How to Fill Out Form CIT 0001: Canadian Citizenship by Descent

Form CIT 0001 is the paper application Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses to issue a citizenship certificate to someone born outside Canada to a Canadian parent. To fill it out correctly, gather your long-form birth certificate and your parent’s proof of Canadian citizenship first, complete every field on the form (writing “N/A” wherever a section doesn’t apply), sign and date it within 90 days of mailing, pay the $75 CAD fee online, and send the whole package with your payment receipt to the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia.¹

Confirm You Actually Need the Paper Form

CIT 0001 is the paper route. You are required to use it if your Canadian parent was born in Canada on or before February 14, 1977, or became a naturalized citizen on or before April 16, 2009. If your parent was born in Canada on or after February 15, 1977, or naturalized on or after April 17, 2009, you can apply online instead and skip the paper form entirely.²

A boundary worth naming: CIT 0001 is not the form for children adopted abroad by a Canadian parent. Adopted applicants use a separate application for a grant of citizenship under section 5.1 of the Citizenship Act.³

Documents to Pull Before You Open the Form

The form asks for specific details lifted from your supporting documents, so having them in front of you avoids guesses and typos. IRCC’s document checklist for this application is Form CIT 0014, which should be included with your package.⁴ You will need:

Your long-form birth certificate showing both parents’ names. A short-form abstract with only your name and date of birth will not be accepted.
Proof of your Canadian parent’s citizenship: their Canadian birth certificate, citizenship certificate, or naturalization document.
Two pieces of valid identification showing your name and date of birth. At least one must include a photo. Foreign government-issued ID is accepted if you live outside Canada.
Two identical printed citizenship photos meeting IRCC’s specifications.⁵
Any previous Canadian citizenship card, naturalization certificate, or pink transmission copy you hold. Originals must be returned with the application.
Legal proof of any name change since your birth certificate was issued (marriage certificate, court order, divorce decree, or adoption order).
Certified translations, with a translator’s affidavit, for any document not in English or French. Canadian certified translators are exempt from the affidavit requirement.

If you are claiming citizenship through the Crown servant exception because a parent or grandparent was employed abroad with the Canadian Armed Forces or the federal public administration, add proof of that employment covering the relevant period.

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

Form CIT 0001 is a downloadable PDF from the IRCC website. It moves through your identity, your history in Canada, and your Canadian parent’s status. Three habits keep it clean: type or print legibly, answer every field, and match every date and document number exactly to the source paper.

Personal Information

Enter every name you have ever used. That includes maiden names, aliases, and names you used briefly. Missing a former name is a common reason applications come back. Your date and place of birth must match your long-form birth certificate exactly, including the spelling of the city or region.

History of Physical Presence in Canada

Account for every trip to Canada, including short visits. If you have never set foot in Canada, say so plainly rather than leaving the field blank. Blank fields are treated as incomplete answers and trigger a return of the whole package.

Your Canadian Parent’s Information

This is the section where errors cause the longest delays, because IRCC has to verify your parent’s status before it can confirm yours. Enter your parent’s full legal name, date and place of birth, and how they became a Canadian citizen. If they were born in Canada, transcribe the details from their Canadian birth certificate. If they naturalized, copy the date and the document number from their citizenship certificate. Do not paraphrase or estimate. If a number on the source document is unclear, get a better copy before you write it in.

If your parent is also second-generation born abroad, note that under the 2025 amendments to the Citizenship Act, at least one Canadian parent must have accumulated 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada before your birth for citizenship to pass to you.⁶ Be prepared to document that presence if it applies to your case.

Anything That Does Not Apply

Write “Not Applicable” or “N/A” in any field that doesn’t apply to you. Do not leave it empty. Empty fields are the single most common cause of returned applications.

Sign, Date, and Watch the 90-Day Clock

Sign and date the form by hand before you mail it. An unsigned application is returned automatically. The signature date must be no more than 90 days before IRCC receives your package, and it cannot be a future date.⁴ If you sign the form and then let it sit on your desk for four months while you gather documents, you have to sign a fresh copy.

Pay the Fee and Assemble the Package

The fee is $75 CAD and is non-refundable.⁷ For paper applications, you must pay online through the IRCC payment portal before mailing, then print the receipt and include it in the envelope. Online payment is the only accepted method. A cheque, money order, or cash will cause IRCC to return the entire package.⁴

Assemble the package in this order: completed Form CIT 0001, document checklist CIT 0014, proof of payment receipt, your two photos, copies of your identification, your long-form birth certificate, your Canadian parent’s citizenship proof, any name-change documents, and any previous certificates being returned. If you are filing applications for several family members at once, one incomplete file in the batch causes IRCC to return every application in the envelope. Check each one before you seal it.

Where to Send It

Mail the completed package to:

CPC-Sydney
P.O. Box 10000
Sydney, NS B1P 7C1⁸

A minor living outside Canada and the United States can have a parent or guardian submit the application through the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate, though IRCC says this adds six to eight months to processing.⁷

Why Applications Get Returned

IRCC does not partially process incomplete files. If any of the following is off, the whole package comes back and you start the waiting clock over:⁴

Missing or illegible photocopies of supporting documents.
Photos that fail IRCC’s size, background, or studio-stamp requirements.
No printed fee receipt in the envelope.
Any field left blank instead of marked “N/A.”
Missing signature or date.
A signature date more than 90 days old when IRCC receives it.
Old citizenship cards or naturalization certificates you hold but did not return.

Most rejections come down to blank fields, stale signatures, and missing payment receipts. Working through the form with every source document in front of you, then setting the package aside for a day and rechecking it before mailing, catches nearly all of them.

1
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Application for a Citizenship Certificate (CIT 0001)
2
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Apply for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate: How to Apply
3
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Application for Canadian Citizenship – Adopted Person
4
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Guide for Paper Applications for a Citizenship Certificate for Adults and Minors (Proof of Citizenship) under Section 3
5
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What Photos Do I Need to Include with My Citizenship Application?
6
Justice Laws Website. Citizenship Act – Section 3
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Apply for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate: About the Process
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Case Processing Centre: Sydney, Nova Scotia