r/CanadaAdoptedCitizens

I have an original record of birth for my mother to Canadian parents. Grandparents from NB and have their BC. My mother’s record of birth with the birth parents crossed out and adoptive parents handwritten in. This is all in Everett, Mass if that matters.
I just don’t want everything rejected because of some bizarre practise of scribbling adoption on BCs

Thank you for all your help. I'm in the line of descent. My daughter from my first husband was adopted at age 4 by my second husband. Which name do I put as her birth name and where does the information on her adoptive parent's name go? Just trying to get this right.

My daughter’s father comes from Canadian lineage. His mother is American, but his biological grandparents are Canadian. He was adopted and his last name changed at the age of four, by his stepfather when his mother married. My daughter would like to apply for Canadian citizenship, but not sure how to navigate around this. Her father is no longer in the picture nor would he be willing to help her in anyway and it’s doubtful that he has any of the paperwork surrounding his adoption (its been more than 50 years).

Is my daughter out of luck in this case?

So I am filling out my own application and need to start on my adopted kids, one minor one young adult. When I go to download CIT 0010 E It just shows a page talking about adobe reader, which I have installed the latest version.

Am I looking in the wrong place?

Any help is appreciated thanks

I’m not sure if I should request my original birth certificate. I can legally request one where I live, but I also don’t understand the benefit of doing so when my original birth certificate has a blank spot for father, and my mom listed on the original is still on my current birth certificate. I have a black and white copy of my long form original birth certificate, but I know they want color.

I guess I just don’t want to go through the hassle of finding it when it doesn’t seem particularly useful to my application. If the point is to list biological parents, I already have. But I will apply to get an original birth certificate if it’s necessary.

Would love some assistance since my Dad is going thru the process right now.

Me: Adopted from Seoul Korea, US Citizen

Dad: Ancestry in New Brunswick, US Citizen and has proof of ancestry and great grandmother and going through process.

How does it work from Dad after he gains citizenship by ancestry to pass onto dependents?

Thank you!

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.

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to complete my paperwork for citizenship by descent but I have a situation that I wanted to double check before I pay the money for a certified baptismal record from Quebec.

I am attempting to gain citizenship through my great-great grandfather who was born in Canada but then adopted (in Canada but by parents of Scottish descent who as far as I can tell were not Canadian). Essentially, I'm just wondering if the proof that I have is enough to verify his standing as Canadian or if the adoption makes anything more complicated.

I have his baptismal record which states: "name, the adopted child of father and mother, his wife, was born in Toronto, Western Canada, on the seventh day of March; one thousand eight hundred and sixty four; and was baptized on the twelfth day of June in the same year..."

It seems like this should be fairly clear that he was born in Canada but just wanted to double check. I believe his biological father was a Canadian citizen but I've been having trouble finding his records so would love to be able to move forward with this generation rather than one further back.

Thanks for your help!

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?

Hello!

I just discovered that my paternal great-grandmother was born in Canada in 1886. And her husband was born in England, they moved together to Michigan and then had my grandmother before my ggma naturalized as an American citizen.

I am currently gathering documents to apply for my proof of Canadian citizenship.

In the meantime, I am wondering what steps I need to take for my own children. I have three children, all born before 2025. I adopted all of them in Oregon, through the foster care system.

Do I need to apply for their citizenship in a different way than my own? Should I complete and submit my application first?

Any advice is appreciated!

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.

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.

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?

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!

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!