You’re not applying to become Canadian. You’re proving you already are.
Bill C-3, in force since December 15, 2025, retroactively scrapped the first-generation limit that had blocked second-, third-, and deeper-generation descendants since 2009. For anyone born before that date, citizenship by descent now flows through an unlimited chain — a great-great-grandparent born in Canada counts.
What you do: file a Proof of Citizenship application (form CIT 0001) with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). What you get back: a Canadian citizenship certificate confirming what was already true. With that certificate, you can apply for a Canadian passport.
What we do: eligibility assessment, full document-chain procurement across US states and Canadian provinces, photo + signature compliance, name-discrepancy affidavits, and a packet that arrives at IRCC complete the first time. Returns mean months of lost queue position. We prevent them.
Who qualifies under Bill C-3
You qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent if you can document an unbroken chain from yourself back to a Canadian citizen ancestor — born in Canada, or naturalized in Canada before the next link in the chain was born.
- Born before December 15, 2025: no first-generation limit, no physical-presence test. Any documented chain works, however many generations deep.
- Born on or after December 15, 2025: the transmitting Canadian parent must have accumulated 1,095 days (three years) of physical presence in Canada before your birth.
Naturalized ancestors count. Your Canadian ancestor does not need to have been born in Canada. If they immigrated and naturalized, their citizenship transmits to children born after their naturalization date.
Existing applications. If you applied during the Bjorkquist interim measures (Dec 2023 – Dec 2025), IRCC will process you under C-3 automatically. You do not refile.
How proof of citizenship works
The CIT 0001 application is the proof step. IRCC reviews your document chain and issues a citizenship certificate (paper or e-certificate) confirming you are Canadian.
- Document chain assembly. Your long-form birth certificate, your parent’s long-form birth certificate, and every Canadian ancestor’s vital records up to and including your “anchor” ancestor. Marriage certificates where any name changed.
- ID and photos. Photo ID for the applicant (both sides), citizenship-specification photos (50mm × 70mm — not the same as passport photos), and signature compliance.
- Submission to IRCC. Online where available, paper where required. International paper applications add 3–4 months of mail handling on top of IRCC processing.
- Issuance. Acknowledgement of receipt (AOR), then processing, then your citizenship certificate. As of May 12, 2026, IRCC’s posted processing estimate is 12 months with roughly 70,400 applications in the queue.
What we provide: per-province document procurement routing, the “weak link” check on every generation in your chain, name-discrepancy affidavit preparation, photo & signature QA, and a complete CIT 0001 packet ready to submit.
What you'll need at a glance
The full per-province document map lives on its own page (linked below). The short version:
- Your long-form birth certificate (and your spouse’s, if name changed)
- Your Canadian parent or ancestor’s long-form birth certificate from the issuing province (Quebec records pre-1994 must be re-issued by DEC or BAnQ — the certificate copy must be post-1994)
- Marriage certificates bridging every name change in the chain
- Citizenship-spec photos (50mm × 70mm — not passport photos)
- Both sides of photo ID; both photo and signature pages of any passport
- A cover letter mapping the chain and flagging every name variant
Deeper guidance: Canadian vital records: how to order documents in each province.
The cost
IRCC’s government fee is small. The friction is in document procurement, especially for older Canadian ancestors and pre-1994 Quebec births.
| IRCC proof of citizenship fee | C$75 |
| US long-form birth certificates | $15–$50 each |
| Canadian provincial vital records | C$20–C$60 each |
| Quebec DEC / BAnQ re-issuance (if needed) | C$40–C$60 |
| Document translation (if non-EN/FR) | $50–$200 each |
| Citizenship-spec photos | $15–$30 |
| CitizensOS Heritage Apply | Current Heritage Passport membership price |
| Other expected costs | Shown before checkout |
Lawyers and RCICs quoting $2,000–$3,000 per person for routine CIT 0001 applications are charging well above the work’s complexity. Heritage Passport membership pricing is resolved live before checkout.
The complete Canada guide
Twelve guides covering every step — from “am I eligible?” to your citizenship certificate. Start with the cornerstone, then follow your stage.
Start hereCanadian Citizenship by Descent under Bill C-3: the complete guide
Start here. The whole path in one place — what the law changed, whether you already qualify, how to prove it, and what to do when the process stalls.
Read the complete guideAre you eligible?
Find out whether Bill C-3 already made you a citizen.
Build your document chain
The proof lives entirely in the paperwork.
The lineage documents that make or break your claim
Exactly which birth, marriage, and status records prove an unbroken chain.
ReadCanadian vital records by province
How to order the right long-form records in each province — including Quebec's pre-1994 trap.
ReadThe CIT 0001 document checklist
Everything the package needs, in order, before you file.
ReadFile the application
Form CIT 0001 — proof of citizenship, not a grant.
After you file
Track your file — and troubleshoot when it stalls.
Decoding your application status
Why “In Progress” for months doesn't mean what it appears to for a descent file.
ReadStuck in the PSU — what it actually means
Why descent files get referred, and what you can do about it.
ReadGCMS notes: see what IRCC wrote
How to request the internal notes on your file — and the workaround for applicants abroad.
ReadUrgent processing
When you can skip the year-long wait — and when you genuinely can't.
ReadReady to start?
Canadian ancestor in your chain
Start Heritage Apply. We assemble the document chain, prep the affidavits, QA the photos, and deliver a CIT 0001 packet ready to submit.
Start Heritage PassportNot sure if you qualify
Bill C-3 changed who qualifies. If you’ve been told no in the past, the answer may now be yes. Send us your family tree — we’ll tell you what we see.
Book a 15-minute callAbout this guide
This guide is written and maintained by CitizensOS. Reviewed against the wave-2 Canada research corpus (Bill C-3 official summary, IRCC CIT 0001 guide, IRCC processing-time data as of May 12, 2026, and r/Canadiancitizenship community intel). Last updated: 2026-05-25.
CitizensOS is a mobility asset manager. We help Americans discover, plan, and execute international residency and citizenship rights as a managed portfolio. We do not act as your authorized representative before IRCC. You file CIT 0001 yourself with a packet we’ve built and reviewed.