That includes great, great grandparents.
In order to obtain proof of Canadian citizenship, you would need to document your line of descent through historical documents and birth records.
My mom’s side of the family is all Cajun, which means they came from France, went to Canada, and then settled in Louisiana (where I was born). Considering how long ago all this happened there is likely exactly zero documentation about this. What can I do?
Here’s some details on the bill. The Acadian Expulsion happened about 100 years before Canada became an independent country. So your ancestors would not have been Canadian citizens during the deportation. I am not an immigration lawyer though. There is a contact page on the immigration site, you could just ask them.
Do you have to apply or is it automatic? If automatic I can see potential for another round of eligibility issues in Australia’s parliament coming up - you can’t be a member of parliament while holding another citizenship and unknown/forgotten citizenships have caught people out before.
You have to apply as you have to prove that you qualify for the Citizenship (you present your family tree with proofs of births and marriages and whatever is needed to reach that “canadian ancestor”), once it is done, you get a “Proof of Citizenship”, that is what will then allow you to apply for Passport, Driving License, jobs… It kinda becomes your “birth certificate”. Now, to note, I got this in 2014 due to my mother being born Canadian (and me not) and it took me over a year to get my paperwork (close to two) and there is not a “temporary citizen” status, so you have yo wait until you get it to come to Canada (barring visiting of course). With the influx of submissions that this change will create you can expect those times to increase (unless they open a specific channel for it 🤞).
wait what. fuck yes. i have easy access to all of these. original birth certs back four generations. what’s this law
My relatives from Canada are like 6 or more generations back, is that too far?
Technically no, though you need to show some documentation of that lineage. The most straightforward way would be through birth or baptismal records. Otherwise, some have suggested census and immigration records can work.
You can find a lot of documents on sites like ancestry and similar.
isnt it mostly direct ancestors or at least 1 generation removed.
Very little has been tested yet, but the general thinking is that there’s probably no longer any generation cap, except for babies born since the new change went into effect a couple of weeks ago. The real trick is in proving it. From what I have read, the Canadian bureaucracy that processes these has usually asked for primary documentation, so actual birth certificates or centrally maintained religious records, and only once those have been exhaustively searched and the relevant local offices throw up their hands (via an official “we tried” letter) will they consider things like census forms and border-crossing logs.
Damn. My ancestors lived in northern edge US states. So close…
Dammit, I knew there was a downside to avoiding people so thoroughly.
I just wanted to add that many countries have similar ancestor laws allowing you to apply for citizenship if you have any roots there. It’s not always easy - but at least you may have an “in” that others would not. So if you think you have a grandfather who immigrated from somewhere or other, look it up and see if you might be able to get on a path to citizenship there. My wife did this earlier this year, and all it took was some paperwork and a visit to a consulate with her parents.
I looked into Greece and the heritages citizenship went away for children born after thr early 80s.
What if I speak the Kannada language?
Ugh… so many of these, and I look around. I know I’m at minimum 4th generation US on both sides of my family.
Holy shit, I might be a Canadian citizen!
My genealogy might finally pay off! I have a lot of French Canadians back in my family tree. Now to track down the documents to prove it
For Quebec you can find a lot of birth records here
Looks like my 2nd great grandfather was born in Hawkesbury, Ontario in 1881! I think that means I qualify!
Hawkesbury has a really good Taco Bell. Probably didn’t in 1881 though.
Lots of details captured here on how to apply and what forms you need https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/wiki/index/
Thank you!
What if my ex was 1/4 Canadian? Do I have to re-marry her?
Can I marry your ex? I want out of here.
If she is there and so are the kids, you probably have some kind of path to citizenship or at least residency, even if it is not immediate. Being the parent / guardian of a citizen is something to start with in most places, at least. But only if they are actually there.
If there are no kids involved and you are no longer married, I would guess that you have nothing to work with.
This is real! I’m one of these people and my family is working on assembling the documentation!
Hell yeah get up here bud!
Holy shit congrats buddy.
This means that in most cases you’re automatically a Canadian citizen if you were born
- before December 15, 2025
- outside Canada to a Canadian parent
This rule also applies to you if you were born to someone who became Canadian because of these rule changes.
Anyone want to be my parent? Asking for a friend.
I wonder if I, too, could be a citizen by recursion.
That can’t be right. That’s infinitely recursive…
Canada has only existed since 1867, so not exactly.
So, if I understand this correctly, if I can prove that one of my ancestors was a Canadian citizen, then all their descendants have automatically been made Canadian citizens, including me?
Yes it seems so, but only up to people born before Dec 15 2025. Anyone born after require that their Canadian parent had spent at least 3 years in Canada, in order to also be Canadian
Ugh, just missed it. I was born on the 16th
Inductively so, if they’re still alive.
I was hopeful for a moment then realized that my Canadian ancestors would have been British.
Guess we’re going to be Canada
Not me! My great great great great grandmother died in Quebec, but that’s about my only connection to Canada :P
Am I the only one that read this as an incest joke?
If it’s a joke, I don’t understand my own joke :P
Neat. My grandfather moved to America from New Brunswick.
