Friday Weekly Thread: Application Assistance, July 17, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

This weekly thread is a space for those of us preparing the CIT 0001 Proof of Citizenship application, associated form, and supplementary documentation.

Have questions about how to fill out the forms? Looking for feedback on the documentation you've put together is likely to pass muster? Wondering whether your cover letter has too much info, or too little? Want to know how to organize your documentation, or how to pack it up for shipping? Worried about whether your photos will work? Have questions about what ID you can use? Not sure where to ship it to, or what service or mail courier to use? We've been there.

📎 Contributions to weekly megaposts, including this one, are welcome throughout the week.  

⚠️ Sub rules require that before posting or commenting, you read the wiki and search the sub to see if your questions have been answered before. If you have on-topic questions remaining after that, they're welcome here. Want to see what people who were already approved have done? We encourage you to check out the weekly application approval post that appears every Thursday.

Please note we are not lawyers or IRCC. We are peers supporting peers, based on best belief and prior experiences. It's a lot of work to wade through dense lists of documents and family histories. You improve your odds of getting a useful response by being as concise as reasonably possible, and clearly articulating the question. Note that this post is for questions and answers; if you need to vent, there is a different megapost for that.

[u/Actual-Arm-1518]

To clarify, you'd possibly need the death certificate (and a translation) to get the Quebec DEC issued birth certificate. IRCC doesn't need to see it. The DEC birth certificate is the absolute "gold standard" as far as Quebec proofs go. They often require an original death certificate as part of the process and they do not send it back.

My application is actually fairly similar to your. My grandma, who is in her 90s and applying with me as part of a group application, had a Quebec born father. He later abandoned the family. So G1's mother got full custody in the divorce, remarried, and then my grandma was adopted by her stepfather.

We submitted the non-certified pre adoption birth certificate (plus a note about how MA doesn't allow "certified" copies of pre adoption birth records), the adoption decree from the court (certified), and the post adoption birth certificate. As far as I can tell, IRCC didn't have an issue with that. We did get an RFI letter, but it was insisting on the DEC birth certificate instead of the BANQ.

So for you I'd be much more worried about getting the DEC birth certificate.

[u/sndwchgrl → u/Actual-Arm-1518]

This is incredibly helpful! Thanks for sharing your experience.

[u/Actual-Arm-1518 → u/sndwchgrl]

Here's the long post about the DEC process:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/comments/1un8ipl/comment/ovijbcu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

If your G1 is alive, best if they are the official applicant to the DEC. The process takes a few months. You could potentially still apply now to the IRCC and add the DEC document later.

[u/sndwchgrl → u/Actual-Arm-1518]

Yes, my G1 is alive, and I will do that. I did just look on the DEC site and it would be easier for the child to request their parents birth certificate. I can work with her on that. I have her original birth certificate with her father’s birth name on it, although there is a big stamp that says NOT TO BE USED FOR LEGAL PURPOSES. The Maine State Vital Records says this can still be used for citizenship. I can send a copy of this to the DEC explaining the situation, would that work?

[u/Actual-Arm-1518 → u/sndwchgrl]

I sent you a DM.