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Applying for Citizenship or Changing Citizenship Status
For those wishing to apply for Canadian citizenship or change or confirm their citizenship status in Canada, there are steps you may need to take.Obtaining Proof of Citizenship/Citizenship Certificate
In order to access many of the privileges of Canadian citizenship, such as acquiring a Canadian passport, a person may need to present proof of citizenship. For people born in Canada that proof normally comes in the form of a Canadian birth certificate, issued by provinces and territories. For persons born outside of Canada, that proof normally comes in the form of a Canadian Citizenship Certificate.
Most commonly, applications for a Canadian citizenship certificate are made by Canadians wishing to:
- Replace a previously issued certificate which has become lost, stolen or damaged;
- Obtain a certificate for their child
- Update the photograph on their citizenship certificate (though this is not a requirement)
- Obtain a document to prove their citizenship status
- The CIC website provides general information about proof of citizenship/Canadian citizenship certificates, as well as application forms for obtaining the certificates.
Application forms may also be obtained from the Consular Services Section of the Canadian Consulate General in person or be requested by email.
Required documents: Please note required documents must accompany applications. These documents will typically differ depending upon the applicants place of residence. The requirements will also differ depending on whether individuals are applying for a first certificate or applying for a replacement certificate.
Photographs are required and must adhere to detailed photo specifications. The Canadian Consulate General has compiled a list of photo studios in Bermuda, Connecticut, New Jersey, and southern New York that have a copy of the photo specifications for citizenship photographs and regularly produce Canadian citizenship certificate photos. The Consulate suggests bringing a copy of the photo specifications to the studio to ensure the photos obtained meet all requirements.
Submitting Completed Applications: Completed applications along with supporting documentation can be submitted directly to:
Citizenship Processing Centre
Case Processing Centre B Sydney
P.O. Box 10 000
Sydney, NS B1P 7C1
Canada
Alternatively, Canadian residents in Bermuda, Connecticut, New Jersey, or southern New York can mail completed application forms and supporting documentation for review by the Consular Services Section, to the address below. Applications may also be submitted in person but by appointment only (please call (212-596-1759).
Consulate General of Canada
Consular Office
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10020
Consular Officers will:
Carefully review application forms and documents to ensure that all is in order;
Copy and return to applicants the original identification documents submitted; and
Forward applications to the Citizenship Processing Centre in Canada.
Canadians residing in the U.S. but outside of Connecticut, New Jersey, or southern New York, should send completed application forms to the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia (as above) or to the Canadian Consulate General in their area of residence.
Renouncing Citizenship
Some may wish to renounce B or give up B their Canadian citizenship. This could be the case for people planning to take on citizenship of a county which does permit dual citizenship.
A formal application must be made to renounce Canadian citizenship. Once renounced, the former citizen of Canada will lose the rights and privileges associated with Canadian citizenship, such as the right to travel under a Canadian passport and the right to vote in Canadian elections. Following renunciation, a person wishing to return to Canada permanently would have to go through the immigration process.
If you acquired or reacquired your citizenship as a result of changes to the Citizenship Act that took effect on April 17, 2009, you may be eligible to apply to renounce your citizenship through the streamlined renunciation process. This process is available, at no fee, to adults born before February 15, 1977 who automatically became Canadian under the new law and who are citizens of another country.
Required documents: Please note there are required documents to accompany applications. These documents will typically differ depending upon the applicants place of residence.
Photographs must also be obtained and adhere to detailed photo specifications. The Canadian Consulate General has compiled a list of photo studios in Bermuda, Connecticut, New Jersey, and southern New York that have a copy of the photo specifications for citizenship photographs and regularly produce Canadian citizenship certificate photos. The Consulate suggests bringing a copy of the photo specifications to the studio to ensure the photos obtained meet all the requirements.
Submitting Completed Applications: Completed applications along with supporting documentation can be submitted directly to:
Citizenship Processing Centre
Case Processing Centre B Sydney
P.O. Box 10 000
Sydney, NS B1P 7C1
Canada
Alternatively, Canadian residents (in Bermuda, Connecticut, New Jersey, or southern New York) can mail completed application forms and supporting documentation for review by the Consulate General, to the address below. Applications may also be submitted in person but by appointment only (please call to 212-596-1759).
Consulate General of Canada
Consular Office
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Consular Officers will:
- Carefully review application forms and documents to ensure that all is in order;
- Copy and return to applicants the original identification documents submitted; and
- Forward applications to the Citizenship Processing Centre in Canada.
Canadians residing in the US, but outside Connecticut, New Jersey, or southern New York, should send completed application forms to the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia (as above) or to the Canadian Consulate General in their area of residence.
Resume Citizenship
Under new amendments to the Citizenship Act, Canadian citizenship will be granted to certain individuals who lost it and to others recognized as citizens for the first time. Citizenship will be automatic and retroactive to the date of loss or the date of birth, depending on the situation. People will not have to apply for citizenship, but may need to apply for a citizenship certificate, as proof of citizenship. Individuals who were Canadian citizens at the time the law came into effect retained their citizenship.
Learn more about how to resume Canadian citizenship.
