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Do the criteria for permanent residence and for a grant of citizenship differ for adopted children?

Yes. For instance, for an adopted person to be eligible for a grant of citizenship under the Citizenship Act, at least one of the adoptive parents must be a Canadian citizen by birth in Canada or through naturalization at the time of the adoption. Other types of custody arrangements and adoption-like situations (for example, guardianships) are not eligible to apply for a grant of citizenship for the adopted child.

If you choose the adoption grant route to citizenship, your child will be affected by the first-generation limit. That means he or she will not be able to:

  • pass on their citizenship to any children he or she later has outside Canada; or
  • apply for a direct grant for any children he or she later adopts outside Canada, unless the co-sponsor for the adoption is a Canadian citizen by birth in Canada or through naturalization.

Both Canadian citizens and permanent residents can use the immigration process for their adopted children if the adopted person is going to live in Canada right after the adoption.

Another difference between the two processes is the adopted child does not have to undergo a medical exam or background checks when applying for a grant of citizenship. This is a requirement when applying for permanent residence.

Where the criteria are the same for both types of applications, the adoption must:

  • be in the best interests of the child;
  • create a genuine parent-child relationship that permanently severs the legal ties to the child’s biological parents;
  • accord with the laws of the country where the adoption took place and the laws where the adoptive parents live; and
  • not have been entered into primarily to get a citizenship or immigration status or privilege.

If the adoption took place after the person turned 18:

  • all the criteria listed above must be met (except for the “best interests of the child”);
  • a genuine parent-child relationship must have existed when the adoption took place; and
  • that relationship must have existed before the adopted person turned 18.

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