Millions of citizens of the United States are now eligible to claim dual citizenship with Canada, and can thereby obtain Canadian passports.

Under the latest Canadian citizenship law, people with Canadian ancestry have automatically become eligible for Canadian citizenship.

It doesn’t matter where you were born— and it doesn’t matter whether your parents, or even your grandparents, ever lived in Canada, or even if they ever held Canadian passports themselves.

As long as you were born prior to December 15, 2025, and can trace your lineage back to a Canadian ancestor, you’re automatically eligible under Canada’s citizenship by descent legislation, and you can apply for proof of Canadian citizenship.

Once you’ve received proof of citizenship, you can apply for a Canadian passport.

Citizenship by descent applies equally to children by birth and to children by adoption.

The new law applies to Americans all over the United States with Canadian ancestry, including an especially large concentration in New England, where an estimated three million Americans are eligible for Canadian citizenship, the bulk due to Canadian ancestry stemming back to mass migration from the years 1870 to 1930.

Americans who obtain dual citizenship with Canada can benefit from the rights and privileges of citizenship of both countries, including the right to enter Canada, and to settle in Canada permanently if they wish.

Dual citizens who go on to obtain Canadian passports can also benefit from the additional mobility the Canadian passport affords over the US passport.

To apply for proof of Canadian citizenship, you’ll need to provide evidence of your descent from Canadian ancestors, for example, a series of documents such as birth certificates and baptismal records.

As of the time of writing, the processing time for proof of citizenship applications is 11 months.