Many American families hear that Bill C-3 opened citizenship by descent past the first generation, then learn the extra test only when they try to file. This page is the evidence file for that extra test, not a repeat of the statute overview.
Check eligibility for a citizenship by descent review before you build the day-count file.
A later child born outside Canada is not covered by a family story alone. Under the current rules, a Canadian parent who was also born or adopted abroad may need to prove a bill C-3 substantial connection before that child can rely on citizenship by descent. The test is 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada, and those days must already exist before the child’s birth or adoption.
This guide is for a U.S. reader with a Canadian parent born or adopted outside Canada. It fits a family that has, or expects, a child born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025. It explains who must meet the test, which days count, and how to organize proof. It does not decide whether a particular parent is a citizen. For the broader rule change, start with the Bill C-3 first-generation limit guide, then come back here for the evidence.
Who must prove a bill C-3 substantial connection?
The test is narrow. It applies when a Canadian parent was born or adopted outside Canada. That parent wants citizenship by descent to reach a child born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says the parent must show at least 1,095 days in Canada before the relevant event. IRCC treats those days as physical presence, not as a mailing address or a family connection.
A parent who was born in Canada, or who was granted citizenship after living in Canada, is in a different position. IRCC’s public explanation of the 2025 citizenship rule changes treats the first generation born abroad to that parent as Canadian by descent without this second-generation presence test. The substantial-connection rule is the extra check for the next generation born abroad.
Birth and adoption are alternatives, not two hurdles the same child must clear. For a child born abroad on or after December 15, 2025, IRCC looks at whether the Canadian parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the birth. For a child adopted abroad in the second generation or later, IRCC looks at whether that parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the adoption. Adoption still follows its own direct-grant process. This page covers only the presence evidence, not the full adoption application.
People born before December 15, 2025, are not the audience for this test. IRCC says that, in most cases, a person born outside Canada to a Canadian parent before that date is already a citizen, and can apply for proof. Do not build a 1,095-day file for a birth that predates the new rule. Use the presence test only for a later birth or a later adoption.
What the 1,095 days require
IRCC describes the connection as physical presence. The Canadian parent must have been physically present in Canada for 1,095 cumulative days before the child’s birth abroad, or before the adoption when adoption is the event. Cumulative means the days can come from separate stays. They do not have to be one uninterrupted three-year residence.
Three features decide whether a day helps:
- The day was spent physically in Canada, not merely connected to Canada by family, property, or a passport.
- The day falls before the child’s birth, or before the adoption when that is the event being assessed.
- The day can be tied to a record. A memory of summers in Ontario is a lead, not a count.
Time in Canada after the birth does not repair a shortfall for that child. The same is true after an adoption. If the parent later moves to Canada for work or school, those new days may matter for a different, later child. They do not move backward to a child already born.
The 1,095-day length is similar to the physical-presence period used in naturalization, but the job of the evidence is different. Here, the parent is not applying to become a citizen. The parent is showing a connection that already existed before a child was born or adopted abroad. Count days in Canada. Do not substitute a different legal status, a Canadian address on a form, or time spent only in the United States with Canadian relatives.
Which records can show physical presence?
Useful physical-presence evidence includes border entry and exit information, school enrollment records or transcripts, and proof of residence. Those are examples, not a closed list, and they are not a promise that every paper will be accepted. The useful habit is to match each claimed stay to at least one independent record.
For a parent who lives in the United States, the practical sources usually fall into four groups.
- Border records. Passport stamps, travel history, and any entry or exit records that show the parent was in Canada on stated dates. A stamp proves a crossing. It does not, by itself, prove every day between two trips.
- School records. Enrollment letters, report cards, or transcripts that place the parent in a Canadian school during a defined term. Pair the term dates with the school’s location.
- Residence proof. A lease, campus housing letter, utility bill, or similar record in the parent’s name, covering a specific address and period. Overlap the dates. Do not count the same day twice because two bills mention it.
- Supporting dates. Employment letters, pay records, or tax documents can help confirm a stay that a lease only sketches. Use them to support a day count, not as a substitute for presence.
Keep original names visible. If a record uses a former name, keep the linking document with it. Translation rules for citizenship records are a separate issue. This file is about dates in Canada. The citizenship certificate guide for applicants outside Canada is the place to see how a proof application is organized once the evidence exists.
How to build the day count
Build one timeline for the parent who must meet the test. Do not mix days from a grandparent or from the other parent. The rule looks at that Canadian parent.
- Write the parent’s full name, date of birth, place of birth, and how that parent is Canadian. Birth in Canada, a grant, and citizenship by descent are different routes. Only the route matters for deciding whether this test applies.
- List every stay in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption. Give each stay a start date, an end date, and a short reason, such as school, work, or living with family.
- Attach the record that supports that stay. If a stay has no record, leave it out of the total and mark it as unproven.
- Count calendar days in Canada. Stop at the day before the birth or adoption. Keep a running total.
- Stop adding once you can show at least 1,095 supported days, but keep the extra records. A reviewer may question one stay, and a spare documented period can keep the file above the line.
Partial years are normal for Americans who spent childhood summers, a university degree, or a work posting in Canada. Add the supported days across those periods. A four-month school term is not three years, but several documented terms can be part of a cumulative total. What you cannot do is round a season up to a year.
Ask the citizenship by descent team to check the parent and the day count together.
Where families lose days
Most weak files fail in predictable ways. The parent is clearly connected to Canada, but the papers do not show enough days before the event that matters.
| Situation | What the family assumes | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Parent was born abroad and visits Canada often. | Any tie to Canada should satisfy the test. | Only physical days in Canada, before the birth or adoption, can be added. |
| Child was born in 2024. | The parent must now gather 1,095 days. | This go-forward test is for births and adoptions on or after December 15, 2025. |
| Parent moved to Canada after the birth. | Later residence can be counted backward. | Days after the birth do not complete the test for that child. |
| Several relatives lived in Canada. | The family’s combined time should count. | Count only the Canadian parent who must meet the test. |
| School or lease dates are approximate. | A rough year is close enough. | Use the record’s actual start and end dates, and do not double-count overlaps. |
A second mistake is treating this evidence as the whole citizenship case. The parent still has to be a Canadian citizen through a route the law recognizes, and the child’s birth or adoption record still has to connect to that parent. Presence days do not replace those links. If a parent’s own status is unclear, resolve that question before spending months reconstructing travel. The citizenship by descent eligibility guide is the overview for that status question.
Americans sometimes also confuse this test with a plan to sponsor a spouse later. Sponsorship is a different application, with its own forms and evidence. A future move can involve both citizenship and a partner. Keep those files separate. Read the guide to sponsoring a spouse after citizenship by descent only after the citizenship facts are clear.
What to prepare before a consultation
A useful review starts with paper, not a theory. Bring the parent’s Canadian citizenship or birth evidence, the child’s birth or adoption record if it already exists, and the day-count table with documents behind each row. If the child is not yet born, bring the expected timing and the count as it stands today, so the gap is visible.
Also bring records that might hurt the count if they are ignored. A passport that shows long stretches outside Canada can limit a claimed school year. A lease in another person’s name may not prove that this parent was present. It is better to see those limits before an application is filed than after a certificate request comes back incomplete.
Nanua & Ioffe Lawyers meets clients from the United States by video, and in person at the Concord office when a meeting there is useful. The firm prepares citizenship by descent applications and spousal or family sponsorship applications. Bring the day count to that review. Do not treat a surname or a province of origin as the answer.
Request a consultation through the contact form to review the 1,095-day file.
How a shortfall should change the plan
A count under 1,095 days is not a small paperwork problem. It is a timing problem. If the child is not yet born, the parent may still be able to add real days in Canada before the birth. Those days need records as they happen, such as entry evidence and proof of where the parent stayed. A plan to visit for a few weeks will not close a gap of several hundred days.
If the child is already born on or after December 15, 2025, later days do not complete the test for that child. The useful next step is a careful recount, not a thicker stack of family stories. Look for supported stays that were left out, such as a documented school year or a work posting. Drop any period that no record can place inside Canada.
Either way, separate this count from the question of whether the parent is Canadian. A strong day count cannot create a missing parent-child link, and a clear citizenship record cannot invent days. Bring both issues to the same review so the file is aimed at the rule that actually applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every Canadian parent need 1,095 days in Canada?
No. IRCC ties this substantial-connection test to a Canadian parent who was born or adopted abroad and then has a child born abroad, or adopts a child abroad, on or after December 15, 2025. A parent born or naturalized in Canada is not described as needing this second-generation test in order to pass citizenship to a first-generation child born abroad.
Do the 1,095 days have to be consecutive?
No. IRCC describes the period as cumulative physical presence. Separate stays can be added if each stay is supported and falls before the child’s birth or adoption. The same day should be counted once, even if two records mention it.
Can time in Canada after the birth be used?
Not for that child. The parent must already have the 1,095 days before the birth, or before the adoption when the adoption is the relevant event. Later time in Canada may matter only for a later child.
What if the parent was born before December 15, 2025?
That fact alone does not trigger this evidence file. The date that matters is the later child’s birth or adoption. IRCC says that, in most cases, a person born abroad to a Canadian parent before December 15, 2025, is already a citizen. That person may apply for proof instead of building a presence file.
Which documents should I collect first?
Start with border entry and exit evidence, school enrollment or transcripts, and proof of residence. Add the record that proves the Canadian parent’s own citizenship route, because a day count cannot stand in for that status.
