Canadian Citizenship

Whereas applicants who served in the Canadian Armed Forces are exempt from meeting the physical presence requirement for the grant of citizenship, they must have completed 3 years of service with the Canadian Armed Forces in the 6 years immediately before the date of their application. If no longer serving, they must not have been released other than honourably from the Canadian Armed Forces.

Canadian Citizenship

Canadian citizenship may be acquired in a number of different ways, including the following:

• Canadian permanent residents who meet the residence requirement and other eligibility criteria.
• Children born in Canada.
• Citizenship by descent.
• Citizenship by grant (naturalization) or resumption.
• Citizenship by grant to person adopted by a Canadian citizen.
• Citizen under the 1947 Act.
• Delayed registration of birth outside Canada (citizenship by descent).
• Automatic restoration of citizenship.
• First generation born outside Canada but never a Canadian citizen (citizenship by descent).
• First generation born outside Canada who was granted Canadian citizenship before April 17, 2009.
• Former citizens who resumed citizenship under the 1977 Act.
• Former citizens who resumed citizenship under the 1947 Act.
• Born or naturalized in Canada before January 1, 1947, who lost British subject status before that date and did not become a citizen on that date.
• Born or naturalized in Newfoundland and Labrador before April 1, 1949, who lost British subject status before that date and did not become a citizen on or before that date.
• British subject born outside Canada, ordinarily resident in Canada on January 1, 1947, and did not become a citizen on that date.
• British subject born outside Canada, ordinarily resident in Newfoundland and Labrador on April 1, 1949, who did not become a citizen on or before that date
• Born before January 1, 1947, outside Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador to a parent who became a citizen under paragraph 3(1)(k) or (m),and did not become a citizen on that date.
• Born before April 1, 1949, outside Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador to a parent who became a citizen under paragraph 3(1)(l) or (n), and did not become a citizen on or before that date.
• Born before January 1, 1947, in the first generation outside Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador to a parent who became a Canadian citizen on January 1, 1947, and did not become a citizen on that date.
• Born before April 1, 1949, in the first generation outside Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador to a parent who became a citizen on April 1, 1949,and did not become a citizen on or before that date.
• Citizenship by adoption.

Canadian permanent residents who meet the residence requirement and other eligibility criteria

If you are a permanent resident of Canada, you may apply for Canadian citizenship if you meet the residence requirement and other relevant eligibility criteria.

Under the residence requirement, you must have been physically in Canada for at least 3 years, or 1,095 days, during the 5 years before the date you submit your citizenship application.

In certain circumstances, when calculating the time that you have been physically present in Canada, you may be able to include some of the time you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person.

In this respect, each day that you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person in the last 5 years counts as one half day when you calculate your physical presence in Canada. You can use a maximum of 365 days as a temporary resident or protected person toward the time you spent in Canada.

Similarly, when calculating the time when you were physically present in Canada, it may be possible to include time that you spent outside of Canada if you were a Crown servant or a family member of a Crown servant.

If you made a refugee claim, or if you were included as a family member on a refugee claim, you will not be credited time in Canada from the date of the refugee claim until a positive decision is made confirming that you are a protected person.

As well as being a permanent resident and having lived in Canada for 3 years out of the last 5 years, in order to become a Canadian citizen, you must also prove your language skills, and pass a citizenship test. Other criteria include filing your tax returns and meeting character requirements.

Children born in Canada

Subject to some exceptions, a person who is born in Canada becomes a Canadian citizen at birth.

Exceptions to citizenship by birth in Canada include situations where, for example, at the time of the person’s is birth neither of his or her parents was a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and either of the parents was a diplomatic or consular officer or other employee in Canada of a foreign government, or an employee in Canada of a specialized agency of the United Nations or other relevant international organization.

Citizenship by descent

Citizenship by descent may be acquitted by a person who is born outside of Canada on or after February 15, 1977, if at the time of his or her birth one of the parents, other than a parent who adopted him or her, was a Canadian citizen.

Subject to some exceptions, following amendments to the Citizenship Act introduced on April 17, 2009, citizenship by descent is now limited to persons who are born to a Canadian parent abroad in the first generation. Since April 17, 2009, a person who is born outside Canada to a Canadian parent will be a Canadian citizen by birth only if that person is of the first generation born outside of Canada.

A person who was born outside of Canada between February 15, 1977, and April 16, 2009, to a Canadian parent, would be a Canadian citizen regardless of whether he or she was born outside Canada after the first generation.

Citizenship by grant (naturalization) or resumption

A person is a Canadian citizen if he or she has been granted or resumed citizenship under relevant provisions of the Citizenship Act that commenced on February 15, 1977 (‘the 1977 Act’), and, unless the person is younger than 14 years of age, the person has taken the Oath of Citizenship.

However, the person will not be a Canadian citizen by naturalization or resumption if he or she is deemed never to have been a citizen by way of grant as a result of the legislative amendments of 2009 or 2015.

Citizenship by grant to person adopted by a Canadian citizen

Legislative amendments to the Citizenship Act, which commenced on April 17, 2009, limit citizenship by descent to the first generation born outside of Canada.

Persons born outside Canada, and adopted by a Canadian parent who become citizen by grant of citizenship under the adoption provisions of the Citizenship Act, are considered born in the first generation outside Canada and consequently cannot pass on citizenship to any of their children who are born or adopted outside of Canada.

Citizen under the 1947 Act

People who became Canadian citizens under the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947, immediately before the Citizenship Act came into force on February 15, 1977, are recognised as Canadian citizens. These people can be citizens by birth, naturalization, or descent.

A person who was a Canadian citizen on February 14, 1977, is recognised as a citizen under the 1977 Act. However, this may not apply to people who acquired Canadian citizenship by descent under the 2009 or 2015 legislative amendments.

Delayed registration of birth outside Canada (citizenship by descent)

A person is a Canadian citizen if he or she was entitled, immediately before February 15, 1977, to become a citizen under the provisions of the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947.

A person is therefore a Canadian citizen if he or she was born outside Canada between January 1, 1947, and February 14, 1977, to a Canadian parent and was eligible and required to be registered as a citizen born outside Canada, but did not do so within 2 years after his or her birth or within an extended period authorized by the Minister.

Under the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947, only a person who was born in wedlock to a Canadian citizen father, or a child born out of wedlock to a Canadian citizen mother, was entitled to be registered as a citizen.

The opportunity to register and become a citizen under the relevant provisions expired on August 14, 2004. Persons who did not make an application to register and become citizens prior to August 14, 2004, may have become Canadian citizens under the legislative amendments of 2009 if they are of the first generation born outside Canada to a Canadian parent.

Automatic restoration of citizenship

Persons who were previously Canadian citizens but lost their citizenship, and did not resume their citizenship before April 17, 2009, may be recognized as Canadian citizens except in the following situations:

• They made a formal application the Canadian government to renounce their citizenship;
• They acquired citizenship by fraud, false representation or concealing material circumstances, and their citizenship was revoked by the Canadian government; or
• They were born after the first generation between February 15, 1977, and April 16, 1981, to a Canadian parent, and failed to make an application to retain citizenship or did make an application which was subsequently not approved.

Persons born outside Canada after the first generation do not acquire citizenship by descent, unless one of the exceptions to the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent applies.