How to Apply for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate (Form CIT 0001)

To apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate, you file Form CIT 0001 with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), submit identity documents and evidence of your citizenship claim, and pay a $75 CAD processing fee.¹ The certificate is the official document proving you are a Canadian citizen, and you may need it for a passport application, to prove status to an employer, or to access government benefits. Depending on how you apply and how complex your file is, processing takes several months.

Who Should Apply

Being born in Canada doesn’t automatically produce a citizenship certificate. A provincial birth certificate is not the same document. You apply for CIT 0001 when you need formal federal proof of citizenship, and that need typically falls into two groups: people born in Canada who want the federal document, and people born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who need to confirm citizenship by descent.²

One eligibility point that catches people off guard: not every child born in Canada is a citizen. If a parent was a foreign diplomat or representative of a foreign government at the time of your birth, you may not qualify unless the other parent was a citizen or permanent resident.

Descent Rules After Bill C-3

Section 3 of the Citizenship Act says a person born outside Canada after February 14, 1977, to at least one Canadian parent is generally a citizen. Historically, Canada limited automatic citizenship by descent to the first generation born abroad, so if your Canadian parent was also born outside Canada, you often did not qualify.

Since December 15, 2025, Bill C-3 has extended eligibility. People born outside Canada in the second generation or later may be citizens if their Canadian parent was also born or adopted abroad and that parent spent at least 1,095 cumulative days physically present in Canada before the child’s birth.³ The same 1,095-day rule applies to adopted children born outside Canada in the second generation or later. If you think you gained citizenship under this change, you still need to apply for a certificate to confirm it; nothing is issued automatically. Applications already in the system when the rules took effect are being reviewed under the new criteria, so there is no need to resubmit a pending file.

Online or Paper

IRCC accepts both online and paper submissions, but the online portal is only open to specific applicants. You can apply online if you were born on or after February 15, 1977, and you either became a naturalized citizen on or after April 17, 2009, or were born outside Canada to a parent who was born in Canada on or after February 15, 1977, or granted citizenship on or after April 17, 2009.⁴

You must apply on paper if any of the following describe you:

You were born in Canada on or before February 14, 1977.
You became a naturalized citizen on or before April 16, 2009.
You were born outside Canada to a parent who was born in Canada before February 15, 1977, or naturalized before April 17, 2009.
You are applying as a legal guardian for a minor.
You need to replace or update an existing certificate.
You are applying for four or more children at once.
You do not have information about your parents or grandparents.

If you start an online application, you have 60 days to finish and submit it. You need an email address, a scanner or camera to digitize documents, and a credit or Canadian debit card to pay at submission. Do not file the same request online if you have already sent a paper version; IRCC will refuse the duplicate.

Documents to Gather

Collect everything before you open the form. Missing a single item is one of the most common reasons IRCC returns applications, and a returned file resets the processing clock.

Identity

You need two valid pieces of identification. Both must show your name and date of birth, and at least one must include a photograph. Acceptable options include a driver’s licence, passport, age of majority card, certificate of Indian status card, health insurance card, senior citizen’s card, or travel document.⁵ Birth certificates, SIN cards, bank cards, credit cards, and previous Canadian citizenship certificates are not accepted for this identity requirement.

Proof of Your Citizenship Claim

The documents depend on how you qualify:

Born in Canada: your Canadian birth certificate showing both parents’ names.
Born outside Canada, first generation: your birth certificate showing both parents’ names, plus proof your Canadian parent was a citizen when you were born, such as that parent’s Canadian birth certificate or citizenship certificate.
Born outside Canada, second generation or later under Bill C-3: everything above, plus Form CIT 0555 (How to Calculate Physical Presence in Canada for a Canadian Parent) and evidence your Canadian parent was physically in Canada for at least 1,095 days before your birth. Acceptable evidence includes employment records or T-4 slips, school transcripts, rental or mortgage documents, passports with entry and exit stamps, and government records such as social assistance or employment insurance benefits.⁶

Name Changes

If your current legal name differs from the name on your birth certificate, you need documents that bridge the gap. If the change happened in Canada, submit the change-of-name document from the province or territory showing both names; marriage certificates, divorce decrees, court orders, and adoption orders all qualify. If the change happened outside Canada and you now live in Canada, you need a foreign passport or national document in the new name, a document linking the old name to the new one (such as a foreign marriage certificate), and a Canadian provincial or territorial document in the new name. If you changed your name and live abroad, you need a foreign passport or national document in the new name, a linking document, and a government-issued photo ID from your country of residence in the new name.

Translations

All supporting documents must be in English or French. If any document is in another language, submit the translation, an affidavit from the translator confirming accuracy, and a certified photocopy of the original.⁷ IRCC does not accept translations by the applicant or a family member. If an accredited translator isn’t available, a non-certified translator can do the work as long as the affidavit is signed before a commissioner of oaths, notary public, or lawyer.

Completing and Submitting the Form

Download the current version of CIT 0001 from the IRCC website. Using an outdated version is a common reason for returns.⁸ The form asks for your personal details, birth information, and both parents’ citizenship status and birth details at the time of your birth. A few things that trip people up:

Do not leave fields blank. Write “N/A” if a field doesn’t apply. Blanks get flagged as incomplete and can trigger a return.
For paper applications, sign in black ink.
All photocopied supporting documents must be in colour. Black-and-white copies are rejected. Copy both sides of any two-sided document.

Photos

Citizenship photos have their own specifications and are not the same as passport photos; submitting passport-format photos will get your application returned.⁹ You need two identical colour photos taken within the last 12 months, against a white or light background, with the photographer’s stamp on the back along with the date taken and your name. Selfies, cropped photos, and non-compliant backgrounds are all rejected. Confirm the exact dimensions on the IRCC photo specifications page, since they vary by application type.

Fee and Mailing

The processing fee is $75 CAD per application, and there is no refund once IRCC begins processing.¹⁰ Online applicants pay by credit or Canadian debit card at submission. For paper applications, pay through IRCC’s online fee portal, print the receipt, and include the printed receipt in your package. Without the receipt, the application is returned unprocessed.

Send paper applications by registered mail or a tracked courier to:

Case Processing Centre – Sydney – Proofs
P.O. Box 10000
Sydney, NS B1P 7C1

The P.O. Box does not accept courier deliveries. If you use a courier, check the paper application guide for the separate courier address.

After You Submit

Once IRCC receives your application, you’ll get an acknowledgment of receipt (AOR) with an application number, delivered by email or mail.¹¹ Use that number to track status through the IRCC online portal. Processing times shift with volume and file complexity, so second-generation descent claims that require genealogical verification generally take longer. The IRCC processing times page updates regularly with current estimates.

If an officer needs more documents, you’ll get a letter with a deadline. Missing that deadline can result in refusal, so watch both your email and your mailbox during the wait.

Once approved, you receive either a paper certificate by mail or an electronic certificate (e-certificate), depending on what you chose when applying. For paper delivery, allow up to four additional months after approval, with more time on top of that for addresses outside Canada and the United States.¹²

The E-Certificate Option

Since January 2023, most applicants can choose an e-certificate instead of paper.¹³ Once approved, you download a PDF through your IRCC Portal account, save it to any device, and print copies as needed. Only one valid certificate exists at a time, so you pick paper or electronic, not both. If you print the e-certificate, it must be on letter-size paper (8.5 × 11 inches), in colour or black ink, in portrait orientation, with all text fully legible. Do not photocopy or laminate a printed e-certificate; either action makes it invalid. The e-certificate is not available to stateless persons born to a Canadian parent, who receive a paper certificate only.

Urgent Requests

IRCC can expedite processing for a genuine emergency, though qualifying does not guarantee a delivery date.¹⁴ Qualifying situations include travel due to a death or serious illness in the family, starting a job or school, avoiding job loss, renouncing a foreign citizenship by a deadline, accessing social benefits, moving a minor born outside Canada to Canada when a parent is Canadian, resolving statelessness, or avoiding harm connected to race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, or group membership. You submit an explanation letter with supporting documents such as a paid plane ticket, a letter from an employer or school, a doctor’s note, or a death certificate. Dual citizens from visa-exempt countries who need to travel to Canada must show proof of air travel within six months and must have applied for both a citizenship certificate and a Canadian passport at the same time.

If You Already Have a Certificate and Lost It

Replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged certificate uses the same form and the same $75 fee, but the application must be submitted on paper. The online system does not handle replacements. If you still have an old plastic wallet-sized citizenship card issued before February 2012, it remains valid, but IRCC no longer issues those cards, so a replacement will come as a paper certificate.¹

1
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Apply for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate: About the Process
2
Justice Laws Website. Citizenship Act – Section 3
3
Government of Canada. Change to Citizenship Rules
4
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Apply for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate: How to Apply
5
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Guide for Online Applications for a Citizenship Certificate for Adults and Minors (Proof of Citizenship) Under Section 3
6
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Guide for Paper Applications for a Citizenship Certificate for Adults and Minors (Proof of Citizenship) Under Section 3
7
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What Language Should My Supporting Documents Be In?
8
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Application for a Citizenship Certificate (CIT 0001)
9
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship Photo Specifications
10
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Pay Your Application Fees Online
11
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When Can I Check My Application Status?
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Application for a Citizenship Certificate
13
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Learn More About the Electronic Citizenship Certificate
14
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When and How Do I Apply Urgently for a Citizenship Certificate?