Application for a Citizenship Certificate for Adults and Minors (Proof of Citizenship) under Section 3 (CIT 0001)

Table of Contents

• Overview

• Before you apply

• Step 1. Gather documents

• Step 2. Complete the application

• Step 3. Pay the fees

• Step 4. Mail the application

• What happens next?

• How to contact CIC

Overview

 

Application package

 

This application package consists of:

• an instruction guide, and

• the required forms.

The instruction guide is a tool that provides:

• the information you must know about this application before sending it to Citizenship andIMMIGRATION CANADA (CIC) and

• assistance with how to fill out the forms and the required supporting documents.

Read the instruction guide thoroughly and then fill out each of the applicable forms.

The forms are specifically designed with questions that will assist the processing of your application.

 

Symbols used in this guide

 

This guide uses the following symbols to indicate information of particular importance.

 

What you must do to have your application processed.

Important information that you need to be aware of in order to avoid delays or other problems.

Where to get more information.

 

Note:

 

Tips that will assist you with this application.

 

The application process

 

The instructions provided in this guide follow the basic steps you will need to know to complete your application.

• Gather documents

• Complete the application

• Pay the fees

• Mail the application

Before you apply

 

Who may apply for a citizenship certificate?

 

This application form is for a person who is already a Canadian citizen and wants to obtain a citizenship certificate.

• If you are an adult (18 years of age and over)

  • Then you are the applicant

• If you are filing this application for a minor (a person who is under 18 years of age)

  • Then the minor is the applicant

Replacing your certificate

 

Reasons why you need to replace your certificate

• the information on the certificate is out of date, or

• the certificate has been damaged, stolen, lost or destroyed

What you need to do…

• you must return all original citizenship/naturalization certificates and any pink transmission copies that you still have.

Note: Failure to do so will result in the return of your application.

Note: Original citizenship/naturalization certificates and pink transmission copies submitted with your application will not be returned and are retained byCITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA. If your application is approved, you will only receive your replacement certificate.

 

Are you a citizen of another country?

 

If you are a citizen of another country and you have concerns about whether or not yourcitizenship status in that country may be affected by applying for aCANADIAN CITIZENSHIPcertificate, you should inquire with the embassy, high commission or consulate of that country.

 

Amendments to the Citizenship Act limit citizenship by descent

 

On April 17, 2009, the rules for Canadian citizenship.changed for persons born outside Canada to Canadian parents and who were not already Canadian citizens when the rules changed.

These rules did not take Canadian citizenship away from any person who was a Canadian citizen immediately before the rules came into effect.

Canadian citizenship by birth outside Canada to a Canadian citizen parent (citizenship by descent) is now limited to the first generation born outside Canada.

This means that, in general, persons who were not already Canadian citizens immediately before April 17, 2009 and who were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent are not Canadian if:

• their Canadian parent was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent (the person is therefore the second or subsequent generation born outside Canada), or

• their Canadian parent was granted Canadian citizenship under section 5.1, the adoption provisions of the Citizenship Act (the person is therefore the second generation born outside Canada)

Unless their Canadian parent or grandparent was employed as described in one of the following exceptions to the first generation limit.

 

Exceptions to the first generation limit

 

The first generation limit to citizenship does not apply to a person born outside Canada in the second or subsequent generation if:

• at the time of the person’s birth, their Canadian parent was employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province or territory, other than as a locally engaged person (a crown servant);

• at the time of their Canadian parent’s birth or adoption, the person’s Canadian grandparentwas employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or public service of a province or territory, other than as a locally engaged person (a crown servant). 

Persons born to a Canadian parent who are not eligible for citizenship by descent due to the first generation limit may apply for and obtain permanent resident status and subsequently submit an application for a grant of citizenship under section 5 of the Citizenship Act.

Persons born to a Canadian parent on or after April 17, 2009 who are not eligible for citizenship by descent due to the first generation limit may be stateless (and have always been stateless), but be resident in Canada. Those persons may apply for a grant of citizenship under subsection 5(5) of the Citizenship Act. For further information, consult the page on Citizenship grants: Statelessness.

Note: Some naturalized Canadian citizens became Canadian citizens by descent by operation of law under these amendments which could impact their eligibility to pass onCANADIAN CITIZENSHIP to children born outside Canada to them or adopted by them.

 

Amendments to the Citizenship Act extending citizenship

 

On June 11, 2015, citizenship was extended to more persons who were born before the Canadian CitizenshipAct took effect on January 1, 1947 as well as to their children who were born outside Canada in the first generation. Specifically, the amendments gave Canadian citizenship to persons who were born or naturalized in Canada as well as to those who were British subjects ordinarily resident in Canada on January 1, 1947 (April 1, 1949, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador), but who were not eligible for Canadian citizenship when the Canadian Citizenship Act took effect. The amendments also retroactively gave Canadian citizenship to the children of these persons who were born abroad in the first generation as well as to children of parents who became citizens on January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949), if born abroad in the first generation,  but who did not themselves become Canadian citizens on those dates.

On June 19, 2014, the exception to the first generation limit to citizenship by descent was extended to children born outside Canada whose grandparent, at the time of the child’s parent’s birth or adoption, was employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province or territory, other than as a locally engaged person.

 

Note: Some naturalized Canadian citizens became Canadian citizens by descent by operation of law under these amendments, which could impact their eligibility to pass onCANADIAN CITIZENSHIP to children born outside Canada to them or adopted by them. If you think that this may apply to you and you would like more information, contact CIC (see: “How to Contact CIC” at the end of this guide).