How to show proof of Canadian citizenship for adult passport applications

Unless you are eligible to renew your passport, you must submit proof of Canadian citizenship with your passport application.  If you do not provide proof of citizenship for new passport applications, your application may be rejected.

If you were born in Canada, provide one of the following:

• A birth certificate (either long form or short form) issued by the province or territory where you were born
• Certificate of citizenship issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)

If born outside of Canada, provide one of the following documents issued by IRCC:

• Certificate of citizenship
• Certificate of naturalization
• Certificate of retention of Canadian citizenship
• Certificate of registration of birth abroad

Contact us to apply for a citizenship certificate.

Please indicate in section 4 of the application form if you acquired citizenship of another country before January 1, 1947.

Canadian birth certificates

Contact the vital statistics office in the province or territory where you were born to request a birth certificate.

Certain provinces have different documents that we also accept as proof of Canadian citizenship. They are:

• British Columbia—a “Certified True Copy of a Registration Document” – “Registration of Live Birth” issued by the province of British Columbia may be accepted as a Documentary Evidence of Citizenship (DEC) in cases where the name of the bearer exceeds 30 characters for the surname or 30 characters for the given names.
• New Brunswick—a certified extract of a registration document issued by the Province of New Brunswick in cases where the name of the bearer exceeds 39 characters for the surname(s) and 30 characters for the given name(s).
• Northwest Territories—a Registration of Birth, a Certificate of Registration of Birth, or a Registration of Live Birth issued by the Northwest Territories in cases where the surname(s) and given name(s) of the bearer exceed a total of 58 characters.
• Nova Scotia—a certified photocopy of Live Birth Registration issued by the Province of Nova Scotia in cases where the name of the bearer exceeds 30 characters for the surname(s) and 38 characters for the given name(s).
• Ontario—a certified copy of birth registration issued by the Province of Ontario.

Note: For Canadians born in the province of Quebec, only a birth certificate or a copy of an act of birth issued after January 1, 1994, by the Directeur de l'état civil of Quebec or a certificate of Canadian citizenship are accepted as proof of Canadian citizenship.