Are you already a Canadian citizen?

You may be eligible for Canadian citizenship if you were born abroad to a Canadian citizen.

Your legal or biological parent must have been a first-generation Canadian at the time of your birth. That means they were either born in Canada or naturalized Canadian citizens who successfully applied for citizenship. If your parent received Canadian citizenship by applying for proof of citizenship because they were born abroad to a Canadian citizen, they cannot be considered a "first-generation" Canadian. Therefore, you would not be eligible for automatic Canadian citizenship.

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The Canadian citizenship certificate is the standardized document issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that provides definitive proof that you are a citizen of the country. Along with the Canadian birth certificate, it is one of only two documents accepted as proof of Canadian citizenship.

The many benefits of being a Canadian include the right to live permanently in one of the world's best countries and obtain one of the world's strongest passports.

Canadian citizenship certificate application process

To apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate, you must follow the instructions available on IRCC’s website. IRCC will require evidence that at least one of your legal or biological parents at birth was a Canadian citizen. You can submit the application online on IRCC's website or by mail.

Once IRCC receives your application, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) and your file will be reviewed and processed.

You can check the processing status of your application online on IRCC's website. Complex files sometimes have longer processing times. IRCC offers an urgent processing option in special cases. This provides individuals with a facilitated and expedited route if they need to access benefits such as healthcare, a social insurance number, to start a job, or in case of emergency travel to or from Canada.

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