Lost Citizenship “Lost Canadian”

The majority of “lost Canadians” were born outside of Canada to Canadian parents but who inadvertently lost citizenship status because the parents didn’t register the child as a Canadian to a consulate or Embassy.

A generation ago, a Canadian parent had to declare and register their Canadian child when born outside of Canada before a certain deadline. Initially, a Canadian parent had a year from birth to register before missing the opportunity for dual citizenship (in the case of US and Canadian situations). These deadlines were continuously extended until 1977. At that point it became fixed at the age of 21.

Other examples of lost citizenship occurred as a result of marriage, or for being born outside of wedlock. For instance, in the “old days”, a Canadian woman who married a US citizen could not pass on her Canadian citizenship to her children. The children adopted the father’s citizenship. Conversely, a child born of unmarried parents could only adopt the mother’s citizenship.

Our firm may be able to retroactively apply for your proof of Canadian citizenship at birth under the revised Citizenship Act of 2010.

If you are not a Canadian citizen but happen to have a father or mother born or naturalized in Canada, you may be eligible to apply for citizenship as a “lost Canadian”.