TL;DR

I waited for more than a year to get my new citizenship certificate, when the estimated wait time was 5 months.

Long Version

After changing the gender designation on my driver’s license and passport, in that order, I set out to change the gender on one last major document – my Canadian citizenship certificate.

The citizenship certificate (for naturalized citizens like me), and the birth certificate (for those born in the country) aren’t something that see the light of day often. In neither the US nor Canada is an updated citizenship/birth certificate required for a change in the gender designation of one’s passport. And there are very few occasions when a citizenship/birth certificate is required. So many don’t bother to change the designation on their certificates. And for sure, my citizenship certificate had been sitting in a folder at a dark corner of my room for years.

Then I decided to apply for a NEXUS card. I don’t travel by air that often, but when I do, man, the lines at security and customs are always so long. I assume a NEXUS card would make my air travel within the US (since TSA Pre is supposed to be included in a NEXUS membership), as well as between US and Canada, more “expedited”. The application requires some proof of citizenship, in addition to a passport. So I thought I should better present a citizenship certificate that has the same gender designation as my passport, when the interview comes.

The experience of getting a new citizenship certificate was simply endless waiting. CIC’s estimated processing time was supposed to be 5 months. I waited for more than a year for the thin envelope to arrive in my mailbox. The wait was so long that the requirements for changing the gender identifier changed in the meantime. At the time of my application, a signature by a notary public was required. As of mid 2019, it’s no longer the case, for the better.

In any case, I’m onto more waiting. NEXUS, you’d better be worth it.