Straight answers, in plain words

It is Canadian citizenship that passes from a Canadian parent to a child born outside Canada. You don't apply to become a citizen. If the law covers you, you already are one. What you apply for is a citizenship certificate, the document that proves it.

Until then, citizenship by descent generally stopped at the first generation born outside Canada. Bill C-3 removed that cut-off for people born before December 15, 2025. If your Canadian parent was also born abroad, you may now be a citizen through them.

For children born outside Canada on or after that date, a Canadian parent who was also born abroad must have spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the birth.

For people born before December 15, 2025, the law sets no fixed number of generations. What matters is that the chain is unbroken: every person between you and the Canadian ancestor has to be recognized as a citizen under the Citizenship Act, including people whose status was restored by later amendments.

The further back a line goes, the more there is to prove. That is why the research comes before any talk of an application.

It can. A naturalized Canadian passes citizenship to children born after they became a citizen. A child born before the parent's citizenship was granted is not automatically a citizen through them. Comparing those two dates is one of the first things we check.

They are separate things. A permit or a permanent residence application asks Canada to let you stay. Proof of citizenship confirms a status you already hold by law, and a citizen needs no permit at all.

Until a citizenship certificate is issued, keep your current status valid and follow its conditions. A licensed representative can advise you on how the two fit together.

Then this route doesn't apply to you, and we will say so. Citizenship by descent needs a Canadian citizen in your direct line: a parent, a grandparent or an earlier ancestor. No research or paperwork can create one.

The research. We find your Canadian ancestor in the archives, obtain certified copies of the records that link each generation, and assemble them into an organized evidence file.

We don't advise you on your eligibility and we don't file your application. A licensed representative does that part.

A licensed representative: a lawyer, a Quebec notary, or a consultant registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Under Canadian law, only these professionals may charge for advice or representation on a citizenship application.

Their name and licence number are in your agreement and on this site, and you can check any representative on the public registers.

Yes. The forms and guides are free on the Government of Canada website, and you never need to hire anyone to apply.

People come to us when the hard part is the evidence: tracking down a great-grandmother's baptism record, or proving that two spellings of a surname belong to the same person.

Two clocks run one after the other. Research time depends on your line. A parent born in Canada is quick to document, an ancestor in nineteenth-century parish registers takes longer, and you get an estimate before you commit.

After filing, the timing belongs to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which publishes its current processing times. Nobody can speed that up or promise a date.

The application leads to a citizenship certificate. With that in hand, you apply for a Canadian passport through the passport program, the same way any other citizen does.

The eligibility check and the first review are free. If your line looks viable, you receive a written quote for the research and records before any paid work starts. The representative's fee for advice and filing is set out in a separate agreement with them.

Government fees go to the government: $75 for a citizenship certificate at the time of writing.

You receive a written summary of what was found and where the line breaks, and the work stops there. How fees for completed research are handled is set out in your agreement before you start.

No, and nobody honestly can. The decision belongs to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and depends on what the records show. What we commit to is thorough research and a straight answer about what it found.

No. Maple Lineage is a private company. We are not affiliated with the Government of Canada or IRCC, and using a paid service gives an application no priority or special treatment.

We use it only to assess and research your family line, share it only with the people who need it to do that work, and delete it on request. The details are in our Privacy Policy.