Find out what you can apply for: Changes to the first-generation limit on citizenship

The first-generation limit on citizenship generally means that someone is not automatically a Canadian citizen if:

they were born outside Canada, and
their parent was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent or adopted outside Canada by a Canadian parent.
- The grandparent was Canadian.

In December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared that the first-generation limit for many people is unconstitutional.

The Court has suspended this declaration until November 20, 2025. This means that the current rules still apply until further notice.

On March 13, 2025, we announced an expanded interim measure that includes:

a way for those affected by the first-generation limit to be considered for a discretionary grant of citizenship from the minister.
priority consideration for people born or adopted on or after December 19, 2023 if their Canadian parent has a substantial connection to Canada.

Answer a few questions to:

check if the first-generation limit affects you or not
learn how to request consideration for a discretionary grant of citizenship by applying:
- for a citizenship certificate (proof of Canadian citizenship)
- to become a Canadian citizen as a person adopted by a Canadian citizen
- to become a Canadian citizen

Were you born outside Canada?

Yes : born_outside-yes
Do you have a parent who was also born outside Canada to, or adopted outside Canada by, a Canadian parent?

Your grandparent was Canadian and had a child or adopted a child while abroad.
- Yes : parent_outside-yes
  Do either of these statements apply to you?
  
  At the time of your birth or adoption, your Canadian parent was employed outside Canada as a crown servant.
  
  At the time of your Canadian parent’s birth or adoption, your Canadian grandparent was employed outside Canada as a crown servant.
  
  What’s a crown servant
  
  A crown servant is a person employed with the
  
  Canadian Armed Forces
  
  Canadian federal public administration, or
  
  public service of a province or territory
  
  This doesn’t include locally engaged people, like foreign citizens hired in their own countries by the Canadian government to support Canadian offices abroad.
  - Yes : statement-yes
  - No: statement-no
    
    Which statement best describes your other parent?
    
    My other parent is a Canadian who was born in Canada.
    
    My other parent is a Canadian who became a citizen before I was born.
    
    Was your Canadian parent adopted?
    
    Yes : parent_adopted-yes
    
    Were you adopted?
    
    Yes : adopted-yes
    
    Were you adopted on or after December 19, 2023?
    
    Yes : adopted_dec-yes
    
    No : adopted_dec-no
    
    No : adopted-no
    
    Were you born on or after December 19, 2023?
    
    Yes : born_dec-yes
    
    No : born_dec-no
    
    No : parent_adopted-no
    
    I don’t know : parent_adopted-idk
    
    Neither of these statements applies.
    
    Were you adopted?
    
    Yes
    
    Were you adopted on or after December 19, 2023?
    
    Yes
    
    No
    
    No
    
    Were you born on or after December 19, 2023?
    
    Yes
    
    No
    
    I don’t know
  - I don't know : statement-idk
- No : parent_outside-no
- I don't know : parent_outside-idk
No : born_outside-no

The first-generation limit doesn’t apply to you

Based on your answers, the first-generation limit on citizenship does not apply to you.

If you believe you’re a citizen

To find out for sure, you can apply for a citizenship certificate (proof of Canadian citizenship).

We’ll review your application to check if you’re already a Canadian citizen.
If you’re a citizen, you’ll get a citizenship certificate.

Apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate(opens in a new tab)

If you know you’re not a citizen

If you’re not a citizen, you can apply for Canadian citizenship.

Depending on your situation, you can

apply for citizenship(opens in a new tab)
- This includes application for stateless people born to a Canadian parent(opens in a new tab)
  - outside Canada and
  - on or after April 17, 2009
apply to resume your citizenship(opens in a new tab) if you previously gave it up (renounced it)
apply for citizenship for your adopted child (or adult adoptee)(opens in a new tab) if
- you’re a Canadian citizen and
- your adopted child was born outside Canada

If your application is successful, you’ll get a Canadian citizenship certificate (proof of Canadian citizenship).

The first-generation limit doesn’t apply to you

You may already be a Canadian citizen. To know for sure, you can apply for a citizenship certificate (proof of Canadian citizenship).

Apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate(opens in a new tab)

We need more information

Based on your answers, this online tool can’t tell you if the first-generation limit on citizenship applies to you.

To find out for sure if you’re a Canadian citizen, you can apply for a citizenship certificate (proof of Canadian citizenship).

We’ll review your application to check if you’re already a Canadian citizen.
If you’re a citizen, you’ll get a citizenship certificate.

Apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate (opens in a new tab)

You can apply for citizenship using an interim measure

Based on your answers, the first-generation limit may apply to you. You can either:

submit a citizenship application for a person adopted by a Canadian citizen (part 1 of a 2-part application), or
wait for the first-generation limit to change.

After we receive your application, we’ll review it and send you:

a letter confirming that the first-generation limit is still in effect,
a request for information about your parents’ connection to Canada
- If the connection is substantial, we’ll prioritize your application.
- If the connection is not substantial, we’ll process your application normally.
a confirmation that you can proceed with part 2 of the application.

We’ll also invite you to request a discretionary grant of citizenship. This means we'll review your situation and decide whether to grant you citizenship.

If you need citizenship urgently

Write a letter to explain the urgency.
Include the letter with part 1 or part 2 of your application.

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared that the first-generation limit for many people is unconstitutional. The Court has suspended this declaration until November 20, 2025. This means the current rules still apply.

If you don’t want to apply using the interim measure, you can wait and apply after the first-generation limit changes.

You can apply for citizenship using an interim measure

Based on your answers, the first-generation limit may apply to you. You can either:

submit a citizenship application for a person adopted by a Canadian citizen (part 1 of a 2-part application), or
wait for the first-generation limit to change.

After we receive your application, we’ll review it and send you:

a letter confirming that the first-generation limit is still in effect, and
a confirmation that you can proceed with part 2 of the application.

We’ll also invite you to request a discretionary grant of citizenship. This means we'll review your situation and decide whether to grant you citizenship.

If you need citizenship urgently

Write a letter to explain the urgency.
Include the letter with part 1 or part 2 of your application.

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

If you don’t want to apply using the interim measure, you can wait and apply after the first-generation limit changes.

You can apply for a citizenship certificate using an interim measure

Based on your answers, the first-generation limit may apply to you. You can either:

apply for a citizenship certificate (opens in a new tab) now, or
wait for the first-generation limit to change before applying.

After we review your application, we will:

send you a letter to confirm that the first-generation limit is still in effect.
invite you to request a discretionary grant of citizenship.
- This means we'll review your situation and decide whether to grant you citizenship.

Since you were born on or after December 19, 2023, we’ll also ask you to explain your parent's connection to Canada.

If the connection is substantial, we’ll prioritize your application.
If the connection is not substantial, we’ll process your application normally.

If you need citizenship urgently

You can request urgent processing. If you qualify, we’ll prioritize your application.

How to apply urgently for a citizenship certificate (opens in a new tab).

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

You can wait until the first-generation limit no longer applies before applying for a certificate. By that time, you may be a Canadian citizen because of this change.

You can apply for a citizenship certificate using the interim measure

Based on your answers, the first-generation limit may apply to you. You can either:

apply for a citizenship certificate (opens in a new tab) now, or
wait for the first-generation limit to change before applying.

After we review your application, we will:

send you a letter to confirm that the first-generation limit is still in effect.
invite you to request a discretionary grant of citizenship.
- This means we'll review your situation and decide whether to grant you citizenship.

If you need citizenship urgently

You can request urgent processing. If you qualify, we’ll prioritize your application.

How to apply urgently for a citizenship certificate (opens in a new tab).

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

You can wait until the first-generation limit no longer applies before applying for a certificate. By that time, you may be a Canadian citizen because of this change.

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Date modified:: 2025-06-06

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Find out what you can apply for: Changes to the first-generation limit on citizenship

The first-generation limit doesn’t apply to you

If you believe you’re a citizen

If you know you’re not a citizen

The first-generation limit doesn’t apply to you

We need more information

You can apply for citizenship using an interim measure

If you need citizenship urgently

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

You can apply for citizenship using an interim measure

If you need citizenship urgently

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

You can apply for a citizenship certificate using an interim measure

If you need citizenship urgently

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

You can apply for a citizenship certificate using the interim measure

If you need citizenship urgently

Waiting for the first-generation limit to change

Page details