New Brunswick is raising fees for the records Americans need to prove Canadian citizenship by descent

Citizenship-by-descent candidates in Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota might feel it most, considering that generations of New Brunswickers settled in those states.

The archive states it is examining its costs. It hasn’t released the brand-new quantities. It likewise hasn’t stated whether demands currently in its line will pay today’s charge or the brand-new one.

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Countless Americans with New Brunswick roots require a licensed copy of a forefather’s birth, marital relationship, or death record to show they’re Canadian people by descent

Canada’s citizenship department now needs records from the initial source, such as a provincial archive. A hard copy from a genealogy site will not support your application by itself.

Since the time of composing, a qualified copy expenses $11 CAD per record, shipping consisted of. Each additional page expenses $1 CAD, according to the archive’s citizenship by descent page

The December modification will be the archive’s very first charge modification because Bill C-3 worked on December 15, 2025. That law eliminated the first-generation limitationa guideline that stopped Canadian citizenship from passing beyond the very first generation born abroad.

Why is New Brunswick raising the costs for record demands?

The archive hasn’t stated why it’s altering its costs. Its citizenship demand page does keep in mind that it’s “experiencing greater than typical need.”

In 2025, the archive managed about 100 genealogy demands a month.

Demands leapt in December 2025, the month Bill C-3 worked. By spring 2026, the archive was getting about 400 citizenship-related demands a month and brought a stockpile of more than 1,000, according to provincial archivist Joanna Aiton Kerr.

In May, a very first questions took 6 to 8 weeks to get a reply. By August, the archive stated an archivist would require a minimum of 12 weeks to begin on a demand.

The archive now puts that wait at 6 months or more. It cautions the price quote might grow if need keeps increasing.

6 months gets your demand to an archivist’s desk. The search itself takes longer if your forefather’s record rests on microfilm rather of in the digital collection. After personnel gathers payment, the record reaches you by ground mail in 2 to 4 weeks, without any tracking.

Current modifications to how candidates can purchase the records they require

In late July 2026, the archive published birth registrations from 1929 and marital relationship and death registrations from 1975.

That upgrade pressed its online collection past one million records. The database noted 1,167,941 records after its November 6 upgrade.

You can browse births signed up in New Brunswick before 1930, and marital relationships and deaths signed up before 1976. For later records, you’ll require Service New Brunswick’s Vital Statistics workplace.

On July 29, the province introduced a brand-new important data search platform. You can utilize it to discover records, track demands, and manage some jobs yourself. In its statementthe province connected the launch to the rise in citizenship demands.

Browse online before you send out a demand. If you discover the record, you can purchase a qualified copy from its page. If you do not, the archive’s county genealogical guides list church records by parish and year. Include those information to your demand and personnel can discover the record quicker.

Online payment is still en route. In the meantime, archive personnel will call you to take payment by Visa or Mastercard.

Get a Free Consultation on Applying for Proof of Canadian Citizenship