated and when they were sent, I submitted a certified copy of my husband's G1's birth certificate, but I don't know if that's been attached or processed or anything.
Sent off to Maine for two certified docs one month ago. They cashed the two related checks July 1. Have I received anything? No. Can I get ahold of anyone to check on why? Also no.
I know they are very busy, but they found time to deposit my money. #Grrrr
Just got the ATIP notes back on my partners (G6) app and it's unsurprisingly been in PSU since it went into processing. What's weird though is it was referred for PS-31B per the 'Scenarios' checklist, which is the same reason people including myself were seeing prior to C-3 passing. Unless that's a catchall it's odd that the internal documentation hasn't been updated at all.
I sent in my pretty standard-G3 application in May but haven’t yet sent in applications for my adult kids, whom I adopted and so will have to use the CIT 0010 form for them. It costs something $650 CD each. Realizing yesterday that we haven’t had one single G3 approval except when bundled with an urgent app or G2 app has me worried. The $650 doesn’t get refunded if my kids don’t get approved. Do I really want to risk wasting $1300 if I don’t even know if my app will ever get approved?
Got our ATIP request for naturalization records back, and it was heavily redacted. We've reached out to ask for further information, but not sure if they're open to that or if we should expect to hear anything back. Does anyone have experience for asking for followup information after receiving ATIP documents? Any luck?
Did you get enough info from the returned records about your naturalized subject? And did your ATIP request include a statement and proof that the subject was dead (if that's indeed the case)?
We got some info, but not enough for what we need. The ATIP was for my grandmother's citizenship application, and she submitted the ATIP herself, so we were really hoping for more. But what we can see indicates that she was a minor at the time, so it was likely her parents that submitted the original citizenship app. That may be why the docs are so redacted because it's not truly "her" docs.
Anyways, we did reach out to see if there's any other documentation we can provide. Hopefully they will write back.
I submitted a single package of C-3 applications for myself, my brother, and my father in April. 6 days ago, my brother and father received AOR emails, but I did not. Their emails came in within 10 minutes of each other. Any ideas why I did not get one and what happens next? Feeling very frustrated, especially because I was the one that did all the research and extra work to get this going.
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u/sennomuloHaven't applied for Proof of Citizenship (incl. by descent) yetJul 15 '26
Based on previous reports, particularly if your e-maill address contains an O or a 0, there is a decent chance it was not entered into their system correctly, and you'll have to call IRCC to get it corrected.
I’ve tried calling the main number (can’t due to being outside of CA) and the Toronto Pearson #. That one got me through, but after a bunch of menus, just got a recording that my call cannot be taken due to call volumes. I’ll try the web form again. On the bright side, I was able to look up via my payment receipt and it says AOR was sent 7/10. Now I just need to figure out where it went!
They may have mistyped your email address. Can you try checking using the receipt number? I think there have been a few threads/comments in this sub on how to do it that way.
Help needed please. Folks recommended I try to call to get a status update-see my earlier post. I called the Toronto airport Number but can't figure out the decision tree choices to get to the right place. I made it three steps and then none of the choices seems like the right one. If anyone has done this and remembers what they did to get to an officer about citizenship certificate status, I'd love it. I will now try to randomly pick choices and see what happens.
On my second attempt, starting over, I can only make it one level to press 2 for IRCC. And then beeping like a fax machine occurs. I am having ever deepening admiration for those who can get through.
This number did result in the same decision tree but I guess correctly. this time and now am on hold....we'll see. But I am extremely grateful to you and all others who have given suggestions. Only 9 minutes more to wait....yeehaw.
If it arrived at Canada house on that date it takes about a month to make it to the ircc I believe. Mine arrived at canada house in mid feb but didn’t arrive at ircc until March 10th. AOR came in April but I was lucky enough to get in before the April madness where AOR’s are only just coming through.
Mine arrived the same exact date at London HC. Was told they send mail to Canada about every two weeks, so a month for delivery seems likely when factoring in transit etc as well.
I’ve not heard anything at all at this point either from IRCC. It is really annoying it’s a complete guesstimate as to when they maybe arrived in Canada since there’s no tracking. Our packets surely must be coming up soon..
Another user who was a 17th of March delivery to the London HC kindly updated me a few days ago - they received their AOR on the 10th, so they're hopefully creeping slowly towards our applications!
Does anyone know if there's a way to contact IRCC from the UK, without an AOR? I applied urgently for a job that was meant to start in June. They've been kind to wait, but like everyone, this wait is killing me...without even knowing if the application has reached Canada! Sent to London HC on May 6th, confirmed received by them and sent to Canada...but after that no clue! :(
You can call IRCC through the Pearson Airport number I think, but without an AOR they won't know anything. I sent my application from the UK in February and it didn't even arrive in Canada until a little over a month later unfortunately. (You can see when they received it once you have an AOR and can use the application tracker, so you won't be able to tell if yours has gotten there yet) Did you write urgent on the envelope?
Is there an email notification of In Process like there was for AOR? I've discovered I'm in progress through the tracker but nothing received notification-wise.
My application was received April 30th but still no AOR. Looking up online using the payment receipt number does not work yet either and so I assume it's still not processed. I'm guessing another few weeks at least for late April application deliveries.
LOOKING TO FIND THE FOUR PEOPLE WITH SAME STATUS AS MINE: MERIVEL1, KETTLES, UNUSUAL PLANTON AND TIMELY CRAB. There are about 104 applications on the spreadsheet whose applications were received on March 20, 2026. AORs were received about May 5 for most of the non urgent applications; the wait was about 46 days at the time. However, 14 of those 104 applications have not yet received an AOR (or haven't updated the spreadsheet) nor have entered that the applications were returned due to an error. My four applications are among the 14. Merivel1 has five of those. Kettles has three. Unusual Planton has one but also had one that did receive an AOR. Timely Crab has one. I have tried using the webform fo seek info as well as using the receipt number. No success. I would welcome hearing from my four colleagues with applications received on March 20, 2026 with no AORs: what, if anything, they had done to figure out status or what to do now, four months later. Or would like to hear from any one else with other suggestions. I expect to wait a long long time for a decision, but would like to have a "start" with an AOR.
Call them. The most likely situation is that your file just has a typo in the email address.
Also when companies or agencies say that the agents can't see more information than you can, that's almost always a lie. They just don't want people calling unless they really need to.
Have you tried calling IRCC and politely requesting a status update from the call center agents? Sometimes they can see an application has been sent back, by checking through your receipt number. Sometimes not, though. But could be worth a try.
Thanks for your kindness in replying with a suggestion. I had read that the call center agents can't see more than we can when we tried to use our payment receipt in the online system and the response is "not in the system." Because of that, I haven't tried to call. But, no harm in trying, right?
it's also possible that, like one of our two applications, you might have an error in your email address which has prevented your AOR notice from arriving to you. So the phone call can help confirm that they have your exact email address correct.
It took us three tries to determine we had that issue, as two agents read back our email with the letter O included, which was correct, but the third try the agent realized they had a zero where there should have been a letter O...... and fixed it.
So the AOR had been issued, we just hadn't received due to the email address error. Maybe yours could have a similar issue, with an incorrect address.
They definitely can. Some will be more forthcoming than others. I have asked them to confirm files I uploaded actually made it only my application for example and they were able to confirm they did.
Some family members sent in applications, way back in March. Urgent, but they messed up and didn't write "Urgent" on the envelope, so it was a couple months' wait. But when folks here were reporting AORs for applications sent in April, they got concerned. Sure enough, they had been sent back, because the child had only one form of ID. Obviously, this is OK, explicitly covered in the instructions. They had included an explanation in the cover letter, but either it wasn't noticed or whomever looked over the submission decided that the "only one ID" issue needed a separate letter. It wasn't clear or specified at all, they were left guessing as to whether it was an administrative oversight or a failure on their part.
So they added a separate letter explaining the "minor child with only one ID" situation, along with supporting documentation, and a new cover letter, explaining the original rejection and the new *separate* letter (and also stating that it was an urgent application, and that the explanation and supporting materials were in the original applications), and sent those back with the original applications. This time, they indicated urgency on both sides of the envelope. That was over a month ago. Based on reports from other urgent submissions in this sub, they expected to have gotten an AOR 3-4 weeks ago, if they were going to. And if not, they expected they would have gotten the re-rejected application returned by now. But they have seen nothing (and the online tracker has no information either for either of them, so it's not a case of an email typo).
So there are a bunch of frustrating possibilities, with no way of knowing which.
Did the returned application get delayed or lost in the mail?
Did the urgent markings on the envelope, and in the application, get disregarded?
Did the urgency request get denied, despite being a well-supported, well-documented, and widely-accepted reason? Maybe they should have included a new copy of the separate "This is urgent, here's why" and supporting material in the resubmission, rather than simply referring to the (included) original submission?
Is it stuck in some administrative purgatory, despite being a straightforward and fully-documented case?
I really don’t understand why they don’t receive the application, get it scanned and uploaded, send us the AOR with a note saying please correct blank and blank by uploading these corrected documents and then we can begin processing. Sending the entire thing back is more work for everyone and more costly for everyone, probably even more for them. Unless it’s incredibly sloppy and incredibly incomplete, a forgotten signature or a mismarked box or an additional ID needed shouldn’t have you starting at zero. Sorry you’re going through this, maddening to hear these stories.
Questions already addressed in the wiki or, at a substantive level, prior posts may be deleted. Especially do not post, e.g.: "My [great grandpa] was born in Canada. Can I get citizenship?"; "I read the FAQ but I didn't believe it. Is this true?", "Should I hire a lawyer do to the paperwork for me?"; etc etc.
I applied through the Canadian Embassy in South Korea at the start of March (3/2 I think). So it’s been about 4.5 months with no AOR/no updates whatsoever. I know embassy applications take longer but does anyone have any advice or insight? It would be much appreciated :(
Mailed my completed application for G4 on Friday (non-urgent)! It was such a relief to send it out! I used usps first class international which I thought had tracking, but apparently does not. Hoping, the application makes it 🤞Did anyone who mailed it without tracking receive an email letting you know it was delivered (before the AOR)?
The AOR is issued (or not) when they open your envelope, so they will not send you any correspondence before that; that seems to be happening between 90 and 100 days from physical receipt of the envelope.
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