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On becoming a Canadian citizen you will receive a citizenship certificate, which is a letter-sized piece of paper which proves you are now a Canadian citizen. You need to keep your citizenship card safe because you will need it to apply for a Canadian Passport, SIN card, Get a job and vote in federal elections. To get your Citizenship Certificate:- Complete the application form
- Have citizenship photos taken
- Gather the supporting documentation: Photo IDs
- Submit the entire application by mail to IRCC
If you are a minor in Canada and you lost your citizenship documentation, do you need legal identification and how long does it take in order for you to receive new documentation?
This is a good question. The answer is, it depends what you are trying to do. For example, if you (or your parent) is trying to register for a program or get an ID that requires proof of citizenship, then yes, you need a citizenship certificate. However, otherwise you do not need to have a piece of identification on you that proves your citizenship. If somebody is telling you that you need to prove your Canadian citizenship even though you’re not trying to apply for anything, they are lying to you.
I recently lost my citizenship card and sin card and I am not sure how to obtain a new one and I have a student loan that I am unable to obtain due to me not having proper documents
You need to apply for a new citizenship certificate. You can do so by submitting the appropriate IRCC application form (available from their website) plus the form informing them you lost your card. You will need valid government photo IDs and citizenship photos. Once you’ve done that you can get your SIN card replaced.
I have flight booked late April, I was about to renew passport(hasn’t been renewed in awhile). I found out I need my citizenship card which I can’t seem to find. What are my best options here?
Well, normally you would need to replace to your citizenship card with a new citizenship certificate. You could apply for urgent processing by showing you need it to apply for your passport. However, given the pandemic, you’ll have to wait. IRCC’s processing has slowed to a crawl. We’re not even sure if they’re processing paper applications right now.
Two questions… 1. I have a Canadian Citizenship Card. If I apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate, do I have to surrender the card, or can I have both? (Given how particular they are about original documents and sometimes going by mail or courier, which carries some risk, I would really like to have a backup certificate safe at home when I send the other one in for passport renewals etc.) 2. As I said, I am a Canadian citizen and have the citizenship card and also a Canadian passport. I was born in the U.S. and have been living in U.S. up til now. I am moving to B.C. for university and would like to get a SIN number and card, so I will have what is needed for a part time job or summer job. What ID do I need to take to the Service Canada offce in Vancouver to get the SIN number and card?
Let’s answer your two questions:
My mother was born in Canada. I, her daughter, would like to apply for a Canadian passport. How to I get started?
You need to apply for your citizenship certificate first. In order to do that you’ll need your mother’s birth certificate and your birth certificate listing your mother’s name, plus a photo ID.
I have Citizenship card issued when I was a minor. I have photocopy of card showing the number but not the date of issue. It was used to obtain a new Canadian passport which expired in 2012. I would like a citizenship card as an adult and to renew my Canadian passport. I am an Australian citizen and hold an Australian passport
If you were born in Australia, you will need to use the citizenship card to apply for the new citizenship certificate and the passport. (Citizenship cards were retired in 2012.) If you have only the photocopy you may have to provide other evidence of citizenship, such as a Search of Citizenship Records. If you were born in Canada you can use your birth certificate.
my mother is Canadian. I was born and live in US. I am 17 and want to keep Canadian Citizenship. How do I do this?
You do not need to do anything to keep Canadian citizenship. If you want to prove your Canadian citizenship, you can apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate (to prove it within Canada) and a Canadian passport (to prove it outside of Canada). You will need the certificate to apply for the passport.
I was born in Quebec, Canada to US parents in 1964, while my fatehr was working there. I never got my official citizenship documents. Do I need to go through and entire application process? Or is there a simpler proces.
You need to apply for your citizenship certificate. You need your birth certificate. You can learn more about applying for your first citizenship certificate here.
I m not Canadian born. I lost my passport, I can’t find my citizenship card nor driver license or SIN card. I m not in Canada. What should I do n which application form should be use?
You need to apply for a replacement citizenship certificate but you need to make it clear that you are applying for it in order to apply for your passport. It could help to include information about passport requirements from your local Embassy/Consulate or a letter of explanation stating that you need to apply for a passport because you lost it.
I have changed my last name, how to replace my Canadian citizenship card with the new name.
So you can no longer get the old card; it was retired in 2012. You can amend the record and get a letter-sized citizenship certificate. In order to do so you will have to provide the legal name change and a photo ID in the new name.
my citizenship certificate is a paper document, can this be replaced with a card
No, the paper citizenship certificate replaced in the card in 2012.
My husband needs to replace his drivers license but needs a Certificate of Citizenship to do so. The one he has is not accepted any more by BC Motor Vehicles. He has paid for and received a proof of citizenship letter, but they say that is not acceptable as proof of citizenship. Request for replacement Citizenship Certificate denied without picture ID. He is caught in a never ending circle. Any suggestions?
Something weird is happening here. We suggest speaking to an RCIC or lawyer if BC Motor Vehicles continues to refuse to recognize his Citizenship Card or Verification of Status. Here are some potential options:
I’m a canadian citizen and I applied for my daughter that was born outside canada for her citizen ship and still didn’t rreceive anything and I bopled tickets I’m 2 months how can she travel with me? Should I make her a temporary one? (My daughter will be 1 year old next month)
If you check the status of the application and it is still pending you can follow up with proof of travel to hopefully get them to process the application urgently.
I lost my citizenship card how can I get it back
You cannot replace your citizenship card with another card but you can replace it with a new citizenship certificate, as the card was phased out in 2012. You will need to download the forms from IRCC’s website.
how to add middle maiden name initial in my Canadian Citizenship Card?
You will need to replace your citizenship card with a citizenship certificate, as the card was retired in 2012. When you replace it, you will have to provide documentation showing your legal middle name.
This is a good question. The answer is, it depends what you are trying to do. For example, if you (or your parent) is trying to register for a program or get an ID that requires proof of citizenship, then yes, you need a citizenship certificate.
I recently lost my citizenship card and sin card and I am not sure how to obtain a new one and I have a student loan that I am unable to obtain due to me not having proper documents
You need to apply for a new citizenship certificate. You can do so by submitting the appropriate IRCC application form (available from their website) plus the form informing them you lost your card. You will need valid government photo IDs and citizenship photos. Once you’ve done that you can get your SIN card replaced.
I have flight booked late April, I was about to renew passport(hasn’t been renewed in awhile). I found out I need my citizenship card which I can’t seem to find. What are my best options here?
Well, normally you would need to replace to your citizenship card with a new citizenship certificate. You could apply for urgent processing by showing you need it to apply for your passport. However, given the pandemic, you’ll have to wait. IRCC’s processing has slowed to a crawl. We’re not even sure if they’re processing paper applications right now.
Two questions… 1. I have a Canadian Citizenship Card. If I apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate, do I have to surrender the card, or can I have both? (Given how particular they are about original documents and sometimes going by mail or courier, which carries some risk, I would really like to have a backup certificate safe at home when I send the other one in for passport renewals etc.) 2. As I said, I am a Canadian citizen and have the citizenship card and also a Canadian passport. I was born in the U.S. and have been living in U.S. up til now. I am moving to B.C. for university and would like to get a SIN number and card, so I will have what is needed for a part time job or summer job. What ID do I need to take to the Service Canada offce in Vancouver to get the SIN number and card?
Let’s answer your two questions:
- You are not supposed to have both. Moreover, you presumably need to submit the card to get ther certificate (unless you have some other proof of citizenship you can submit…)
- For the SIN application, you just need your citizenship card or certificate. You can learn more about SIN applications here.
My mother was born in Canada. I, her daughter, would like to apply for a Canadian passport. How to I get started?
You need to apply for your citizenship certificate first. In order to do that you’ll need your mother’s birth certificate and your birth certificate listing your mother’s name, plus a photo ID.
I have Citizenship card issued when I was a minor. I have photocopy of card showing the number but not the date of issue. It was used to obtain a new Canadian passport which expired in 2012. I would like a citizenship card as an adult and to renew my Canadian passport. I am an Australian citizen and hold an Australian passport
If you were born in Australia, you will need to use the citizenship card to apply for the new citizenship certificate and the passport. (Citizenship cards were retired in 2012.) If you have only the photocopy you may have to provide other evidence of citizenship, such as a Search of Citizenship Records. If you were born in Canada you can use your birth certificate.
my mother is Canadian. I was born and live in US. I am 17 and want to keep Canadian Citizenship. How do I do this?
You do not need to do anything to keep Canadian citizenship. If you want to prove your Canadian citizenship, you can apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate (to prove it within Canada) and a Canadian passport (to prove it outside of Canada). You will need the certificate to apply for the passport.
I was born in Quebec, Canada to US parents in 1964, while my fatehr was working there. I never got my official citizenship documents. Do I need to go through and entire application process? Or is there a simpler proces.
You need to apply for your citizenship certificate. You need your birth certificate. You can learn more about applying for your first citizenship certificate here.
I m not Canadian born. I lost my passport, I can’t find my citizenship card nor driver license or SIN card. I m not in Canada. What should I do n which application form should be use?
You need to apply for a replacement citizenship certificate but you need to make it clear that you are applying for it in order to apply for your passport. It could help to include information about passport requirements from your local Embassy/Consulate or a letter of explanation stating that you need to apply for a passport because you lost it.
I have changed my last name, how to replace my Canadian citizenship card with the new name.
So you can no longer get the old card; it was retired in 2012. You can amend the record and get a letter-sized citizenship certificate. In order to do so you will have to provide the legal name change and a photo ID in the new name.
my citizenship certificate is a paper document, can this be replaced with a card
No, the paper citizenship certificate replaced in the card in 2012.
My husband needs to replace his drivers license but needs a Certificate of Citizenship to do so. The one he has is not accepted any more by BC Motor Vehicles. He has paid for and received a proof of citizenship letter, but they say that is not acceptable as proof of citizenship. Request for replacement Citizenship Certificate denied without picture ID. He is caught in a never ending circle. Any suggestions?
Something weird is happening here. We suggest speaking to an RCIC or lawyer if BC Motor Vehicles continues to refuse to recognize his Citizenship Card or Verification of Status. Here are some potential options:
- He can get a BC Provincial Photo ID Card so he can apply for his Citizenship Certificate.
- Alternatively, he can print off information from IRCC’s website stating that the Citizenship Card is acceptable proof. He should be prepared to call IRCC at 1-888-242-2100 when this explanation is rejected. Hopefully he can get the person from BC Motor Vehicles to speak to the person from IRCC so they can understand he is a citizen.
I’m a canadian citizen and I applied for my daughter that was born outside canada for her citizen ship and still didn’t rreceive anything and I bopled tickets I’m 2 months how can she travel with me? Should I make her a temporary one? (My daughter will be 1 year old next month)
If you check the status of the application and it is still pending you can follow up with proof of travel to hopefully get them to process the application urgently.
I lost my citizenship card how can I get it back
You cannot replace your citizenship card with another card but you can replace it with a new citizenship certificate, as the card was phased out in 2012. You will need to download the forms from IRCC’s website.
how to add middle maiden name initial in my Canadian Citizenship Card?
You will need to replace your citizenship card with a citizenship certificate, as the card was retired in 2012. When you replace it, you will have to provide documentation showing your legal middle name.
