A proof of citizenship application needs a record for every link in the chain, from you back to the ancestor born in Canada.
Who
The record that proves the link
You
Your long-form birth certificate, naming your parents.
Your parent
Their long-form birth certificate, naming their parents.
Each generation before them
A birth record naming the parents, plus a marriage record wherever a surname changes.
The ancestor born in Canada
A provincial birth certificate if one exists. Without one, IRCC counts a baptism or a census as secondary evidence. Applicants report IRCC letters asking for two Canadian records that show the birth in Canada and the parents' names.
Printouts from genealogy websites can't carry an application on their own. IRCC wants copies from the archive or registry that holds the original.
IRCC's document guidance changed during 2026. We check every file against its current guide and the letters applicants are getting.
Hire us, or do it yourself
The research
We search church registers, civil registrations, censuses and notarial records for your whole line, from the ancestor born in Canada down to you. One search covers everyone in the family who descends through that line.
Gen 0 Check$49
Up to 45 minutes on the main indexes for your ancestor's birth or baptism. You get what we found and a quote. It counts toward either package below.
Two Canadian Documents$295
Two Canadian records for your ancestor that show the birth in Canada and the parents' names, with where to order each one.
Full Lineage File$695
Both Canadian records plus every later link down to you, each with its source, and a line of descent template filled in for your family. For cases the check rates easy. Harder cases get a quote first.
Each extra sibling or child on the same line is $75. Each cousin on a different branch is $195. Findings are available in 5 days for Two Canadian Documents and 10 days for the Full Lineage File. Working to an IRCC deadline? Tell us when you order and we'll quote a faster date. Archives take their own time to send certified copies, on top of ours. Archive fees are paid by you, directly to the archive. If a record doesn't exist, you get a log of every place we searched and the archives' replies.
Send what you already know about the family, even if it is only a surname and a province.
We search the registers
US naturalization papers and death certificates often name the Canadian parish, so we start there. Then we work through the registers and census returns of the province where your ancestor was born and follow the line forward to you.
You get the records
Each record comes with its source and where to order a copy, plus a line of descent template that shows how the records connect.
Mrs. Ramsay and her children, Montreal, 1891. Notman studio. McCord Stewart Museum.
Questions
Are you lawyers?
No. We find records and explain them. We do not give legal advice or tell you whether you qualify. An immigration lawyer can.
What if the names don't match from one record to the next?
It happens often. Jean-Baptiste becomes John, Marie becomes Mary, and a surname can gain or lose a letter between records. We note every spelling and show which records tie them together.
My ancestor was born before birth certificates. What now?
Before civil registration, churches kept the record of a birth, usually as a baptism. IRCC counts a baptism as secondary evidence, so we also look for a second Canadian record that names the same parents, such as a census. Ontario began civil birth registration in 1869. Quebec's parish registers go back to 1621.
Can US records prove my ancestor was Canadian?
They help, but applicants who received IRCC fairness letters in 2026 report being told that US documents can't prove Canadian citizenship. We use US records to find the Canadian ones and to back them up.
Do I need certified copies?
IRCC's answers to the Association of Canadian Archivists, published in August 2026, say documents don't need to be certified, though an officer can ask for a certified copy. The copy has to come from the archive or registry that holds the original.
What if the record doesn't exist?
Some never did, especially in Ontario before 1869 and in the Maritimes. You get a log of every source we searched and the archives' written replies. IRCC told the archivists that email from the archive is enough to show a search was made.
My family is applying together. Do we each need a search?
No. One search covers everyone who descends through the same line. Each extra sibling or child is $75. A cousin on a different branch is $195, because it needs the extra records from where the two lines split.
