Canadian Citizenship

CANADA
CITIZENSHIP: Citizenship is based upon the Canadian Citizenship Act, dated 1947, the
Citizenship Act, and the Citizenship Regulations dated 1977. All persons who were citizens of
Canada before February 14, 1977 remained citizens of Canada.
Questions concerning persons born before January 1, 1947 (the date of independence), should be
directed to the Embassy. (UKC-Commonwealth Nation)
BY BIRTH: Person born on or after February 14, 1977, regardless of the nationalities of the
parents. Exceptions to this law include children born to diplomatic personnel and children of
parents who were not legal residents in Canada at the time of the birth.
BY DESCENT: Person born abroad, on or after February 14, 1977, at least one of whose
parents was a citizen of Canada. Upon reaching the age of 28, if the person has not returned
to reside in Canada and applied to retain citizenship, Canadian citizenship will be revoked.
BY NATURALIZATION: Canadian citizenship may be acquired upon fulfillment of the following
conditions:
Person is 18 years or older.
Person has been a legal resident in Canada for three years out of the previous four years.
Person can communicate in English or French.
Person has knowledge of Canada, including the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Person is not under criminal sentence, order of deportation, or charged with or convicted of
an indictable offence.
DUAL CITIZENSHIP: RECOGNIZED.
Before the Citizenship Act of February 15, 1977, Canadian law limited dual citizenship. Canadians
who became citizens of another country before this date should check with the Embassy to see if
they may still hold Canadian citizenship.
LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP:
VOLUNTARY: Voluntary renunciation of Canadian citizenship is permitted by law. Contact
the Embassy for details and required paperwork.
INVOLUNTARY: The following are grounds for involuntary loss of naturalized Canadian
citizenship:
Naturalized citizenship was obtained through fraud or false statement.
Naturalized citizen has spent more than 10 years living abroad.
ANY QUESTIONS concerning citizenship, or requests for renunciation of citizenship, should be
directed to the address below:
Embassy of Canada, Consular Section
501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
Embassy/Consular Telephone: 202-682-1740
Fax: 202-682-7726
www.canada.gc.ca/main_e.html
www.cic.gc.ca
www.statcan.ca