Canada: Canada is seeing a surge in citizenship applications, with a backlog of about 120,000 cases as of Monday, driven in part by anxiety among Americans over policies of the Trump administration, according to the country's immigration agency.

According to Anadolu Agency, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) noted on its website that applications for Canadian citizenship certificates are rising rapidly across the globe, spurred significantly by numerous requests submitted from the United States.

Citizenship certificates provide official proof of status for individuals born outside Canada who claim citizenship by descent through a Canadian parent. Recent legislative changes under Bill C-3, which passed last December, expanded eligibility criteria beyond citizenship through a parent. This allows some applicants to qualify by demonstrating descent from a Canadian ancestor, who may have emigrated from the country generations ago.

The increased demand has resulted in processing times for citizenship certificates extending to 25 months as of Monday. Immigration lawyers in both the US and Canada have reported being 'overwhelmed' by the influx of applications, as stated by the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Lawyers mentioned that many applicants cite President Donald Trump's immigration policies and other administration-related concerns as reasons for their decision.

Mab Coates-Davies, chief executive officer of the Association of Canadian Archivists, noted, "There's so many reasons that people, you know, might be looking to leave the States right now or planning for future moves." Coates-Davies added that archivists have also been inundated with requests from individuals seeking genealogical records to establish their eligibility for Canadian citizenship.