How is Canadian citizenship acquired?

Canadian citizenship is acquired in three principal ways: by birth on Canadian soil (jus soli), by descent from a Canadian parent (jus sanguinis), or by naturalisation following permanent residence and other requirements. The legal framework is the federal Citizenship Act of 1977 and its regulations, administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The Act has been amended several times, most significantly by the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act of 2014 and Bill C-6 of 2017.

Anyone born in Canada is automatically a Canadian citizen, with the narrow exception of children born to foreign diplomats. Anyone born outside Canada to a Canadian parent is a Canadian citizen by descent if at least one parent is a Canadian citizen at the time of the child's birth. The first-generation limit introduced by the 2009 Citizenship Act amendments restricts automatic transmission of citizenship to children born abroad: only the first generation born outside Canada inherits citizenship automatically. The second generation must apply for a grant of citizenship.

Naturalisation is the path most permanent residents take. The current requirements, set out in section 5 of the Citizenship Act and updated in 2017, are: physical presence in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the five years before the application, filing of income-tax returns for at least three of those five years where required, adequate knowledge of English or French (demonstrated through approved language tests at Canadian Language Benchmark 4 for those aged 18 to 54), passing the citizenship knowledge test (for those aged 18 to 54), and taking the Oath of Citizenship at a citizenship ceremony.

The Oath of Citizenship is the final step. The current oath, updated in 2021 to include explicit recognition of the rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples, reads: 'I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third, King of Canada, His Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples, and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen'. Citizenship can be renounced voluntarily under section 9 of the Act and revoked in narrow cases involving fraud or misrepresentation.