Citizenship record letters

If you apply for a search of citizenship records, the record letter you receive is not a valid proof of Canadian citizenship.

 Commemorative certificates

The commemorative certificate that came with your citizenship card is not a valid proof of Canadian citizenship (even though it indicates the date on which you became a Canadian citizen).

 Some birth certificates

Your Canadian birth certificate doesn’t prove your citizenship if when you were born:

• at least 1 of your parents
  • worked for a foreign government or international organization and
  • held diplomatic privileges and immunities
• and neither of your parents were a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

We also don’t accept DND 419 birth certificates as proof of citizenship.

Working for a foreign government/international organization

Your parent worked for a foreign government/international organization if they were 1 of the following:

• a diplomat or a consular officer of a foreign government (or an employee of these persons)
• an employee or a representative of a foreign government (or an employee of these persons)
• an officer or an employee of an agency of the United Nations
• an officer or an employee of any other international organization with diplomatic privileges and immunities

DND 419 birth certificates

They were issued by the Department of National Defence to children born outside Canada to Canadian Forces personnel before November 1979.

If you need a proof of Canadian citizenship

If you’re a Canadian citizen who doesn’t have a valid proof of citizenship, you can apply for a citizenship certificate.