Resuming citizenship: Who can apply

General eligibility

To be eligible to resume your Canadian citizenship, you must meet the following requirements.

You must:

• have been a Canadian citizen
• have become a permanent resident of Canada after you lost your Canadian citizenship and
• have lived in Canada as a permanent resident for at least one year immediately before you apply.

You must not:

• have had your Canadian citizenship taken away (revoked)
• have been convicted of an indictable (criminal) offence or an offence under the Citizenship Act in the three years before you apply
• be currently charged with an indictable offence or an offence under the Citizenship Act
• be in prison, on parole or on probation
• be under a removal order (an order from Canadian officials to leave Canada) or
• be under investigation for, be charged with or have been convicted of a war crime or a crime against humanity.

If you are in any of the above situations, contact the Call Centre (see Contact Us at the top of this page) before you apply.

Eligibility if you lost your citizenship between 1947 and 1977

If you lost your Canadian citizenship between January 1, 1947, and February 14, 1977, you may have automatically become a citizen when the new law took effect. Please note that this does not apply to people who were born in the second or subsequent generation outside Canada to a Canadian parent.

The new law amending the Citizenship Act came into effect on April 17, 2009. It gave Canadian citizenship to certain individuals who lost it and to others who are recognized as citizens for the first time. Citizenship is automatic and retroactive to the date of loss or the date of birth, depending on the situation. All individuals who were Canadian citizens at the time the law came into effect will keep their citizenship.