Who can apply

This page explains who is eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship as a stateless person, what it means to be a stateless person and who should fill out the forms.

On this page

• Who can use this application
• Who should fill out the forms

Who can use this application

This application is only for stateless people who meet certain conditions. A person is stateless if no country or state recognizes them as a citizen or national.

To be eligible for this application, you must be a stateless person and meet all of these other conditions:

• You were born outside Canada on or after December 15, 2025.
  • If you were born before this date but you meet the other requirements, check if you may already be a Canadian citizen.
• You have a parent who was a Canadian citizen when you were born, but you do not meet the requirements for citizenship by descent.
• You have been stateless for your whole life. This means
  • you did not automatically become a citizen of any of your parents’ countries of citizenship because of the citizenship laws of those countries
  • you did not acquire citizenship from the country you were born in
  • you have never applied for and been granted citizenship by any country
• You have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days (3 years) of the 4 years immediately before you apply.
• You’re under 23 years old when you apply.

Even if you meet the requirements above, you may not be eligible for a grant of citizenship if you were one of the following:

• the subject of a declaration by the Governor in Council under section 20 of the Citizenship Act
  • You would be notified in writing if this applied to you.
• convicted of any of these offences:
  • treason or related offences (sections 47, 51, or 52 of the Criminal Code)
  • espionage or related offences (subsection 5(1) or sections 6, and 16 to 22 of the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act)
  • conspiring or attempting to commit, being an accessory after the fact in relation to, or counselling in relation to any of the above offences
  • terrorism (section 2 of the Criminal Code)

Who should fill out the forms

Adults (18 years or older): Complete the application yourself.

Minors (under 18 years old): A parent or guardian can apply for the minor, but the minor is still considered the applicant.

If you’re applying for a minor, remember that at least one parent must have been a Canadian citizen when the minor was born.

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