Thousands of New York residents are discovering they qualify for Canadian citizenship under the newly enacted Bill C-3. As a border state, New York has one of the highest concentrations of residents with Canadian ancestry in the United States. Many families have roots that cross the US-Canada border going back generations.
Before Bill C-3 came into effect on December 15, 2025, only first-generation Canadians born abroad could claim citizenship by descent. Bill C-3 removed that limit entirely — there's no cap on how many generations you can go back, as long as you can prove it. If you can trace your lineage back to a Canadian ancestor, you may already be a Canadian citizen by law.
The process is straightforward: determine your eligibility, gather documents proving your ancestry chain (birth certificates, marriage records), fill out the CIT 0001 form (Application for a Citizenship Certificate), and submit it to IRCC. Processing takes approximately 11 months.
You'll need an unbroken chain of documents from you back to your Canadian ancestor. This typically includes: your birth certificate, your parents' birth/marriage certificates, your grandparents' birth/marriage certificates, and so on until you reach the ancestor who was born in or was a citizen of Canada.
Both the United States and Canada allow dual citizenship. Claiming Canadian citizenship does not affect your US citizenship in any way. You'll hold both passports and enjoy the rights and benefits of both countries.
Answer 5 questions to find out if you qualify — supports parents through great-great-grandparents
Our AI walks you through every field of the CIT 0001 and builds your ancestry chain
Upload your certificates and our AI extracts key details, cross-references your chain, and flags issues
Get your complete application package with cover letter, ready for notarization and mailing to IRCC