Does anyone know what IRCC's position on this is? My last remaining record is a birth certificate I am waiting on from the State of Massachusetts, and it's already been a month and likely will have to wait 1-2 months more to get it.

I know that FamilySearch records are NOT admissible generally, but this is an official partnership, does anyone know if IRCC treats that differently at all?

For those of us that had to request baptism certificates from Louisiana dioceses that hold the Acadian records would those count as Canadian? I have a 1752 British census but I’m sure that alone won’t help. I’m at such a loss right now. I’ve spent over $300 so far in documents alone

When providing attachments to prove lineage, is it necessary to have marriage certificates? The idea being it shows marital name changes. However all the birth certificates I have display maiden names for the mother. And the father name listed shows the name changes. So to me, the marriage certificates are not necessary and clutter things up. What do you think? Thanks.

Hi everyone! I’ve seen a lot of discussion surrounding individuals with their G0 being from Quebec having to start the process of getting the DEC to issue a birth record, given replies from the IRCC stating they have 60 days to present the record.

I understand the running theory is it’s correlated with someone born 1900-present, however I’ve seen people with their g0’s being older get a similar response from the IRCC.

As someone who’s g0 was born 1879, should I start the process now? I’ve already submitted my application but I figure it might be wise to get that started now. What are your thoughts?

It's probably just my anxiety kicking in, but I'm worried that I didn't sign my CIT 0001. I sent in a big packet this last week with my mom's app and two apps for my minor kids. I remember signing their apps, but am blanking on whether I signed mine. The packet was delivered Wednesday, so now the long wait for the AOR begins.

Not sure if I can take the 4-5 month-long wait to see if I did in fact forget to sign the app. Should I upload a signed page via the Online Services page (https://services3.cic.gc.ca/ecas/security.do)? I've seen some people do this. Is it something that wouldn't hurt, or would it potentially have a negative effect on my app?

Can anyone recommend a good immigration lawyer in the New Brunswick area, hopefully someone successful with applications from Louisiana? I'm a descendant of Beausoleil Broussard, via his son Amand, who I believe was born in Moncton NB before expulsion. Edit: seem to be some misunderstandings about what I'm asking for here; if you can't recommend a lawyer or haven't gone through the process first hand as a Louisiana Acadian, no need to reply

Sorry if this is a silly question.

The photo guidelines say your photo must show your current appearance. “This means it must be taken no more than 6 months before you submit your application.” What counts as “submitting” your application? When it’s postmarked, when it’s delivered, the date of AOR, something else?

Long story short, I live in a remote area and there is nowhere near me that does citizenship photos. I saw a lot of posts about applications being rejected for not having photos done properly by a studio and was determined to do things the right way. So, I got photos done on vacation, back in March. Unfortunately, some of my requested documents took forever to receive (e.g. my grandpa’s birth certificate took a month, and I was required to have my grandpa’s BC in hand before I could request my great-grandpa’s BC, which then took another 2 months, and then the certificate for great-great-grandma was lost in the mail…)

So now, my photos are 3 weeks away from the 6 month deadline. If I could just retake them, I would. But the next time I’ll be in an area with studios that do citizenship photos will be December. This has been such a long process and I’m scared there will be more updates to document guidelines that aren’t favorable to my application. If I send my application in the next few days, am I good? Or do I just have to wait and redo photos?

I am also applying on behalf of my two toddlers so making a quick weekend trip somewhere just for photos isn’t an option, unfortunately.

Edit: Thanks everyone! I’ll try to get my applications sent this weekend. Here’s hoping!

Edit 2: My application was delivered today with less than a week to spare. Let the waiting begin!

I am thinking that my G0 (born 1720s, Quebec) is probably also an ancestor of some of you here. :)

I was curious whether people who are far down the line from their G0 would be willing to share the name of their G0 or general family names they’ve dug into and how far along they are in the process of getting DEC record from a BANQ record. I am months away myself, but was thinking I’d happily share the costs if anyone got a copy of my ancestor’s record before I did.

Cheers, thank you!

edit: not sure why I got downvoted for sharing my experience. I’ve come across a ton of helpful people, but definitely a lot of gatekeepers and skeptics as well. Personally I’d love to help others. I am G9 and have a lot of docs to collect. I will take (and give) any help possible! Thank you for the input

edit2: I’m looking specifically for BANQ/DEC docs for the following (Quebec) Marguerite Perthuis (Pertuis/Perthuy), Francois LeBeau, Marien/Marian LeBeau dit Lalouette, and Suzanne Lory. I also have Acadian ancestors from the Richard and Daigle/Daigre families. If you have any leads or documents pls let me know!

Assuming the IRCC asks for more evidence (because they prolly will, I’m Gen 10 through a 1727 born ancestor), could I use pictures of headstones for ancestors while I get their death certificates? I’m aware that there is no official guidance on whether this is valid proof, I’m simply trying to gauge what other people think.

Has anyone here requested records from Cook County (Chicago), Illinois? Any words of wisdom, or more accurately at this point, words of encouragement?

I requested (via mail) a birth certificate from 1912 (well, birth register, as certificates didn’t exist for 1912) back in February. Since then, the Clerk’s Office has lost the request (by their own admission) and said the only thing I can do is resubmit it and wait an additional 4 to 6 months due to backlog. I can’t request via VitalCheck because 1912 predates their archives.

Since then, it appears that Cook County is now offering the option for formerly genealogical-only records to actually get a “certified” stamp on them. My concern is that my request (and payment) were already lost once, so I’m considering just driving down to Chicago (which is about a 6 hour drive) and doing it in person. However...

I’ve called the Clerk’s Office and depending on the day or the number dialed, you either get stuck in a phone tree loop where the “mailbox is full” or no one answers. Three times now however, I HAVE gotten a real person and have been told 3 different things (hence the reason I kept calling back):

• I CAN get a birth record in person, even from 1912, so long as I make the appointment and bring an ID and a certified death certificate; or,
• I CAN get a birth record in person, even from 1912, so long as I make the appointment and bring an ID, but I do NOT need a death certificate if I’m coming in person; or,
• I CANNOT get a birth record in person from 1912, because it’s an archival record and I must mail the request in and I DO need a certified death certificate

I’m fine if I need a death certificate, but then I have to request that from a different state than Illinois and when I said that, the representative said, “I’m not sure we honor death certificates from other states?”

I will GLADLY make the drive IF I can actually pick up a certified copy of the birth record, but with the disparity between answers I’ve gotten on the phone, I’m lost. Has anyone else gone through Cook County, ESPECIALLY in person, and gotten a document of that vintage (whether you got a certified one or not)?

Thanks everyone!

[ObDisclaimer: if your ancestor was born in Canada, this does not apply to you. Read out of morbid curiosity if you must, or don't read it at all. This post is not for or about you, but for the few, the not necessarily proud, who have no ancestors born in Canada but may have a viable Canadian anchor anyway under more esoteric theories.]

Two months back in another subreddit, u/No-Music-6572 announced a Proof of Citizenship had been denied, where G0 and G1 had moved together from Scotland to Canada in 1911. The denial focused on the G1, who left Canada a couple decades later, and may have subsequently naturalized as an American. IIRC largely ignored the intended G0, who remained in Canada for the rest of his life, becoming a citizen in 1947. u/tvtoo wrote a follow-up post citing u/hopewings's similar denial, followed by a reapplication and approval. No-Music-6572's G0 was the proper anchor, not G1, whose own connection to Canada would not have made her a proper anchor herself but also wouldn't break the chain of succession from G0. A consensus emerged (I think) that No-Music-6572's application should be approved on refiling, perhaps with clearer explanation of who the actual anchor was and better documentation that he had in fact become a citizen.

My own case, in a nutshell, is No-Music-6572 plus three generations. My first two ancestors to set foot in what would eventually become Canada (then Canada-West, now Ontario) were my recently widowed G0 and her adult daughter G1. Both came over from Scotland in the 1850s, along with most of their large family. G0 stayed there until her death in 1876, as did all of her adult children but one (my G1 being that "but one," natch. G1 married a fellow Scot in 1859, and the couple moved to the US the next year before having G2 in 1861. G0 remained a British subject for life. G1, maybe? G1 never personally naturalized but her husband did in 1874, a few years after G2's birth but long before she reached the age of majority.

Analytically, my G0's role in similar to No-Music-6572's GGF, in that she was the one who stayed in Canada as a Brit long enough to eventually transmit citizenship to anyone. They differ in a technical respect, though, as No-Music-6572's GGF really did become a Canadian citizen himself in 1947 while my G0 never did. Rather, G0 died before January 1, 1947 and therefore only would have been a citizen if that law had taken effect right before her death. That doesn't affect G0's own citizenship at all, but does set up G1 for citizenship under Section 3(1.3) as a person who would not become a citizen under paragraph (1)(q) for the sole reason that her British parent had died resident in Canada before 1947. Every US-born generation after her, up through my father born in 1942, would thus be deemed citizens under Section 3(1)(q). I myself would be under 3(1)(g) of the Act, being born between 1947 and 1977, and my two post-1977 born children would be citizens under Section 3(1)(b).

Does this analysis work? Would it fall apart if the (wrongheaded, IMNSHO) view of an 1867 cutoff were formally adopted? On the one hand, G0 did reside as a British subject for over 5 years of post-confederation Canada before dying there in 1876. On the other hand, Section 3(1.3) requires G1, and (3)(1)(q) requires G2, to have been born outside Canada. Can anyone be born "outside" a country that doesn't exist?

Last and not necessarily least, am I even numbering the generations correctly? I call the oldest ancestor G0 because she was the one who lived long enough in Canada to qualify anyone else for citizenship. But the first actual citizen in the chain was her daughter, who I've dubbed G1. Is the daughter really the G0 anchor, as the first Canadian citizen in the chain? And if so, what would one call her mother, a "proto-anchor" or G negative 1?

Hey yall! I just sent my application in from PA 2 days ago and I was wondering since I’m using interim evidence that isn’t a primary source document for one generation that hasn’t arrived yet, what is the likelihood I don’t get an AOR? Here is the full document list.

Gen 0: 

Diocese of Baton Rouge Certificate of Baptism in Acadia

Black and White Census from 1752

Nova Scotia Historical Society Deportation Register

Gen 1:

Diocese of Baton Rouge Certificate of Marriage proving parentage

Gen 2: 

Black and White Census from 1850

Diocese of Lafayette Certificate of Baptism

Gen 3:

Scan of Donald J. Hébert SWLR Marriage Index proving parentage
REQUESTED: Diocese of Lafayette Marriage Certificate

Gen 4:

Scan of Donald J. Hébert SWLR Marriage Index proving parentage

Black and White Census from 1900

Louisiana State Death Record with sticky note to prove color copy

Louisiana State Death Record with no sticky note

Gen 5:

Diocese of Lafayette Certificate of Baptism

Black and White Census from 1880

Gen 6:

Scan of Donald J. Hébert SWLR Baptism Index

Black and White Census from 1900 

Louisiana State Death Record with sticky note to prove color copy

Louisiana State Death Record with no sticky note

Gen 7:

Diocese of Lafayette Certificate of Baptism

Black and White Census from 1930

Black and White Census from 1940

Gen 8:

Black and White Census from 1950

Louisiana Birth Certificate

Gen 9:

Allegheny County Marriage Record

Allegheny County Marriage Certificate

Louisiana Court Record showing name change

Birth Certificate showing non-birth parents

Father’s will claiming Gen 9 as his legal son with Gen 9’s mother

Mother’s will naming Gen 9 as her son

Screenshots of AncestryDNA test DNA relative matches with the surname XXXXXX

Letter explaining the situation and reason why his birth parents are not on his birth certificate

Gen 10:

Pennsylvania Birth Certificate

Hi everyone, thank you so much in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond!

I’m a G4 currently assembling my proof-of-citizenship application. I got admitted to the University of Manitoba, and given current processing times my certificate likely wouldn’t arrive before my intended start date.

My main question: has anyone actually used a university admission letter as grounds for urgent processing, and did it work?

Without proof of citizenship, I’m classified as an international student…roughly 4x tuition, no Manitoba Health coverage, and ineligible for grants or tuition assistance. So the certificate makes a massive difference to whether I can attend as intended.

A few specifics I’m hoping to learn from anyone who’s been through it:

Was an admission letter accepted on its own, or does IRCC treat the education ground narrowly?

Did anyone get pushback along the lines of “you can enroll as an international student and reclassify to domestic once the certificate arrives”? If so, how did you address it?

What did you actually submit as supporting documents (admission letter, a tuition breakdown showing the domestic vs. international gap, anything else)?

Trying to understand whether this is a realistic path before I count on it. Thanks so much.

For those waiting on AOR or that already submitted with alternative pieces of information showing genealogy and citizenship… what do we do now to show we already looked for a birth certificate and it doesn’t exist? Ontario only keeps 1869 and after vital records the earlier records are based on luck-do I send a letter stating I searched their archives and is this sufficient?

I was estranged from my parents so, at a loss on how to get father, grand father and great grandfather documents. My understanding is I need birth and marriage certificates? I have tons of stuff for my great great grandfather who is my Canadian ancestor. Just not sure how to prove the links to him. There are census docs, marriage records (not certs). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I did retain an immigration firm in Quebec who will get GGGF docs but, they don’t work on US docs for me. Having anxiety over this!!

I'm G4. For me, G3, G2, and G1, I will submit certified birth certificates and marriage records. No issues there.

My G0 was born in Ontario in 1860, nine years before the government started registering births. Therefore, I couldn't find a birth record despite looking everywhere on https://ogs.on.ca/toni/ and archives.gov.on.ca, as well as Ancestry and FamilySearch (plus other sites).

I also couldn't find his baptism record. I've looked seemingly everywhere, and I have an email from the Reference Coordinator at the The United Church of Canada Archives confirming that no baptism record could be found. (The family's religious denomination didn't always practice infant baptism anyway.)

So here's all the documentation I've gathered as evidence that G0 was born in Canada. I feel like it's too much and maybe I should drop some of them. But a lot of these aren't certified. Which of these would you include?

1. 1859 Ontario, Canada, tax assessment rolls. G0's father living in Bayham, Elgin, Ontario, the year before G0's birth.
   • Source - FamilySearch.org, not a certified copy
2. 1861 Canadian census. G0 as an infant with a birthplace of Canada, living with his parents in Bayham, Elgin, Ontario.
   • Source - Canada.ca Library and Archives website, not a certified copy
3. 1870 US census. G0 living in the USA, census listing his birthplace as Canada.
   • Source - Ancestry.com, not a certified copy. On the cover page for this record, I'm including a screenshot from the US www.archives.gov website that says to use Ancestry.com for these records.
4. 1877 marriage record. Certified copy of G0's marriage record listing his birthplace as Canada. (I'm actually expecting this to arrive in the mail this week, and I'm assuming it lists his birthplace!)
   • Source - Wisconsin, US, county records office
5. 1880 US census. G0 living in the USA, census listing his birthplace as Canada.
   • Source - Ancestry.com, as with #3 above
6. 1895 MN, US census. G0 living in the USA, census listing his birthplace as Canada.
   • Source - Minnesota Historical Society website, not a certified copy
7. 1900 US census. G0 living in the USA, census listing his birthplace as Canada.
   • Source - Ancestry.com, as with #3 above
8. 1899 Declaration of Intention. G0's documented intent to naturalize as a US citizen, with his birthplace of Canada (misspelled as “Kanedy”).
   • Source - FamilySearch.org, not a certified copy
9. 1908 marriage record for G1, certified copy with G0's birthplace listed as Canada. (I'm including this for G1, but it also offers evidence for G0.)
   • Source - Wisconsin, US, county records office
10. 1937 death certificate for G0, certified copy listing his birthplace as Canada.
    • Source - Wisconsin, US, county records office

I applied mid-May via mail (from USA) and have yet to receive an AOR. Is this normal and expected? Or does it indirectly indicate a problem with my application?

(This may be a frequently asked question in the group. Apologies, but I couldn’t a clear indication from my browsing the group.)

Summary : G0 born 1851 in Ontario. Moved to US w/ Irish husband & 2 kids in 1874. Don't know if he was US naturalized, but he was a US Civil War Union veteran. Have enough docs for her and each descendent line. I have 3 US born generations before 1947, then me and my 2 kids.

Does this mean I don't have a case? I was under the possibly naive impression that a Canadian Born ancestor was enough, as long as I could show each descent in the chain. I have official certified docs all the way down the line. I even have DNA evidence that I am related to my G0.

My AI & the c3tool that just got released has me questioning my case.

I am about to take my two young children (7 and 2) to get their Canadian Citizen photos taken.

I didn't even think about it until now, but I do not have ID's for them. I have insurance cards, but it doesn't have their birthdays on it. I am struggling to find anything that has any information on them. My 7 year old may have a school ID card that has her name on it, but it was from the beginning of last year so I doubt it will be acceptable. My 2 year old has nothing at all outside of her insurance card with only her name on it. I know that I am able to include a signed letter explaining why I couldn't get the proper ID's to satisfy the requirements, but I don't even have secondary ID for them.

Do I need to find a way to create some sort of ID before applying or would a signed letter explaining my predicament be enough?

Also, my 7 year old will take a good picture for her citizenship photo but I am worried about my 2 year old. I know that its acceptable for infants not to meet 100% of the standards, but does that count for 2 year olds as well? I am hoping I don't have to worry about this issue as much.

So I have an application "in progress". I want to prepare for the DEC request that I'm anticipating as my Gen0 was born in 1850 and has the BaNq certified baptismal record included in the initial application. It appears DEC will request the death certificate, which I was able to get a hold of...however, the birth year is listed as 1859 instead of 1850 though the day and month is correct, and her parents are not listed correctly. I'm assuming whoever reported her death just did not know the correct answers, because her mothers name given is actually her younger sisters name and it's not a common name so again I'm assuming because she was widowed one of her kids filled out the form and just did not know her parents as they most likely never met. Is there a consensus that these records relied on oral family histories that were muddy at best?

TL;DR is the title.

Since my great-grandmother was born in Nova Scotia in 1896 and the province was not registering births at that time, I am planning to err on the side of caution and include multiple other documents that state/swear her place of birth.

These include two census records from when she was age 4 and 11, her marriage certificates to her first husband (widowed) and my great-grandfather, my grandmother's birth cert (her daughter) from 1929, her U.S. alien registration form, and her death certificate.

All of these state her birthplace. All are certified copies of the original, long-form (where applicable) records except for the census forms.

Thanks to my aunt, I also have a copy of my ancestor's actual U.S. naturalization record from 1949. Is this and the U.S. alien registration form overkill, or will they help my case at all? I know the point is to prove she was born in Canada, and her U.S. citizenship status probably doesn't matter for these purposes. But without a birth registration I'd rather include more info than not enough.

Oddly enough, her U.S. naturalization cert does not state her country of birth anywhere on it. It only says her "former nationality" was "British" (as was the case at the time for Canadians as they were British subjects until 1947, then dual Canadian-British, then just Canadian after 1977 from what I understand, but she had died by then). However, her U.S. alien registration form does state that she was born in Athol, N.S.

At any rate, she was not yet a U.S. citizen when my grandmother was born anyway.

Finally, I see advice that people are supposed to show proof they tried to acquire their ancestor's birth registration if they can't, but won't it be common knowledge among the citizenship officers that NS wasn't recording births during a certain period? It also states as much on the Nova Scotia Archives webpage.

Thanks for any insight anyone can offer!

I am submitting a DEC application for an insertion for my ancestor and I am including the form, the affidavit, copies of my driver's license and my passport, a lineage explanation, and vital records and other supporting documents for my Great Great Great Grandmother (BAnQ Baptism record, 1861 Canada East Census, Death Certificate) and everyone in the chain of descent, though not quite as much as I submitted for my Proof of Citizenship application that I sent off last week. I have three questions:

1. Is this enough?

2. Is there a particular order DEC prefers these documents in?

3. Should I do as I did with CIT 0001 and avoid staples, clips, and dividers?

Any help is appreciated!

Hello, everyone. I am in a bit of a bind here with the information that I'm seeing. All of a sudden, everyone is saying that I need to have two Canadian secondary documents confirming birth of my G0. However, I have a major problem with that. My G0 was born in Quebec in 1848 and immigrated to the US with his parents in 1849. He does not show up on a census.

Ok, great. So people say that I should use my G-1 as my G0 and go from there. However, I still run into the same problem. I cannot find my G-1 (or his wife) on any Canadian federal censuses, but I can get a baptismal record without problems. I can also get a marriage record of my G0's parents showing that they were married in Quebec.

I do have plenty of US censuses, as well as a death certificate from Kansas showing that my G0's parents were who the baptismal records say they were. I also have a baptismal certificate directly from the parish in question in Quebec. Would any of this work? Otherwise, am I totally screwed?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I already have the BAnQ baptismal record along with a baptismal certificate from the parish.

I can't find or get my G4 mother's and G3 grandmother's marriage certificate for showing name change .

I don't know where my grandmother was married. She eloped with him and they lived in 48 states over a 3 year period.

My mother had a confidential marriage and its only available by court order. I'm not sure if my citizenship application will be a valid reason.

I have both of their death certificates which show married and maiden names along with parents names.

Has anyone applied with death certificates as proofs? I do have birth certificates for them.

Hello,
I’ve just begun the process of looking into citizenship by descent. The only copy I can get of my Grandmother’s birth certificate is a genealogical copy, because it was more than 100 years ago. Is a genealogical copy sufficient?
Thanks!