How can I get citizenship in Canada?

Canada grants citizenship through: Ancestry, Naturalization, Birth, Investment.

What residence or golden-visa options does Canada offer?

Canada offers 4 residence programme(s): Investment (golden visa).

Canada — Citizenship & Residence Routes

Citizenship routes

Ancestryreviewed

Naturalizationreviewed

Birthreviewed

Investmentreviewed

Birthactive

Citizenship by birth in Canada

A person born in Canada is generally a citizen at birth, with a narrow exception for children of certain foreign diplomatic personnel.

Sources: IRCC — Check if you may be a Canadian citizen

Ancestryactive

Citizenship through a Canadian parent

A child born abroad to a Canadian parent is generally a citizen; from 15 December 2025, a Canadian parent also born abroad must usually have spent 1,095 days in Canada before the child’s birth.

Sources: IRCC — Check if you may be a Canadian citizen

Naturalizationactive

Citizenship grant after physical presence

An adult permanent resident generally needs 1,095 days of physical presence in the five-year eligibility period, including at least 730 days as a permanent resident.

Sources: IRCC — Canadian citizenship eligibility

Residence & settlement

Investment (golden visa)renewable — no PR

Federal Immigrant Investor Program (terminated)

Canada's federal passive-investment PR route (CAD 800,000 government loan) was terminated by the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act; the application backlog was cancelled by operation of law and no federal investor program has existed since.

Sources: Notice - Termination of the backlog of applications in the federal Immigrant Investor Program and federal Entrepreneur Program (IRCC)

Investment (golden visa)→ citizenship

Provincial Nominee Program - entrepreneur streams (representative)

Most provinces run entrepreneur streams under the Provincial Nominee Program: candidates invest in and actively manage a local business, typically arriving on a work permit and receiving provincial nomination for PR after meeting business performance conditions. With the federal Start-up Visa paused, these are Canada's main active entrepreneur routes in 2026.

Sources: Provincial Nominee Program (IRCC)

Investment (golden visa)→ citizenship

Quebec Investor Program (QIIP, relaunched 2024)

Quebec's passive-investment selection program, suspended in 2019 and relaunched January 1, 2024 with new terms: CAD 2M lawful net worth, a CAD 1M five-year interest-free guaranteed investment with IQ Immigrants Investisseurs plus a CAD 200,000 non-refundable contribution, oral French at level 7, and a two-step path (work permit, then 12 months in Quebec before permanent selection/CSQ leading to federal PR).

from CAD 1,200,000183 days/yr

Sources: Conditions for immigrating to Quebec as an investor (MIFI)

Investment (golden visa)→ citizenship

Start-up Visa Program (paused December 2025)

Federal PR program for founders backed by a designated Canadian VC (CAD 200k), angel group (CAD 75k) or incubator (no capital). IRCC stopped accepting new applications at 11:59 p.m. December 31, 2025; only holders of a valid 2025 commitment certificate could apply, by June 30, 2026 - a deadline that has now passed. A new, more selective entrepreneur pilot was announced for 2026.

Sources: Start-up Visa Program (IRCC); see also Update on Immigration Measures for Entrepreneurs, Dec 2025