Canadian Citizenship by Descent: Confirm the Citizenship Your Family Passed Down
If a parent or grandparent is or was a Canadian citizen, you may already be Canadian. A licensed RCIC reviews your family line and prepares your citizenship certificate application with you.
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Immigration Pros vs. Doing It Yourself
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On your own
How We Handle Your Citizenship by Descent Claim
1. Free assessment
A licensed RCIC reads the dates against the rules and tells you whether the claim appears to hold.
2. Your records plan
We tell you which records each generation needs, in which version, and which office issues them.
3. Chain review
We check every record against the next: names, dates and parent-child links, so nothing breaks the chain.
4. Application preparation
We prepare your proof of citizenship application on the route that applies to you.
5. Submission and follow-up
We submit, monitor your file and answer IRCC’s requests for information on its deadlines.
6. Your certificate
If IRCC confirms you are a citizen, it issues your citizenship certificate.
What Our Review Catches Before IRCC Does
IRCC’s Current Wait Is About 33 Months
A file returned for one wrong document does not lose weeks. It starts that wait again.
What Is Canadian Citizenship by Descent?
It means you are a Canadian citizen because a parent was Canadian, not because you were born in Canada. The law may have made you a citizen the day you were born. You don’t apply to become one: you apply for a citizenship certificate, the document that proves it.
Who Can Claim Canadian Citizenship by Descent?
Were you born outside Canada before December 15, 2025, to a Canadian parent?
In most cases you are already a Canadian citizen. You apply for a certificate so IRCC can confirm it.
If your Canadian parent was also born or adopted outside Canada, that parent must have spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before your birth.
Not sure?
Your grandparent or great-grandparent may be what makes your parent Canadian. Try our free eligibility calculator.
A Family Like Yours
- Grandmother — born in Ontario, Canada, 1941
- Father — born in Michigan, United States, 1968
- You — born in Michigan, United States, 1995
You were born before December 15, 2025, so the 1,095-day rule doesn’t apply to you. The 2025 changes may have made both your father and you Canadian. Each of the three generations has to be documented, and a certificate application filed, for IRCC to confirm it.
An illustration, not a determination: dates, adoptions and the law at each birth can change the outcome.
Refused Before December 2025? Your Answer May Have Changed
Bill C-3 removed the first-generation limit in some situations on December 15, 2025. A refusal decided under the old rule does not stop you, but nobody at IRCC will write to tell you. Keep your decision letter and send it to us.
What It Costs
| Cost | Paid to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Government fee: CAD $75 per person | IRCC | Set by the Government of Canada. |
| Our professional fee | Immigration Pros | Quoted after your free assessment, once we see your case. You know the number before you commit. |
A Licensed Consultant, Not a Law Firm
A citizenship by descent claim is won on records, not in a courtroom. That’s why a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) is the usual fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
The form takes about 2 minutes. A licensed RCIC then reviews your family line and tells you whether the claim appears to hold and what each generation still needs.
In some cases, yes, since Bill C-3. A longer line means more records to prove, which is where a review helps most.
No. There is no residence and no language requirement for a claim by descent.
Processing times are set by IRCC, and no one can shorten them. We review your file for completeness before it’s submitted, so missing documents are less likely to cause delays.
No. It proves your citizenship. Once you have it, you use it to apply for a Canadian passport.
Find Out If You’re Already Canadian
One missing record can cost you years in IRCC’s queue. Have a licensed RCIC check your family line first. It’s free.
Content reviewed by Galo Castillo, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, CICC licence R408519, practicing with Immigration Pros Inc.
IRCC makes the final determination on every application for proof of citizenship. Immigration Pros Inc. is not affiliated with the Government of Canada and does not issue documents or certificates. This page is general information, not legal advice.