r/CanadaAdoptedCitizens

Dear all,

Thank you for sharing your wisdom here! Our ancestors, including my great-grandparents, are from Quebec. They migrated to the US, where subsequent generations have been born/lived.

We have assembled documents to substantiate our ancestral link to Canada.

Please help me understand the rules for adoptees.

I have four children--two biological and two adopted in the US/from the US. For our adopted children, their birth certificates were changed upon adoption finalization, with my husband and I listed as their parents. (This is the normal process where we are...)

Today, our immigration lawyer told me that our adopted children ARE NOT ELIGIBLE for citizenship, simply because they are adopted.

This seems to conflict with what I have read in this forum.

As I read the "rules" (as a layperson), I understand that

1. I am assumed to be Canadian from birth and am working to demonstrate and certify Canadian citizenship

2. Our children are eligible, as long as we can document an "uninterrupted" ancestral line.

3. There is a different set of documents needed for our adopted daughters, and the process may take longer than the typical citizenship by descent process.

Can anyone recommend a lawyer who has been helpful with cases like this--where the applicant family has clearly documented ancestral links to Canada AND at least one member of the applicant family is adopted (in and from the US)?

Thank you. I am so grateful.

I am receiving mixed messages regarding my eligibility of Canadian Citizenship by descent. My Gen 0 is my great-great-grandmother, born in Quebec. My grandfather adopted my mother as an infant. It is my understanding my mother is eligible for Canadian Citizenship through CIT 0010. We're currently battling with the state to locate a Certified Adoption Decree, which is turning out to be a very difficult process, even though we know the identities of her birth parents.

Where I come in is that I plan on applying for proof of citizenship using CIT 0001, as I've already sourced all of the required documentation to provide the line of descent to my grandfather. I was told by a Canadian immigration attorney that I am eligible, but my mother must submit her application using form CIT 0010, and that we should include the applications in the same mailer in separate envelopes. He said that I am not applying to be granted citizenship through my mother, but as an individual by descent, and I should include a letter of explanation that my mother was adopted.

u/tabbysthreads appears to have had success with her children being approved using this process. So I am very confused by what I hear on this subreddit with people being told they are ineligible, where as my conversation with a Canadian immigration attorney & u/tabbysthreads experience seem to say otherwise. In short, I'm going to go ahead and apply once we get the adoption decree and I'll let y'all know what happens. The worst thing that could happen is I'm rejected and am out of $55.

I'm going through the CIT 0010 and 0012 process for myself. I was adopted as an infant and I have no way to establish Canadian ancestry through my biological lines even though I have all of my adoption paperwork and original birth certificate.

Do I just do this for myself first and then do my son after receiving my certificate? Or should I do it in parallel?

How do I go about doing it in parallel if that's ideal?

Has anyone paid the fees for Part 1 of the Adoption application in the last couple weeks?

When you go to the Citizenship Fee payment page, it says $100 for minors. But I found another page that shows family sponsorship of an adopted child is $180 due to a price increase that took effect on April 30, 2026. https://ircc.canada.ca/english/information/fees/fees.asp

There's no option on the payment page for $180. Any suggestions?

My biological daughter from my first marriage was subsequently adopted by my second husband. My great-grandmother was Canadian and I have proof of this line. Do I have to apply for her under Adopted citizens? or under biological citizens? The rest of my family depends on her status.

My father was adopted sometime between 1950 and 1955 ish by his stepfather. His paternal grandfather on the adoptive side was born in Ontario in 1887, making him (potentially) my G0. I have read so many websites and I still can’t figure out if my child and I are eligible for citizenship.

I know approximately when/where the adoption took place in the US. Those records are sealed, as is the unaltered birth certificate. Everyone that could know info is deceased and my father was the oldest; none of his half-siblings were born/old enough at the time of the adoption. I have ordered my dad’s amended bc and i have mine. I know names/birth dates and have supporting records for all except my dad.

My uncle (his half-brother) and I are working together. He reports my dad is not interested in claiming/proving/applying for citizenship. He will likely also not be interested in helping me as we are non on speaking terms.

I guess I just need some guidance. I’m willing to do the leg work if needed, I’m just not sure where to start or if it’s even possible.

Posting this for my wife (also posted on r/Canadiancitizenship ):

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding whether a chain of descent would count as having an adoption or not (I apologize in advance if this is confusing). My father was adopted by his stepfather (who married his biological mother). His stepfather has a direct ancestor born in Canada and would be considered a citizen via descent (the stepfather has since passed on). My father's birth certificate lists the stepfather as his father, and he (my father) has the same last name as the stepfather.

Would the stepfather be considered his legal father in the eyes of the IRCC? It is unclear if the birth certificate ever showed a different father/last name, now the only available record shows the stepfather. I understand Canada states that a legal parent must be listed on the original birth certificate (https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship/helpcentre/glossary.html#legal-parent), but to my understanding the "original" (i.e. physical copy the US government has on file) lists his stepfather?

Just curious if this would count as a chain of descent, or if I would be ineligible for C-3 because IRCC would view my father as adopted. Thank you for your time!

Like the heading says, my packet for part 1 made it to the processing center today. My case is pretty cut and dry since my adoptive mother (single parent) is Canadian. What should I expect from here? Do they email you for part 2? Is there a way to track it? Im also in Florida where my OG birth certificate is sealed so I imagine I will insert a letter stating I am unable to retrieve that due to it being sealed. Is there anything else I should know about that I am not thinking of? Anything helps at this point. Thank you.

My (now deceased) adopted mother was born in Ontario in the 1930s and came to America as a teenager in the 1940s. As far as I know, she never renounced her Canadian citizenship, so I believe I qualify for Canadian citizenship under the new laws. I'm eager to get started on the paperwork, but looking at the document checklists, I think I'm going to hit a few snags. Should I wait until they're all resolved before submitting Part 1?

1. In Part 1's Confirmation of Canadian Citizenship of the Adoptive Parent(s) (CIT 0010), it's explicitly asking the date when my mom's dual citizenship was attained outside of Canada. I know she eventually became a United States citizen sometime before I was born, but I have no clue when that happened, or even how to find that out. Do I need to find that date, or would a written "unknown" suffice?
2. Also on CIT 0010, it's asking for my name at birth. I'm aware that my biological parents gave me another name at birth (for those few hours/days/whatever it was before my adoption was finalized), but I don't currently have any paperwork to verify that or back that up. Would I need to verify my birth name before proceeding with Part 1?
3. Likewise, Part 2 explicitly asks for the Final Adoption Order, Adoption Judgement, or Adoption Certificate, as well as a birth certificate showing the names of my biological parents - documents of which I have none of and apparently would require a court order to unseal in my state of California. Although not required for Part 1, I suspect that it's going to take a while to get. Should I get started now on all that, or wait until I'm getting started on Part 2?

Thanks for everyone's advice in advance!

Hi! I was born in Miami FL and a privately arranged adoption took place with my adoptive parents in Illinois.

Has anyone here had to secure sealed birth records in FL?

I was thrilled and hopeful when I learned about C-3. 80% of the way done in pulling necessary paperwork when I started to see stipulations for adoptee.

Now I'm utterly confused trying to review who qualifies.

My GG was born in Quebec, married a US citizen in the US and stayed in the US. My Grandmother was born, then my Father. My Father (and his wife) adopted me as an infant, took me home from the hospital after I was born and a new birth certificate issued showing the two of them as my parents.

I'd like to secure my Canadian citizenship certificate and also offer the option to my adult daughter. But because my father wasn't Canadian when I was born, it appears I might not qualify. Am I misinterpreting?

The alternative looks to be I need to submit his paperwork first and then I can apply. But I'm stumped when I look at the document checklist for Part 1-Confirmation of Canadian Citizenship of the Adoptive Parent and it asks for "one proof of Canadian citizenship of the adoptive parent". Isn't that what I'm attempting to do in Part I?

TIA for anyone who has some guidance or insight.

My wife and I have a baby. We are lesbians. I carried our baby and he is genetically related to me and not to my wife. My wife was listed on his birth certificate when he was born (legal parent at birth). Because we live in a terrifying time, we did a second parent adoption after our son was born so that my wife’s legal rights would never be questioned. My wife is the one with Canadian ancestry. Will our son (who was born before December 2025) qualify through her, or will we need to apply for him as an adoptee?

Edit to add: we had his birth certificate before the adoption went through, listing my wife as parent, nothing changed, didn’t need to get a new birth certificate.

I working on Citizenship by Descent on my maternal side. My mother was adopted at birth, and her original birth certificate lists her adoptive parents as her birth parents (and does not indicate her adoption as at all). My descent is through my grandmothers line. Can I just say she was born to Canadian parents on CIT 0001 and list them as biological parents as her birth records list her as? She was adopted at a time when it was very hush-hush and didn't know she was adopted for many years (and may still not know in the yes of the IRCC)

Our family has 2 situations going simultaneously. 5 of us in 3 generations are sending in for citizenship certificates under the C3 bill. We will be sending these off soon

My 2 children were adopted from Eastern Europe to the USA 10+ years ago in their Eastern European country and then the process was repeated in the USA. There are legal/personal safeguards in place for them due to the personal circumstances of their adoptions and a birth certificate with their birth mother’s name would be actually illegal for anyone to attempt to obtain.

I’m told I should send Part 1 (in a different envelope) at the same time the rest of us send our paperwork? What should I be sending in with it? Similar or same documents that are going for the rest of us?

Is sending the current Eastern European and USA birth certificate appropriate for the in part 2? If so which one, again I adopted them twice in two different countries. Eastern Europe first then USA.

Is a copy of a now expired EU passport considered an acceptable form of ID for a child? I think I read there needs to be copies of 2 ids? They have a current USA passport.