The CIT 0014 is the document checklist you place at the top of your CIT 0001 application package before mailing it to IRCC. It lists every item the envelope must contain and sets the evidentiary standard IRCC applies when it opens your package. The checklist itself is not assessed, but every item on it is: a missing or deficient document is the most common reason applications are returned before review.
The June 2026 update made the CIT 0014 significantly more specific. Two new requirements changed the standard for every citizenship by descent applicant, and an August 2026 revision added new detail for a narrow group with a physical presence requirement.
What Changed in the CIT 0014 in June 2026
On June 18, 2026, IRCC updated the CIT 0014 to codify the standards that triggered its certificate review earlier that month. The two additions that matter most:
No application can rest solely on third-party records. Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, and other genealogy platforms are useful for locating records. Their printouts are not accepted as primary evidence. Every generation in your chain must have a document from the original issuing authority: a vital statistics office, provincial archive, or civil registry.
Documents must be authentic, reliable, and verifiable. This language replaced vaguer phrasing about acceptable evidence. In practice it means IRCC expects certified copies that can be traced back to the body that issued or holds the record, not scanned images from a third-party site or photocopies without official certification.
These are not new substantive requirements. They enforce what was always expected. The difference is that IRCC now rejects applications at intake for documentation quality issues it previously flagged only after full review.
Section by Section: What Goes in the Envelope
Completed CIT 0001 form. Signed and dated in ink. The date is the day you actually signed, not the day you mail. The CIT 0001 instruction guide walks through every field.
Payment receipt. The \$75 CAD government fee must be paid online through IRCC's website before you mail. You print the confirmation receipt and include it in the package. Cheques, money orders, and cash are not accepted. Full steps are in the fee payment guide.
Two citizenship photos. 50mm x 70mm (approximately 2 inches x 2.75 inches). Taken within the last six months, signed and dated by the photographer on the back. The photo requirements guide covers the full specification, including background colour and face-size rules.
Two pieces of identification, at least one with a photo. A US passport and a driver's license satisfy this. Both copies must be in colour. The ID does not need to be Canadian.
Proof of citizenship for every generation in your chain. This is the substantive core of the package. The CIT 0014 requires a document for each person from you to your Canadian-born ancestor:
- Your long-form birth certificate: a certified copy from the vital records office of the state or province where you were born. Hospital birth certificates are not accepted.
- Each intermediate generation (parent, grandparent, and so on): a certified copy of their long-form birth certificate from the relevant state or province.
- Your Canadian-born ancestor: a certified copy of their birth registration from the relevant provincial vital statistics office or provincial archive. For ancestors born before civil registration began in a given province, a certified baptismal extract from the original church register is the standard alternative.
- Marriage certificates for every name change between generations. If your grandmother was born Maria Tremblay and appears as Mary Thompson on your mother's birth certificate, a marriage certificate connects the two names.
Translations with certified affidavits. Any document not in English or French must be accompanied by a translation certified by a qualified translator and a sworn affidavit from that translator confirming its accuracy. See the certified translation guide for what IRCC considers a qualified translator.
The CIT 0014 checklist page. Place it at the top of the stack, checked off. IRCC uses it for a quick completeness check on intake.
When an Original Document Does Not Exist
Some records were never created, were destroyed in fires, or predate a province's civil registration system. The CIT 0014 does not require documents that do not exist, but it does require you to demonstrate that you looked.
For any missing document, two things must appear in your package:
A letter of no record from the authority that would hold the document. For an Ontario ancestor born in 1881, that means a letter from ServiceOntario confirming no birth registration exists for that name and approximate date. Provincial vital statistics offices and archives provide these letters, sometimes for a small fee. The letter establishes that the absence is documented, not that you simply chose not to order the record.
Secondary evidence to fill the gap. Accepted alternatives include baptismal or church records from the relevant parish, Canadian census entries from the appropriate decade available through Library and Archives Canada, immigration or landing records, and military service files. A statutory declaration from someone with direct personal knowledge can support secondary evidence but generally cannot replace primary records entirely.
Include both the no-record letter and the secondary evidence together, with a brief explanation in your cover letter. A gap in the chain without any documentation is one of the most common triggers for an IRCC document request.
Physical Presence Evidence (Born on or After December 15, 2025)
This section applies to a specific group: people born outside Canada on or after December 15, 2025, whose Canadian parent was also born outside Canada. For everyone else, it does not apply.
If you fall into this category, you must prove your Canadian parent was physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 cumulative days before your birth. IRCC updated the forms in August 2026 to specify exactly what evidence it accepts. You complete form CIT 0555 and attach documents from one or more of these categories:
- Travel records: passport stamps, boarding passes, or NEXUS records showing entries and exits
- Employment or enrollment records from Canadian institutions
- Rental agreements, mortgage statements, or utility bills for a Canadian address
- Government records: CRA notices, provincial health cards, provincial benefit statements
- Sworn affidavits from third parties with direct knowledge of the residence, including the affiant's home address and phone number
A general letter from a church or community organization that previously satisfied this requirement now must meet the sworn affidavit standard. The bar for physical presence documentation rose in August 2026.
The full 1,095-day rule guide explains who the requirement applies to and how IRCC calculates the days.
The Document Standard in Practice
Consider David, applying through his great-grandmother born in New Brunswick in 1897. His package needs: a certified copy of his own birth certificate from the Pennsylvania vital records office, certified copies of his father's and grandfather's birth certificates from their respective states, and a certified copy of his great-grandmother's birth registration from the New Brunswick Archives. Civil registration in New Brunswick began in 1888, so a registration should exist. If it does not, he contacts the New Brunswick Archives for a letter of no record and adds a church baptismal record from the appropriate parish. Every marriage certificate linking surnames across the four generations goes in the package too.
His package runs to roughly 15 documents before the form and photos. That is typical for a three-generation claim. For deeper chains, the count grows proportionally.
MaplePass reviews your complete document package against the current CIT 0014 standard before you mail and flags any item that would cause a return or a document request. Eligibility check takes two minutes at getmaplepass.com.