CICC Licence R710149 · MAK Canadian Immigration Services
Last reviewed: August 2026
Canadian Citizenship for Children Who Are Permanent Residents: Applying for a Minor
A minor permanent resident can apply for a grant of Canadian citizenship, but the physical-presence route depends on the parent’s status. A child with a Canadian parent, or a parent applying for citizenship at the same time, generally uses the subsection 5(2) route without the 1,095-day physical-presence requirement. Where neither condition applies, the child generally applies under subsection 5(1), where physical presence is required.
A child who is under 18 and already a permanent resident of Canada can be granted Canadian citizenship on an application signed by a parent or a legal guardian. The fee is $100, there is no citizenship test and there is no language requirement at any age under 18.
The part that decides how much work the application takes is a single fact about the parents. IRCC publishes two minor routes, which it labels minor 5(2) and minor 5(1), and the one that applies to your child controls whether a physical presence requirement has to be met and evidenced at all. This page sets out both routes, the documents each one takes, and the three separate processes that parents routinely confuse with each other.
Three different things, and parents mix them up constantly
Before you go further, confirm you are on the right route. Three separate processes involve children and Canadian citizenship. They use different forms, they cost different amounts and they produce different outcomes, and search results send parents to all three more or less at random.
Not citizenship by descent
If your child was born outside Canada to a parent who was already a Canadian citizen at the time of the birth, your child may already be a citizen. There is no grant to apply for. What that family needs is documentary proof of a status the child already holds, which is a citizenship certificate, and IRCC’s fee list shows that at $75. Rules for people born outside Canada beyond the first generation changed on December 15, 2025. Read the date qualifier carefully, because it is the whole of the rule. Canada.ca applies the new test only to a person born or adopted on or after December 15, 2025, and states that such a person may be Canadian where the parent was also born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen “and that same parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the birth”. A person born or adopted outside Canada before December 15, 2025 is not subject to that 1,095 day parental presence test, and canada.ca states that in most cases a person born before December 15, 2025 outside Canada to a Canadian parent is automatically a Canadian citizen. Either way this is a different 1,095 days, applied to a different person, in a different provision. Nothing on this page is about it.
Not dependent child sponsorship
If your child does not hold permanent residence yet, this page is premature. Sponsoring a dependent child for permanent residence is a separate immigration application with its own forms, fees and processing, and citizenship comes afterwards. Both minor citizenship routes on canada.ca require the child to be a permanent resident.
This page: the minor grant
This page is for a child who is under 18, is already a permanent resident of Canada, and is not a citizen. That child applies for a grant of citizenship, and IRCC publishes two versions of that application.
The one question that decides everything
IRCC labels the two routes after subsections of the Citizenship Act. Ignore the labels for a moment and answer this instead.
Is at least one of the child’s parents a Canadian citizen, or applying for citizenship at the same time as the child?
| Requirement | Minor 5(2) | Minor 5(1) |
|---|---|---|
| Applies when | The minor has a Canadian parent, or a parent who is applying for citizenship at the same time | The minor does not |
| Permanent resident status | Yes | Yes |
| Physical presence in Canada | Not required | Must have been physically present in Canada 3 out of the last 5 years |
| Income tax filing | Not required | Yes, if needed |
| Fee | $100 | $100 |
| Citizenship test | No | No |
| Language proof | No | No |
| Oath of citizenship | Yes, if 14 years of age or older | Yes, if 14 years of age or older |
Source for the table: IRCC’s comparison of the two minor application types on canada.ca, linked below.
Minor 5(2): a parent is a citizen, or is applying at the same time
If the answer is yes, the child applies under subsection 5(2). This is the shorter route and it is the one most families use.
On this route the physical presence requirement does not apply. The child does not need 1,095 days, does not need to count absences and does not need to submit a physical presence calculation. IRCC’s comparison also shows no income tax filing requirement for the child on this route.
Note the second limb carefully, because it is the one people miss. The parent does not have to already be a citizen. Canada.ca states that this route covers a minor who “has a Canadian parent or a parent who is applying for citizenship at the same time”. A permanent resident parent who files their own adult citizenship application at the same time is inside the wording. That is why families frequently prepare the parent’s application and the children’s applications together.
Minor 5(1): no parent is a citizen and none is applying alongside
If the answer is no, the child applies under subsection 5(1), which is the provision adults use, and the requirements are heavier.
Canada.ca states that the minor “must have been physically present in Canada 3 out of the last 5 years”, which is the 1,095 day figure. Income tax filing is listed as required “if needed”, which for most children will not arise but should be checked where a child has income. The application package includes a physical presence calculation covering the eligibility period, which runs for the 5 years before the application is signed.
There is still no test and no language requirement on this route. Canada.ca applies those only to applicants aged 18 to 54.
What both routes require either way
On both routes the child must hold permanent resident status, and no application is approved where the applicant is under a prohibition. IRCC states that most prohibitions are due to criminal and security reasons, inside and outside Canada. Both routes cost $100 and both can be filed online or on paper.
Who signs the application
On a minor 5(2) application, canada.ca states that “a parent or legal guardian having custody of the minor must sign”. On a minor 5(1) application, the signature may come from a parent, a legal guardian having custody of the minor, or a person empowered to act on their behalf.
On both routes, a minor who is 14 or over must also sign the application in addition to the adult signature.
That is the whole of the published signature rule. Where custody is shared, disputed or governed by a court order, the practical question is whether the person signing is a parent or legal guardian having custody within that rule, and that is a question about your custody documents rather than about the citizenship form. Have those documents reviewed before you file. We have not located an IRCC page setting out a procedure for a parent who will not sign, and this article does not assert one.
When there is no one to apply on the child’s behalf
On the 5(1) route, canada.ca states that “if there’s no one who can apply on their behalf, the minor can request a waiver (exemption) for this requirement”. That matters for older teenagers in the child welfare system, for children whose parents have died, and for young people estranged from both parents. It is a request, not an entitlement, so it should be documented carefully.
What it costs
IRCC’s fee list shows a grant of citizenship for a minor under 18 at $100, and states that this includes the processing fee. For contrast, the adult grant is $653, which the same page says includes the processing fee and the right of citizenship fee. The right of citizenship fee on its own is $123, and a citizenship certificate, which is the proof route and not this one, is $75.
Do not use the adult figure for a child. Paying the wrong amount holds the application up at the completeness check.
The test, the language requirement and the oath
No minor takes the citizenship test and no minor has to prove English or French. Canada.ca ties both requirements to adults aged 18 to 54, so anyone under 18 falls outside the age band by definition.
The oath is different. IRCC’s comparison of the minor routes states the oath is required “if 14 years of age or older” on both routes, so a 14, 15, 16 or 17 year old attends the ceremony and takes the oath in their own right. Canada.ca states that minors under 14 do not need to take the oath.
There is one published exception on the 5(1) package. IRCC’s 5(1) forms and documents page describes a request by a minor aged 14 to 17 to be exempted from taking the oath at a ceremony due to a disability or other accessibility reasons, supported by documentation. That is the exception as published. It is not a general opt out.
The documents
For a minor 5(2)
The paper package is built around document checklist CIT 0008 and application form CIT 0003. With those you provide colour copies of the identity pages of the minor’s valid and expired passports and travel documents covering the eligibility period, which is the 5 years before the application is signed, and two pieces of personal identification showing the minor’s name and date of birth with at least one carrying a photograph. Canada.ca lists acceptable identification for a child as including a permanent resident card, a passport, a school record, a health card, a hospital immunization record and a foreign identity document issued by a government.
You also provide a birth certificate or adoption order showing the minor’s name, date of birth, place of birth and the names of the parents or adoptive parents, two identical printed colour photos that follow IRCC’s citizenship photo specifications, and the fee receipt.
Two conditional items matter here. If you are relying on a parent already being a Canadian citizen, you prove that citizenship with one of the documents canada.ca accepts, which include a birth certificate issued by a Canadian province or territory, a certificate of Canadian citizenship, a certificate of naturalization, a certificate of registration of birth abroad, and a certificate of retention issued between January 1, 1947 and February 14, 1977. If you are a legal guardian rather than a parent, you provide a copy of the legal documentation that proves guardianship. Any document that is not in English or French needs a certified translation, and form IMM 5476 is required where the minor has a paid or unpaid representative.
Additional items for a minor 5(1)
The 5(1) package uses checklist CIT 0560 and application form CIT 0403. On top of the identity documents above, canada.ca requires a physical presence calculation showing “1,095 days of physical presence (time lived in Canada)” during the eligibility period, proof of the relationship between the child and the parent or legal guardian, and official education records such as report cards, transcripts or attendance records. For a child, school records are usually the strongest available evidence of time actually spent in Canada.
Applying online or on paper
Both minor routes can be filed online or on paper, and IRCC encourages online filing. Read the representative rule before you choose. Canada.ca states that “if you want your representative’s help with the online application, you must complete and submit the application yourself”, and that “if you want your representative to complete and submit your application for you, apply on paper”. If you want a consultant or a lawyer to prepare and file the family’s packages, that currently means paper.
Processing times, and how to plan around them
We do not publish a processing time figure. Citizenship times change and a number printed in an article goes wrong quietly. Use the IRCC processing times tool and check it again close to your filing date.
One planning point, stated as what it is. A parent’s application and a child’s application are separate applications, on separate forms, with separate fees. We have not located an IRCC statement about whether paired applications are finalised at the same time, so do not plan on either outcome, in either direction, and do not book anything that depends on a fixed sequence. That matters most where a passport application is waiting at the end.
If you are working out whether your child is on the 5(2) or the 5(1) route, and what that route needs in evidence, that is a short conversation before it becomes an expensive correction.
Frequently asked questions
Does my child have to live in Canada for 3 years to get citizenship?
Only on the 5(1) route, which is the route that applies where no parent is a Canadian citizen and no parent is applying for citizenship at the same time. On the 5(2) route canada.ca shows physical presence as not required for the minor.
Do I have to be a citizen before my child can apply?
No. Canada.ca describes the 5(2) route as applying to a minor who has a Canadian parent or a parent who is applying for citizenship at the same time. A parent applying alongside the child is inside that wording.
Can my child and I apply at the same time?
Yes. Filing at the same time is what puts the child on the 5(2) route. The applications remain separate, on separate forms, with separate fees, and each is decided on its own merits.
How much is Canadian citizenship for a child?
IRCC’s fee list shows $100 for a minor under 18, on either route, and states that this includes the processing fee. The $123 right of citizenship fee is not charged on the minor grant.
Does my child have to take the citizenship test?
No. Canada.ca applies the test and the language requirement to adults aged 18 to 54 only, and IRCC’s comparison of the two minor routes shows no test and no language requirement on either one.
Does my 15 year old have to attend the ceremony?
IRCC’s comparison shows the oath of citizenship is required at 14 years of age or older on both minor routes, and a minor of that age must also sign the application. The 5(1) forms and documents page describes a request to be exempted from taking the oath at a ceremony due to a disability or other accessibility reasons, with supporting documentation.
My child was born in Canada. Do I need to apply?
Canada.ca states that you are “likely a Canadian citizen if you were born in Canada”, and gives the exception in these terms: “if your parent was working in Canada with diplomatic privileges for a foreign government or international organization when you were born, then you weren’t a Canadian citizen at birth”. In the ordinary case the document that child needs is a provincial or territorial birth certificate, not a citizenship application. This page is for children who hold permanent residence.
What if the other parent will not sign?
The published requirement on the 5(2) route is a signature from a parent or legal guardian having custody of the minor, and on the 5(1) route from a parent, a legal guardian having custody, or a person empowered to act on the minor’s behalf. Canada.ca does not publish a procedure for a parent who refuses to sign, and we do not assert one here. Where custody is shared or governed by a court order, get the custody documents reviewed before filing rather than after IRCC asks a question.
Get the route confirmed before you pay
Almost every problem we see on a child’s citizenship file is a routing mistake made at the very start. A family applies for a grant when the child was already a citizen and needed a $75 certificate. A parent files on the 5(1) route and prepares a physical presence calculation that the 5(2) route would never have asked for. Or a parent files for a child who does not yet hold permanent residence, which cannot succeed at all.
If you have children with permanent residence and you are thinking about your own citizenship application, the sequencing is worth working out before anything is signed. Our licensed consultants in Mississauga can confirm which route each child is on and what evidence that route actually requires.
This article was reviewed by Omer Khalil, RCIC, R710149. It is general information about immigration rules as published by IRCC and is not legal advice about your file. Nothing here is a prediction that any application will be approved.
Official sources reviewed
- IRCC, Canadian citizenship for adults and minor children: who can apply, including the prohibitions wording quoted above. Date modified 2026-04-21. canada.ca
- IRCC, Minors (under 18) applying for citizenship, comparison of minor 5(2) and minor 5(1). canada.ca
- IRCC, Minor 5(2) application forms and documents. canada.ca
- IRCC, Minor 5(1) application forms and documents. canada.ca
- IRCC, Fee list for citizenship services. ircc.canada.ca
- IRCC, Check if you are eligible to apply for citizenship. canada.ca
- IRCC, How to apply for citizenship, online or on paper and the representative rule. canada.ca
- IRCC, Check if you may already be a citizen, including birth in Canada and the diplomatic exception. canada.ca
- IRCC, Change to citizenship rules in 2025, citizenship by descent beyond the first generation. canada.ca
- IRCC, Check processing times. canada.ca
Official sources last checked: August 11, 2026.
This article is general information about Canadian immigration law and policy. It is not legal advice and it does not create a consultant and client relationship. Immigration rules change without notice. Confirm your own situation with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or a lawyer before you act.
