r/CitizenshipByDescent

Users identifying themselves as trans Americans have reported having their applications processed in as little as two weeks, under the urgent processing criteria established by Canada’s citizenship department, IRCC.

Before you read the rest, I want to say thank you for taking a moment to help me. I know the answer is “No you don’t have a case”, but I’m someone who needs to be told that to my face before I give up on something I care about. I also can’t afford those wild consolation fees lmao. So again, thank you for this moment.

I’ve listed my basic ancestry below. If there is any loophole or opportunity I’m missing, it would mean the world if you could point it out. I suspect I missed the cutoff for eligibility by a month.

5th GGrandfather 1

-Military settler following war of 1812 (Private, 1st regiment life guard)

-Arrived in 1817 on ship “Vittorio”

-Settled in Bathurst, Lanark County, Upper Canada

-Eventually granted land (along with all of his sons) in Plympton, Lambton County, Upper Canada

-No death certificate found, but it is suspected he died in the “Detroit area”

5th GGrandmother 1

-Married my 5th GGrandfather in England before moving to Upper Canada as military settlers with him

-No death certificate, but is suspected to have died in upper Canada 

5th GGrandfather 2

-Arrived in upper Canada in 1821 on the ship “The Prompt” as part of the “emigrating societies” from Scotland.

-Granted land and settled in Dalhousie Township, Lanark County, Upper Canada

-Moved to Plympton, Lambton County, Upper Canada in 1835 after a petition for new land was granted

-Passed away in Plympton in 1846

5th GGrandmother 2

-Married 5th GGfather 2 in Scotland in 1799

-Immigrated to upper Canada with family

-Passed away in “Canada” in 1835

4th GGrandfather 

-Born in 1807 in England 

-Settled with family in Upper Canada in 1817

-Married 4th GGrandmother in Plympton, Upper Canada in 1838

-Left upper Canada and immigrated to Illinois in early 1846

-Passed away in 1853

4th GGrandmother

-Born in 1814 in Scotland 

-Moved to Upper Canada with family in 1821

-Immigrated to Illinois in early 1846

-Passed away in 1875

3rd GGrandfather

-Born in Illinois in April 1846 (Likely a month or so after his parents left upper Canada)

-Passed away in 1933

All following descendants were born and died in the US

The applications is actually going back beyond grandparents, the key is proving an unbroken documentary chain connecting each generation to the Canadian ancestor. The further back it goes, the harder it gets in practice, as it can get difficult to locate the documents needed to prove the Canadian citizenship of the ancestor.

I would really recommend looking into professional help if you are dealing with a complex multi-generational case, as it makes a big difference having someone who knows exactly what IRCC wants to see.

As for non-certified records, from what I understand, IRCC does not typically need certified records.
Hope this helps, and good luck to us all!

Hello, trying to put my C3 packet together but the copy of the original, embossed docs don’t show the embossed area. I tried reading some How To’s but don’t understand them. Can someone send me a video How To link, please?

I have many records - especially Nazi records - saying that my great grandfather was Serbian. But, I don't have his resident card (Karton Žitelja) or know his home parish/municipality (Zavičaj). I have his baptismal record from 1875. But, his father was a low-level official who moved around for his employer. I also have from Belgrade in 1924 and 1944 his address registrations, which are in difficult to read handwriting.

Do I understand correctly: the 1924 and 1944 address registrations can be used to find his Karton Žitelja? And, his Karton Žitelja can be used to find his Zavičaj?

He was born inside the borders of present day Serbia near Vrsac. My grandmother was born in a different place near Vrsac. She was 16 in 1918 when her citizenship would have been derived from her fathers. But she was then in the USA where she was taken by her mother after her parents separated.

So my grandmother was a citizen of Yugoslavia who was born inside the present day borders of Serbia to a father who was an ethnic Serb. She emigrated as a child to the USA. So Article 23 applies. It really is this generous.

I have a question I have not seen covered, might be silly, but just to check for sure. My great grandparents both came to the US in the mid 1860s and were children under 10 years old with their parents, do I need to go back one more generation to the adults?

Hi all! Apologies if this is a silly question! I have found mixed answers online and was hoping someone on here could help!

I’m an adult who was born & raised in the US. My step dad was born and raised in Canada. He moved to the US decades ago for grad school and ended up staying. He still has dual citizenship. His Dad is still a lifelong resident in Canada.

Does this connection allow me to apply for citizenship? My step dad has never legally adopted me. Thanks in advance!

So, after looking through all the new guidelines, I believe I do qualify but I still wanted some input, as my family has some confusion around the new bill.

My great great grandfather was born in Quebec in 1873 and later moved to the United States. Every generation after has been born in the United States. I was able to find an archival scan of his baptismal record, a Canadian census record from when he was 8, and a scan of his New Hampshire marriage certificate to my great great grandmother, which corroborates his Canadian birth and parents names on baptismal record + census. From there, I have a direct maternal line, so I have copies of all of those U.S. birth certificates.

Heyo might be a long one I apologize,

A few questions regarding the C-3 Bill Canadian By Descent. 1. Does anybody have any tips or advice with successful applications that were for ancestry greater than grandparents? 2. Did you consult lawyers or genealogists? 3. If I cannot find birth certificates or baptismal records in the church archives would census records work instead and a certified death record? And lastly do non certified records for some of my USA descendants hurt my application chances?

My scenario, is my great x4 grandfather emigrated to USA from Canada (Ontario) born there and his parents were born and married there.I have requested birth and death records. I have a detailed family tree showing the unbroken lineage.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I appreciate any tips advice or feedback. :) Been to Canada a few times and enjoyed every time I was there. I posted this as well in the Canadian Genealogy chat, so if you're seeing double its not a mistake

Hello fine people of reddit, I would like your opinions please

My great grandfather was born in Canada in 1868. I would like to use him as G0. When I apply for Canadian citizenship. Do you think I have enough proof?

I have not found his (G0's) birth record or his baptismal record. I have sent in a request for the baptismal records of the church I believe the family belonged to but it will take months to hear back and there's no guarantee its even there.

What I do have:

Death Certificate from 1935 listing his place of birth as Canada

1871 Canadian census G0's birth place Canada

1880 US census G0's birth place Canada

1900 US census G0's birth place Canada

1910 US census G0's birth place Canada

1920 US census G0's birth place Canada and 1st mention of my grandmother (G1)

1930 US census birth place Canada with grandmother (G1)also listed

I also have my grandmother's (G1) birth certificate and marriage certificate listing G0 as her father. I also have access to her death certificate but haven't seen it yet so I'm unsure if her father (G0) is listed

My father's (G2) birth certificate, marriage certificate and death certificate all with mention of my grandmother (G1)

My(G3) birth certificate with my father's (G2) name

I had come across one article that showed documents needed, and it listed birth death and marriage certificate following name changes. My question is, do you need birth and death certificates for each person in the linage that is now dead, or do you need at least one of them, just showing parental link in chain of ancestry? I feel like I am spiraling in “I need more documentation” and will end up with more paperwork than I need that is just going to slow it down.
I do not have birth certificates for Gen 0, they were both born in the 1860s in Quebec, a bit south of Montreal. I have photos of the baptismal records of both of them with a translation from Ancestry. I have death certificate for my great grandfather, as he died here in the US, near me, but again, it is a photo of the certificate. My cousin said she was able to get the certificate 15 years ago, but when I went this week, they couldn’t find the record. I asked them to forward it to the state office, but it should have been in this office. They couldn’t find my mother’s birth certificate last week, either, but my sister found it, last minute.

So to recap from babbling, do you need both birth and death for each step of the linage?

My great-great-grandmother Amalia Hejm was born 1870 in Ostrowo, Province of Posen, Prussia. In 1900 she married a Russian Imperial subject in Kalisz, automatically losing her German citizenship under the nationality law then in force. The 1900 marriage register explicitly describes her as “daughter of the city of Ostrowo in Prussia.”
The loss was NOT persecution-driven — routine consequence of marrying a foreigner. The argument is that it became irreparable after 1933: as a Jewish woman, Amalia was permanently excluded from recovering German citizenship. The 11th Ordinance (1941) formally stripped citizenship from Jews abroad.
Her grandson survived KZ Płaszów. I am his great-grandson, applying under §15 StAG from Spain.
Has anyone seen the BVA accept or reject a §15 No. 1 claim where the citizenship loss predates 1933 but NS persecution made recovery impossible?
§15 No. 4 deprioritized — Kalisz was outside 1937 borders.

Thank you!

This is so confusing.

Do I have a claim to Canadian citizenship through my birth mother under the amendments to the Citizenship Act?

I was born in the United States in 1958. My birth mother was unmarried at the time of my birth, and no father is listed on my birth certificate. I was later adopted in the United States.

My birth mother likely was a Canadian citizen by descent. Her grandparents were born in Canada and later moved to the United States. Her parents and she herself were born in the United States.

I have never lived in Canada and have never held permanent resident status.

Based on these facts, do I potentially have a viable claim to Canadian citizenship by descent through my birth mother? Does my later adoption in 1959 in the United States defeat the claim?

Thanks for any information that you can provide

My father was Canadian citizen born to two Canadian citizens. But in his 20s he came to the us. For some reason created fake identity, met and married my mom, got a id because once you get married you have legal document, now you can get a id, with id you can get a military id as my mom was in the military, then he got a ssn issued on the fake name. They divorced, years later he got into legal trouble got deported back to Canada and excited from us for 25 years. In my early 20s we became estranged due to his drug use. The then overdosed, he is sent to hospital and put on life support. Hospital finds my name and phone number in wallet and calls me asks if I’m his daughter, says that if I want to see him alive I better come. I drive there 6 hrs to see him hooked up, in a coma, on life support. I say my peace and go home. 2 days later they call me and ask me to pull life support. Which I do, then I sign papers with crematorium to get my father cremated and release him from hospital to crematorium.
I have already requested hospital record listing im his daughter/next of kin removed life support and took possession of his remain.
I have already done USCIS FOIA (MOST IMPORTANT — MASTER FILE), ICE FOIA (DETENTION RECORDS), CBP FOIA (ENTRY / REMOVAL / BORDER HISTORY), request to the National Archives (NARA), crematorium records, Coroner’s records. Trying to get birth and death records both say I can’t as I’m not executor of will or his spouse.

I have made and been dna matched with my heritage.com to some of my extended family.
I’m in contact with my father’s sister’s (who is alive and in a nursing home) granddaughter. I’m trying to get contact with my aunt, to fill in anything I might be missing. Both of my father’s parents have passed away, his brother has passed away and his last sister I’m not sure if she is alive or dead.

Hope have done all or more then I need to.
But any ideas you can give would be appreciated.

TL;dr: Trying to find a way to document my great-grandmother’s movements between 1918 and 1935.

I’m trying to get Austrian citizenship via my great-grandmother. She was born in Lemberg, Galizien, Austria-Hungary (now L’viv, Ukraine), just after the turn of the century (1903 or 1906; conflicting information). She immigrated to Canada in the mid-late 1920s (Naturalized in 1935). With the current documentation I have the consulate has said no. However, there is nearly 30 years of documentation I don’t have prior to her immigration (this includes her birth certificate and baptismal records). The consulate seemed unwilling to help in anyway (despite the website saying they have a team of researchers ready to help).

How would one research this to find any documents that could prove that she maintained Austrian citizenship after the break-up of the empire? Or resided in the current borders of Austria until her immigration?

- I know she did not gain Polish or Soviet citizenship in the interim period.

- Her death certificate labeled her place of birth as: City: Lwów, the Ukraine, Country: undetermined.

- I am currently waiting on Canada for her immigration documents to see if that holds anything.

- Her United States immigration papers held no new information.

Update: Found a record of her naturalization in Canada from 1935. Listed country of origin was Austria. May not mean anything though

Hello, I have been able to locate a certified baptismal record of my G0 ancestor, however I cannot find the baptismal records/birth certificate of the G1 ancestor (first ancestor outside of Canada). I do however have a marriage certificate for my G1 ancestor and this mentions the names of both parents of the G1 ancestor, aka including the G0 ancestor. I have all birth certificates for all subsequent generations.

Is the marriage certificate of my G1 ancestor sufficient to prove the link, or should I seek out additional information? I don’t think the birth certificate is necessarily findable…

For anyone that has already applied, how solid of a foundation does this seem for my application?

I just got my pics and am about to send in but just wanted to check with others first to see if what I have is enough.

Gen5 ( me) through Gen 1 - have all needed birth certificates and marriage when needed for name change

Gen 0 ( anchor ) - I have : wedding certificate showing birthplace as Canada.

Two Canadian census showing his birthplace as Canada

One us census showing birthplace as Canada

He was born in 1877 and was Baptist. No birth certificate exists and neither does a Baptism due to religion not practicing infant baptism. His death record was filled out by his second wife ( of like 5 years before he passed) who put the wrong birthplace as Maine .

Thanks for any feedback!

Let's say one Gen in lineage was in a common law marriage, hence no marriage certificate, what then?