Applying for citizenship
Citizenship by descent: are you or your child Canadian?
Say when the child was born or adopted, where the Canadian parent was born and the parent’s days in Canada before the birth: an indicative answer appears.
Is my child born abroad Canadian?
Indicative result
Not by descent
| Why | the parent is 195 days short |
| To know for sure | citizenship certificate, $75 |
Only IRCC decides, on a certificate application.
Canadian citizenship by descent follows new rules since Bill C-3 came into force on December 15, 2025, after royal assent on November 20, 2025. For people born outside Canada to a Canadian parent before that date, IRCC’s answer is that in most cases they are now automatically Canadian citizens; the same applies to children of people who became citizens through these changes. Children adopted abroad by a Canadian before that date use the direct grant route instead. For a child born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025, the question depends on the Canadian parent. If that parent was born in Canada or naturalized, the new day test does not concern them. If the parent was also born or adopted abroad, the parent must have spent at least 1,095 days, added up over any period, physically present in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption. None of this is decided by a calculator: IRCC states that you must apply for a citizenship certificate, at $75, to find out for sure. People who became citizens automatically and do not want to be can use a simplified renunciation.
Questions, counts and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How questions and dates are built
The three situations after Bill C-3
| Child born or adopted abroad | Canadian parent | Indicative status |
|---|---|---|
| before December 15, 2025, born | any Canadian parent | Canadian in most cases, automatically |
| before December 15, 2025, adopted | Canadian parent | direct grant route |
| on or after December 15, 2025 | born in Canada or naturalized | parent day test does not apply |
| on or after December 15, 2025 | born or adopted abroad | citizen if the parent had 1,095 days in Canada before the birth or adoption |
The calculator above follows this table. It is deliberately labelled indicative: family histories have many branches, and IRCC itself says “in most cases” for births before the change. The decision belongs to IRCC, on an application for a certificate.
The 1,095-day test for a parent born abroad
For births and adoptions abroad from December 15, 2025, the new condition looks at the parent, not at the child. A Canadian parent who was also born or adopted outside Canada passes citizenship to the child only if that parent spent 1,095 days physically present in Canada before the birth or adoption. The days are cumulative: childhood years in Canada, studies, work periods all add up, whenever they happened. A parent who has this many days can show them with form CIT 0555, the Canadian parent’s physical presence form, which goes with the certificate application.
A practical example: a mother born in France to a Canadian father lived in Montréal for two years of university and later worked eighteen months in Calgary. If those stays add up to at least 1,095 days before her child’s birth abroad in 2026, the child is a citizen by descent. If they fall short, the child is not a citizen by descent. The calculator shows how many days are missing.
Confirming citizenship: the certificate
IRCC’s guidance is identical for every case: to know for sure, apply for a citizenship certificate. It costs $75 per person and is the document that proves Canadian citizenship; it is not a travel document. The application uses form CIT 0001 with checklist CIT 0014. Some applicants can apply online, with 60 days to submit once they start; others must apply on paper, for example a guardian applying for a minor or a family applying for four or more children. The certificate page covers the forms, the urgent cases and the record search.
Children adopted abroad
For a child adopted outside Canada by a Canadian before December 15, 2025, IRCC points to the direct grant route rather than automatic citizenship. For adoptions on or after that date, the same parent test applies as for births: a parent who was born or adopted abroad needs the 1,095 days before the adoption. See IRCC’s page on the citizenship rules since 2025 for the details of each situation.
If you would rather not be Canadian
Automatic citizenship can come as a surprise, for instance to adults who have never lived in Canada and whose other country limits dual nationality. IRCC provides a simplified renunciation for people who became citizens through the 2009, 2015 or 2025 changes: no age or residence condition and no fee, only another citizenship and the capacity to understand the decision. The renunciation page sets out both procedures. The announcement of the law is on IRCC’s news release on Bill C-3.