Citizenship and Immigration Canada
www.cic.gc.ca
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International adoption:
The citizenship process —
Who can apply
There are two processes that you must go through when you adopt a child from another country: the adoption process and the citizenship process.
In order for your adopted child to be eligible for a grant of citizenship through the citizenship adoption process, both you and your adopted child must meet the eligibility requirements for both international adoption and the citizenship process before you can bring the child to live with you in Canada.
Who can apply for Canadian citizenship for an adopted person:
- a Canadian citizen can apply on behalf of:
- an adopted child who is under 18 years of age or
- a child to be adopted in the near future who is under 18 years of age
- a person who was adopted by a Canadian citizen, who is 18 years of age or older
- a legal guardian or a non-Canadian adoptive parent applying on behalf of an adopted child under 18, if the child had at least one Canadian parent when he or she was adopted.
Canadian citizenship eligibility
To be eligible for a grant of Canadian citizenship, the adopted person must:
- have been adopted on or after January 1, 1947
- not be a Canadian citizen
- have at least one (1) adoptive parent who, at the time of the adoption,
was or is a Canadian citizen who was:
- born in Canada;
- naturalized in Canada (became a citizen after coming to Canada as a permanent resident); or
- born outside Canada to, or adopted by, a Canadian parent who was working outside Canada as an employee of the Canadian government, a province, or serving with the Canadian Forces.
- meet the requirements of the Citizenship Act.
When a Canadian citizen adopts a child under 18, 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
- observe the laws of the child’s home country and the laws where the adoptive parents live
- not have been entered into simply to acquire citizenship or immigration status or privilege.
An adoption of a person 18 and older by a Canadian citizen must meet all the criteria listed above except for “be in the best interests of the child.” Also, there must have been a genuine parent-child relationship both before the child turned 18 as well as when the adoption took place.
Learn about:
- International adoption: The Citizenship Process – How to apply
- International adoption: The Citizenship Process – After applying
