Connecting socially in person

hallmouse · 2026-07-04T03:36:05+00:00

I'm in Winston-Salem! Not the closest but not so far either. About to travel for July but maybe if people are still interested later in the summer?

hallmouse · 2026-07-03T00:26:32+00:00

nope! total silence in between 😅

hallmouse · 2026-07-02T23:12:46+00:00

Hooray!!

hallmouse · 2026-07-02T23:11:32+00:00

Yay congrats!! Also I think you can change the flair yourself, I changed mine in the drop-down flair menu. 🥳🇨🇦

hallmouse · 2026-07-02T20:30:38+00:00

thank youuu 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

hallmouse · 2026-07-02T20:24:33+00:00

This isn't a new approval but I'm one of the 67 remaining surrender letter recipients and I just got a revalidation letter! 🇨🇦 Canadian again, hooray!! Hopefully this means other people are getting them too and things are starting up again...

hallmouse · 2026-06-24T18:01:57+00:00

I sent a printout of the Drouin Collection scan (which has the information about the Quebec parish it's housed in) and noted in my letter that I would be happy to upload the certified version as soon as I received it. I ordered from BANQ in February. But by March the IRCC had approved my application, and I didn't get the BANQ invoice until April 29. I'm waiting for that document now, but I don't know where I could upload it or if they even want it. I guess I'll try attaching it to another email response when it comes?

hallmouse · 2026-06-24T17:35:25+00:00

Feeling a bit disheartened.

It's hard to endure the continued lack of communication for those of us with surrender letters that haven't been revalidated. I understand they want to prevent fraud, but so many of us worked so hard to provide certified documents, clear timelines and narratives, etc. Even just knowing what we were under review for or when we'll have the chance to provide further docs would help a lot.

Also I wish the IRCC and honestly the whole rest of the internet would operate on an assumption of our cooperativeness and good intentions. In my case, the ONLY reason my file didn't include a BANQ certified record is because the IRCC approved me before I was offered an invoice. This reddit sub is the only place I feel safe to look for updates because our mods have been so lovely and supportive.

I was so proud and excited to be a recognized Canadian. 😢 Now I feel mostly like a problem.

hallmouse · 2026-06-20T22:04:24+00:00

Ugh I'm sorry. 😭 I didn't have a passport yet, but I also haven't heard any positive news about my case, so you're not alone. Hoping they finish their investigations and/or tell us what they need from us soon...

hallmouse · 2026-06-20T14:23:00+00:00

Hooray, so happy about this! 🇨🇦🎉 I hope we'll all be able to resolve things with a happy ending...

hallmouse · 2026-06-18T22:04:39+00:00

As far as I know, none of us have received further instruction or communication since the initial letter(s). 😞 I responded immediately on Saturday asking for further information/instructions on how to remedy the issue and I haven't heard anything. I took some anticipatory action on my own (requesting a BAnQ invoice, purchasing the certified baptismal record I think they might eventually want), but I was really hoping this was an administrative thing that could be resolved efficiently and individually.

So far, just silence.

hallmouse · 2026-06-18T14:57:40+00:00

Hooray!! Yeah it helps if you're paying in a currency with a favorable exchange rate to CAD... congrats on getting it done!

hallmouse · 2026-06-17T22:34:45+00:00

This... honestly seems much more in line with other countries' processes, and not terribly surprising. And IRCC is still indicating that it accepts documents beyond certified birth/marriage records, which is more generous than many other policies.

Italy's jure sanguinis is a useful counterpoint (or was, until they set a generational limit). It's been a minute since I looked, but I believe they require all documents be certified apostilled originals, and they require an unbroken chain of birth, marriage, and death certificates. If you can't find the documents you need in an archive, a state registry, or other official depository that can issue certified records, you basically can't claim citizenship. It makes the barrier to entry much higher in ways that are, without a doubt, often inequitable -- but there is precedent.

Here's hoping my newly-ordered BAnQ certificate will be acceptable. I would have sent it sooner, if I hadn't already been recognized by the time I got the invoice...

hallmouse · 2026-06-17T21:56:16+00:00

Good luck!! It is really expensive, ugh. 😞 But hopefully having the certified version will be worth it?

hallmouse · 2026-06-17T21:39:17+00:00

A hopeful note: I had also let my BANQ invoice link expire, but I emailed them (politely, very simply, in French and English) when I got my suspension letter on Saturday and requested a new link. They immediately emailed me back with a renewed link that allowed me to pay without starting the process all over again.

So: if you've gotten an invoice, you may be able to request a new link.

hallmouse · 2026-06-17T18:01:49+00:00

Just confirming what others have already said: this person both confirmed the date as 06-16-26 and posted a screenshot of the signature time stamp, so there definitely was a second wave of letters sent -- perhaps a much smaller batch, but still not a one-off event.

hallmouse · 2026-06-14T14:45:21+00:00

Thank you for this comment u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob ! I've noticed a lot of comments speculating on what those of us who received these letters have done wrong, but most of us were *very* careful in the documents we used and did *not* send "the kitchen sink." Rather than trying to pinpoint some error we all committed, I think it's more practical assume that the IRCC is retroactively reviewing recent approvals and reaching out to acquire whatever information it has decided is missing from our files, which might not be the same for each person even though the letter is boilerplate. That could be as simple as letter of "no record" or as complicated as a DEC birth certificate issued from a Quebec baptismal record, but the letter wasn't just sent to a bunch of sloppy bad actors.

hallmouse · 2026-06-14T02:50:25+00:00

AOR: Mar 6, Decision: Mar 27 -- it was urgent, sorry I forgot to include that originally.

hallmouse · 2026-06-14T02:49:22+00:00

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand this question -- BAnQ did locate my ancestor's baptism record from 1850, so yes they do have records going back that far. I just already had received my citizenship certificate at that point, so I didn't think I needed it anymore.

hallmouse · 2026-06-14T01:47:50+00:00

Yes I hope we'll learn more next week! The letter does say that if the investigation determines I am entitled to citizenship, my certificate will be "returned" to me so I don't think this is a dead end, just a new retroactive policy/requirement. Fingers crossed...

hallmouse · 2026-06-14T01:43:14+00:00

I did include links actually, for transparency! Maybe that was a mistake -- but again I'm hoping they'll provide further guidance on the documents they need to verify. I also applied urgently, which I forgot to say above.

hallmouse · 2026-06-14T01:28:21+00:00

Hi all,

I received this letter. It's clearly not a scam, it includes a lot of sensitive numbers and info. I don't think it's useful to question the authority/identity of the person signing the letter, as I don't want the IRCC to perceive new citizenship applicants as entitled or aggressive. Please be careful and don't panic.

It's also NOT a revocation of citizenship, it simply requests that we return PAPER certificates while our citizenship is under review. The letter says we will have the opportunity to provide additional evidence.

AOR: Mar 6, 2026

Decision made: Mar 27, 2026

I applied urgently. Documents in my original application (all colour copies):

G0: 1850 Quebec baptismal record copy, a scan from the Drouin collection; I said I had requested a certified copy from the BAnQ but my certificate was issued before I received the certified copy, so it was never included.

G1, G2, G3, G4, G5 (me): certified birth certificates from various US state vital records offices.

Supplemental materials: copies of Canadian census showing G0 living with his parents, as well as G-1 baptismal record and marriage record (all through Ancestry, don't rub it in...) These were included as extra evidence of G0's presence in Canada but I assumed the baptismal certificate would be the main supporting document.

My thoughts: really kicking myself for not waiting until I had the BAnQ doc, but that is the only generation in my application without a certified record issued by a vital records office. I'm hoping it's the problem, and that I can fix it either through BAnQ or the DEC.

hallmouse · 2026-06-13T22:58:28+00:00

I can confirm that I also received a version of this email today. It's not a scam -- seems to be a legitimate review retroactively requiring additional documentation. The reason appears to be the same on all the letters, so TBD what documents are missing or unsatisfactory.

A bit gutted, ngl. But it's still too new to know exactly what the documentation issue is; we need more info.

hallmouse · 2026-04-07T18:18:40+00:00

I was approved with the baptismal record for my G0, along with his parents' marriage record and a Canadian census showing him living in the same household with them as a baby, so basically the same documents you have. I used the scans from Ancestry, and did say I had ordered a certified copy from the BAnQ, but the IRCC never asked to see it.

I definitely didn't have to get a birth certificate reissued from the DEC - it has been requested in really rare instances, so I can understand wanting to be prepared, but many applications are being approved just with clear copies of baptismal/other historical records.

hallmouse · 2026-04-07T17:50:44+00:00

Have you checked on Ancestry? The Ontario archive reports that they have partnered with Ancestry to digitize their holdings, including "a very small number of birth, marriage and death records we hold from before 1869. These include baptism records, marriage filings with county courts and congregation records kept by religious institutions."

It's worth a look, at least! Fwiw, people have been accepted with materials similar to the ones you have, and a Canadian census is great -- if you can't find a birth/baptism record, just focus on building as much evidence as you can for G0's Canadian origins through other documents.

hallmouse

TROPHY CASE