Parent (or grandparent) born in Canada? You’re Canadian!

By Bruce Allen In Canada Immigration News

Was your mother or father born or naturalized in Canada? Under the 2009 and 2015 amendments to Canada’s Citizenship Act, nearly everyone whose parent was born or naturalized in Canada is now a Canadian citizen. This is true even if your parent left Canada as a child; married an American citizen (or other non-Canadian); or became a U.S. citizen (or citizen of another country). There is no age limit on claiming your Canadian citizenship. If your parent was naturalized in Canada, the naturalization must have occurred before you were born.

Until recently these laws applied only to the first generation born abroad. This meant only the immediate children of persons born in Canada were citizens. However, under new legislation that came into force on December 15, 2025, Canada has expanded citizenship to the second generation and beyond. This means that most persons can apply for citizenship if their grandparents or even great grandparents were born in Canada. Moreover, as a Canadian citizen, you can sponsor your husband, wife, or common law partner to become a permanent resident of Canada at any time regardless of age.

Although you may already be a Canadian citizen, you will need to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship in order to assert your Citizenship rights, such as moving to Canada, obtaining a Canadian passport, working in Canada, or attending school in Canada. This requires filing an application with the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia. There are many technical requirements for this application. We have helped about a thousand people successfully obtain their Certificates of Citizenship.

Canadian citizens are free to live anywhere in the world, so you can obtain your Certificate of Citizenship without having to leave the U.S. Obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship has no impact on your U.S. citizenship. If you are a U.S. citizen now, you will become a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. There are no tax or other unwanted legal obligations that arise from obtaining your Canadian Certificate of Citizenship.

Contact us now by email, or call us at (216) 593-0180, if you have a parent, grandparent or even great grandparent born in Canada and want to obtain your citizenship certificate. If you were born in Canada and want to obtain certificates for your children we can help with that as well. We are experienced Canadian immigration lawyers located in the United States and in Canada. We can help you get your Canadian citizenship certificate quickly and efficiently. We will also help you obtain a parent’s birth certificate, even if your parent has passed away.