How Do I Know if I’m a Canadian Citizen?

How do you know if you are Canadian? The answer for most people is asking yourself where were you born and where were your parents born. Let’s explore this further:

Born In Canada

If you were born in Canada, you are a Canadian citizen.

The exception to this rule. If your parents were foreign diplomats stationed in Canada at the time of your birth or employed as the staff of a foreign diplomat at the time of your birth, then you do not get Canadian citizenship at birth.

Naturalized in Canada (Applied for Citizenship)

If you were naturalized (you applied for citizenship, your application was approved, and you swore the Oath), then you are a Canadian citizen.

There are only two ways you can lose your Canadian citizenship:

• if your citizenship was revoked by the Government of Canada (which was very difficult to do until 2015) for terrorism or citizenship fraud reasons, or
• you renounced your citizenship.

If you naturalized and your citizenship has not been revoked and you have never renounced, you are still a Canadian citizen.

Born Outside of Canada to a Canadian Parent

If you were born outside of Canada, whether or not you are Canadian citizen and how to prove your Canadian citizenship depends when you were born:

Born Between 1977 and 2009 to a Canadian Parent:

If you were born outside of Canada between February 15, 1977 and April 17, 2009, and at least one of your parents was a Canadian citizen at the time of your birth, you are a Canadian citizen. Your birth did not need to be registered, though having a Registration of Birth Abroad will make it easier to get your citizenship certificate.

You can apply for a citizenship certificate. You need a citizenship certificate to apply for your Canadian passport and you need your passport to travel to Canada as a citizen. You need a citizenship certificate to prove you are a citizen to any Canadian federal, provincial or municipal government office or agency, and no other proof of citizenship is as widely accepted in Canada.

A Registration of Birth Abroad should be acceptable for a passport application but may cause delays or other issues, depending upon how its held up over the years and because different offices issued different methods to register births abroad in the past.

Born Prior to 1977 to a Canadian Parent:

If you were born outside of Canada before February 15, 1977, there are a number of factors to consider, such as which parent was Canadian, whether or not they were actually considered Canadian at the time of your birth, and so on.

If you were born on or after January 1, 1947, but you lost your citizenship because of previous citizenship rules (such as: you lived overseas for too long, or you failed to apply for proof of citizenship before the age of 28), the Citizenship Act has been changed and you are still a citizen. You need to apply for a certificate to prove that you are a citizen, though. You cannot get a Passport without proof of citizenship.

Born Since 2009 to a Canadian Parent

For those born outside of Canada to a Canadian citizen from April 17, 2009 on, Canadian Citizenship can only be passed down one generation. So, if the Canadian parent was born or naturalized in Canada, the child is Canadian and can apply for a citizenship certificate.

However, if the Canadian parent was also born outside of Canada, the child is not Canadian.

What this means is that Canadian citizenship by descent is no longer available by descent from more than one generation. Between 1977 and 2009 it was be available to anyone born abroad to a Canadian parent. For example of how the new rules are supposed to work: Chloe Goldring was born right after the new law passed, to a Canadian father in Belgium. Her father had been born in Bermuda, so she was not entitled to Canadian citizenship. Her mother is Algerian and could not pass on Algerian citizenship to her daughter because her daughter was born abroad and she was married to a foreigner. But Belgium didn’t allow the babies of temporary workers to become citizens either. So Chloe was stateless. (Since that time Chloe has since become a citizen somehow.)

Lost Canadians

Some Canadian citizens lost their citizenship over the previous decades because they became citizens of other countries, lived overseas, married citizens of other countries or failed to apply for proof of citizenship before age 28. All of these rules that caused these Canadians to lose their citizenship have been repealed. However, not every single person who would be Canadian under the current law can “resume” citizenship.

This can be quite confusing. If you are not sure whether or not you can retain/resume your citizenship, we suggest a consultation. Alternatively, you can submit a question on this website and we will respond to it within 2 business days.

Not Yet a Canadian Citizen?

If you do not qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent, you must qualify by living in Canada as a permanent resident. You must

• Be 18 years of age or older (or apply at the same time as your parent)
• Have valid permanent resident status in Canada
• Have lived in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the last six years
• Have filed income taxes for at least 3 of the last 5 tax years
• Meet the English (or French) language requirements
• Pass a citizenship test.

If you have or have had permanent resident status in Canada, you can learn more about the eligibility requirements here.

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