Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Receiving Your Canadian Citizenship

I have been writing about learning I am a "Lost Canadian" and the process of finding the documents I need to receive my Canadian citizenship. I have also been writing about all the wonderful things I have learned about Canada and the incredible place it is. Today I'm going to share some helpful information about Canadian Citizenship by Descent which I've learned from the Canadian Immigration site -

Lost Canadians

The term “Lost Canadians” refers to people who lost or never obtained citizenship because of certain outdated rules in earlier citizenship laws.

Most cases were resolved through legislative changes in 2009 and 2015, which restored or gave citizenship to about 20,000 people. However, some people remained excluded, including section 8 “Lost Canadians” and descendants of “Lost Canadians.”

Bill C-3 extends access to citizenship to these remaining “Lost Canadians,” their descendants and those born abroad to or adopted abroad by a Canadian parent in the second or later generation before the new law came into effect.

Documents proving Canadian citizenship of your parent, grandparent and parental ancestor

Your application must be supported by authentic, reliable, and verifiable documents for every generation in your application.

 Your documents must

• Be issued by the original authority which created or keeps the record
  • This includes documents issued by a civil registry or a vital statistics office.
• Clearly show who issued the document

 Your application can’t be supported solely by third party records.

• If you find records like these, official documents likely exist. You should request them from the original authority.

What we accept

You must include proof of parentage and Canadian citizenship for your Canadian parent, grandparent, and parental ancestor as applicable. For each person, you must provide one or more of the following documents issued by the original authority:

• Provincial or territorial birth certificate

• Birth certificate from another country showing the parent-child relationship in each generation

• Canadian citizenship or naturalization certificate

• Certificate of Registration of Birth Abroad or Certificate of Retention of Canadian Citizenship
• British naturalization certificate issued in Canada or Newfoundland and Labrador
• Proof of British subject status before January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949, for Newfoundland and Labrador)
• Proof of landed immigrant status in Canada before January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949, for Newfoundland and Labrador).

If you can’t provide official documents issued by the original authority You must -

• Explain in writing why you can’t provide the documents, and
• Show proof you tried to get them
  • For example, include emails or letters with original authorities or confirmation saying the records are not available.

I found this to all be helpful information - if you are a "Lost Canadian", I hope this information is helpful for you, too! You will find more information at this link and this link.