Last year, I gained my Canadian citizenship through ancestry — my dad was born in Canada — and started down the path of getting Canadian citizenship for my kids and husband, a trickier task and still a work-in-progress. I have spent many hours poring over Canadian government websites, talking to immigration experts, and navigating the paperwork and nitty-gritty details of applying for citizenship.
The process of getting Canadian citizenship involves too many variables to cover here — each person’s situation is different — but I’ll offer a bird’s-eye look at what can be a very detailed and involved process at ground level. If you have a complex situation, it makes sense to seek professional advice and assistance from an immigration lawyer or consultant. If you have a straightforward and solid case, you can easily apply on your own without help, as I did.
US citizens in good standing have several pathways to gaining Canadian citizenship: by descent, meaning through a parent who was born in Canada; family sponsorship, when a Canadian citizen sponsors his or her spouse, partner, dependent children, or other relatives; or naturalization through permanent residency, when you live in Canada for a certain amount of time to qualify for citizenship (and meet other requirements).
First, a clarification: A US citizen with a parent who was born in Canada and has (or once had) Canadian citizenship doesn’t technically “gain” citizenship; they apply for “proof” of citizenship, in the form of a Certificate of Citizenship document. When I received this document last year, it dated my Canadian citizenship as valid since my actual birth date, not the date the document was issued. I was already eligible for Canadian citizenship under current rules — I just had to prove the connection to get a document stating that I am a Canadian citizen. People who obtain citizenship through spousal sponsorship or permanent residency are “granted” citizenship.
The easiest pathway to citizenship is through ancestry. If you’re pursuing citizenship by descent, go to the Government of Canada’s website to find out about eligibility, get an application form, learn what supporting documents will work, and check your application status: www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html.
To get my Certificate of Citizenship, I downloaded and filled out an application, paid $75 Canadian (about $56 US) online, gathered necessary family documents, and mailed a printout of my application with all supporting documents and citizenship photos (taken at Walgreens) to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) office in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The process took 18 months, longer than usual due to a COVID backlog and a missing document, but it was otherwise straightforward. (Today’s processing time, according to the IRCC, is four months, but plan on up to a year.)
When applying for a Certificate of Citizenship, you’ll need a color copy of your birth certificate and your Canadian parent’s proof of citizenship, which can be a Certificate of Citizenship or a birth certificate (you may be able to purchase an official copy of your parent’s birth certificate if you don’t have one — each province and territory has its own system for recording vital statistics). You may also need a marriage certificate (yours and/or your parents’) to prove your Canadian lineage, and official census, naturalization, or death records, or a baptismal certificate.
This scenario may apply to you, a first-generation citizen born to a Canadian parent, but what about your kids? Can they get Canadian citizenship from a grandparent? At the moment, no (depending on your situation), but that is expected to change soon.
For a little background: In April 2009, the Canadian government passed the Citizenship Act, which restricted citizenship to the first generation only (the second generation born to a Canadian citizen became known as the “lost Canadians”). The Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared this first-generation limit unconstitutional in December 2023, and after Canada’s general election in March 2025, Parliament introduced a bill to allow these “lost Canadians” — people born outside Canada with grandparents born in Canada — to obtain their Canadian citizenship. The bill hasn’t passed yet, but it’s expected to in October, according to Ian Goldman, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer for more than 30 years.
“What I’m recommending for my clients is ‘start preparing,’” says Goldman, especially tracking down proof of a grandparent’s Canadian citizenship, which can be a challenge. “But you can’t prepare an application until the government actually issues the documents, the forms, and the checklist that you’ll need to apply. I expect around September the application information will be released and then you can submit [your application] as soon as the law takes effect.”
The second route to citizenship — through permanent residency — can work for those without ancestral ties. To get permanent residency status, you can go through one of Canada’s permanent residency programs, such as Express Entry (for skilled workers), Start-Up Visa or SUV (for investors), or specific caregiver or refugee resettlement programs. Each province or territory also has its own programs for skilled workers and entrepreneurs, so don’t just look at the federal government website.
“If there’s a shortage, the government wants you,” says Goldman, who has helped Americans get into Canada within about six months through the Express Entry program. “You don’t have to be a tech wizard,” he adds, noting that with the current population growth in Canada and the demand for new homes, for instance, you could likely find a job “if you’re an electrician or in construction.”
There’s often a demand for teachers in rural areas and currently a need for early childhood educators, which falls under the caregiver program, says Goldman.
“Almost all provinces are looking for health care workers,” he adds. “That’s how I’m getting people from Massachusetts,” says Goldman, who is helping a Bay State pediatrician get a work visa so she can move to British Columbia. “It really depends on where there’s a shortage” and what you’re open to doing to make a change. “From time to time, there’s a shortage of people flipping hamburgers in a small town in the mountains, and you can do that.”
Once you move to Canada and get a job and a work permit, you can apply for permanent residency. To apply for citizenship through residency, you must live in Canada for 3 out of 5 years (that’s 1,095 days in a 5-year period), file taxes in Canada (if at a tax-paying age) for three years, and prove your English or French language skills. You may also have to take a citizenship test that questions, for example, your knowledge of Canadian history, economy, symbols, geography, government, and rights and responsibilities.
Anyone 18 to 54 must take the citizenship test, whereas adults 55 and older and anyone 17 and younger do not. You can get a free online, MP3, ebook, or PDF version of the publication “Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship” to study for the test, which requires you to answer 15 of the 20 questions correctly to pass. You get three chances to pass this online test within 30 days (questions are true/false and multiple choice).
Those who pass the test—and anyone 14 to 17 who is granted citizenship—must then take the oath of citizenship at a citizenship ceremony, which can happen by videoconference or in person.
If you have Canadian citizenship or permanent residency status, you can then sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child through Canada’s family sponsorship program. (Quebec has its own set of rules and requirements for sponsorship.) You’ll need to show that you can support the person you’re sponsoring (for anywhere from three to 10 years, depending on the relationship) and that he or she doesn’t need government social assistance.
You and the person you’re sponsoring need to submit separate applications, and the sponsored individual must undergo medical, criminal, and background checks. If you’re a permanent resident, you need to live in Canada to sponsor a spouse or partner, but if you’re a Canadian citizen, you and your partner can live abroad during the process as long as you can prove that you both intend to live in Canada once your partner’s residency is granted.
Whether you’re seeking Canadian citizenship through ancestry or one of the many residency pathways, recognize that it can be a lengthy process that requires patience, diligence, and an attention to small details that can make a big difference in the outcome. Most importantly, stay organized, use all your resources, and don’t give up.
Kari Bodnarchuk can be reached at travelwriter@karib.us.
Kari Bodnarchuk can be reached at travelwriter@karib.us.