Citizenship by Descent in Canada

Your own birth record is the first thing to settle, because every descent claim turns on where and when each person was born. Find out the country and year, and which documents exist.

This is common after an adoption that closed the original record, a birth that was never registered, or registers lost to war or displacement. It is not a dead end.

Where no birth certificate exists, other records are used: baptismal or religious records, hospital or midwife records, school enrolment, census entries, immigration or refugee files, and sworn statements from people with direct knowledge.

Rebuild the record first and test the claim second. A claim filed on an incomplete record is refused on the record, not on the law.

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Send your result and every answer you gave to your inbox, so you have it when you need it. We're copied on the email, so if you'd like our team to take a closer look, just reply.

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