Yes. You can hold dual citizenship with Canada and the United States. Both countries expressly allow their nationals to carry a second citizenship without losing the first, and no court order or government approval is needed to acquire the other one. What matters is what comes after: two tax returns most years, strict rules about which passport to show at which border, and a few interactions with retirement benefits and consular protection that catch people off guard.
The U.S. State Department states plainly that U.S. law “does not require a U.S. citizen to choose between U.S. citizenship and another (foreign) nationality,” and that a U.S. citizen “may naturalize in a foreign state without any risk to their U.S. citizenship.”1U.S. Department of State. Dual Nationality Canada has permitted dual citizenship since its current Citizenship Act took effect in 1977, and Canadians who acquire another nationality keep their Canadian status automatically.2Government of Canada. Dual Citizens
How People End Up Holding Both
The most common route is birth. The Fourteenth Amendment makes anyone born in the United States a U.S. citizen.3Library of Congress. U.S. Constitution – Fourteenth Amendment Canada’s Citizenship Act grants citizenship to almost everyone born on Canadian soil after February 14, 1977, with a narrow exception for children of foreign diplomats.4Department of Justice. Canada Code C-29 – Citizenship Act A child born in the U.S. to Canadian parents, or in Canada to American parents, picks up both citizenships at birth without anyone filing paperwork.
Citizenship by descent is the second route. A child born outside the United States can inherit U.S. citizenship from a citizen parent, with the rules turning on whether one or both parents are Americans and how long the citizen parent lived in the U.S. before the child was born.
Canadian descent rules changed on December 15, 2025, when Bill C-3 took effect. Under the old law, only the first generation born outside Canada could inherit citizenship by descent. Now, second-generation children born abroad can also be Canadian, provided the Canadian parent spent at least 1,095 days physically in Canada before the child’s birth.5Canada.ca. Change to Citizenship Rules in 2025 Families who have lived outside Canada for more than one generation should look again at whether their children now qualify.
The third route is naturalization. An adult who is a citizen of one country becomes a citizen of the other through the standard application process, keeping the original citizenship in place. Marriage does not confer citizenship in either direction, but it can shorten the path to the permanent residency that naturalization requires.
Which Passport to Use at Which Border
This is where dual citizens most often stumble. U.S. law requires all U.S. nationals, including dual citizens, to use a U.S. passport when entering and leaving the United States.1U.S. Department of State. Dual Nationality You cannot enter on your Canadian passport, even if it is perfectly valid.
Canada enforces the same principle for air travel. Dual Canadian citizens must carry a valid Canadian passport to board any flight to Canada, including a transit flight.6Canada.ca. Dual Canadian Citizens Need a Valid Canadian Passport Airlines will deny boarding without one. The practical answer for a dual U.S.-Canadian traveler is to carry both passports: use the Canadian one to board the flight into Canada, and use the American one to re-enter the United States.
Two Tax Returns, Every Year
Tax filing is the single most burdensome part of holding both citizenships. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live.7Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad A U.S. citizen living in Toronto still files a U.S. return every year and reports every dollar earned in Canada. Canada generally taxes on residency, so if you live in Canada you owe Canadian taxes as well. Two sets of returns, filed annually, is the baseline.
The U.S.-Canada Tax Treaty keeps most people from actually paying tax twice on the same income. It sets “tie-breaker” rules for when both countries claim you as a resident, looking at where your permanent home is, where your personal and economic ties are strongest, and where you habitually live.8Canada.ca. Convention Between Canada and the United States of America Claiming a treaty position on your U.S. return requires disclosure on IRS Form 8833.9Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8833, Treaty-Based Return Position Disclosure Under Section 6114 or 7701(b)
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets qualifying U.S. citizens abroad exclude up to $132,900 of earned income from U.S. tax for 2026.10Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 The foreign tax credit lets Canadian tax paid offset U.S. tax on the same income. Between the two mechanisms and the treaty, most dual citizens avoid real double taxation, but the paperwork does not go away.
Reporting Your Canadian Accounts to the U.S.
U.S. citizens with foreign financial accounts whose combined value exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).11Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) For a dual citizen living in Canada, an ordinary checking account plus a retirement savings plan can clear that threshold without effort. Penalties for not filing are steep even when no tax is owed.
FATCA is a separate obligation. Form 8938 is triggered when foreign financial assets exceed certain thresholds, with higher thresholds for U.S. citizens living abroad than for those living in the United States.12Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets FBAR and Form 8938 have different thresholds and different agencies. You may need to file both.
Retirement Benefits Across Both Systems
The U.S.-Canada Totalization Agreement lets workers who split their careers between the two countries combine work credits to qualify for benefits they otherwise could not reach. Someone with 8 years in the U.S. and 15 in Canada might not have enough credits alone in either system.
To use Canadian credits toward a U.S. Social Security benefit, you need at least six U.S. work credits, roughly a year and a half of U.S. employment. To use U.S. credits toward Canadian Old Age Security, you need at least one year of residence in Canada after age 18.13Social Security Administration. Agreement Between the United States and Canada Credits stay on the record of the country where you earned them; they are counted for eligibility in the other, not physically transferred.
The agreement also prevents paying into both social security systems at once. A worker sent temporarily from the U.S. to Canada by their employer typically keeps paying into the U.S. system and receives a certificate of coverage exempting them from Canadian contributions.14Social Security Administration. Totalization Agreement with Canada
One trap surprises people who expect full benefits from both systems: if you receive a Canadian pension from work where you did not pay U.S. Social Security taxes, the Windfall Elimination Provision can reduce your U.S. Social Security retirement benefit. The reduction depends on how many years of substantial U.S. earnings you have.15Social Security Administration. Windfall Elimination Provision and Foreign Pensions
Where Consular Help Stops
When a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen is in Canada, the U.S. Embassy’s ability to intervene is limited. International practice generally holds that a country cannot provide full consular protection to a dual national who is in their other country of citizenship. The State Department acknowledges that dual nationals “may also face restrictions in the U.S. consular protections available to U.S. nationals abroad, particularly in the country of their other nationality.”1U.S. Department of State. Dual Nationality The reverse is also true. If you run into legal trouble in the United States, the Canadian consulate has limited ability to intervene because the U.S. treats you as an American on its soil.
Security Clearances
Dual citizenship does not automatically disqualify you from a U.S. security clearance, but it draws additional scrutiny. Security Executive Agent Directive 4, which governs federal clearance decisions, lists the exercise of dual citizenship and possession of a foreign passport as conditions that can raise a foreign preference concern.16Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Security Executive Agent Directive 4 Adjudicative Guidelines Mitigating factors include dual citizenship acquired passively through birth or parentage, willingness to renounce the foreign citizenship, and surrendering the foreign passport. Many dual citizens hold clearances successfully, but expect a longer process and pointed questions about ties to Canada.
Losing It, or Giving It Up
Neither country strips citizenship simply because you hold another nationality. Losing U.S. citizenship requires performing a specific expatriating act with the intention of giving it up. Federal law lists those acts, which include naturalizing in a foreign country with intent to relinquish, formally renouncing before a U.S. consular officer, serving as a commissioned officer in a foreign military engaged in hostilities against the United States, and committing treason.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1481 – Loss of Nationality by Native-Born or Naturalized Citizen The controlling word is “voluntarily.” Simply becoming a Canadian citizen does not cost you your American citizenship unless that was your specific intent.
Formal renunciation carries two consequences worth understanding before you go near it. The first is administrative: the State Department charges a fee to process the Certificate of Loss of Nationality, which drops from $2,350 to $450 effective April 13, 2026.18Federal Register. Schedule of Fees for Consular Services – Fee for Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality The second is far larger. The IRS imposes an exit tax on “covered expatriates,” meaning those with a net worth of $2 million or more, or whose average annual net income tax liability over the prior five years exceeds an inflation-adjusted threshold ($206,000 for 2025).19Internal Revenue Service. Expatriation Tax The exit tax treats most worldwide assets as sold the day before renunciation, triggering capital gains on unrealized appreciation. For high-net-worth dual citizens weighing renunciation, professional tax advice is not optional.