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- Identify how the Canadian parent acquired citizenship
- Apply the post-December 2025 citizenship-by-descent rules
- Use Canada’s legal-parent-at-birth rules for assisted reproduction
- Obtain proof of citizenship before the first Canadian passport
- Keep federal citizenship and provincial parentage questions separate
- Coordinate the Canadian document route with Georgia’s exit rule
Canada’s citizenship rules for children born abroad changed on 15 December 2025. For a Georgian surrogacy birth, the family should now map the Canadian parent’s citizenship history, legal or biological relationship to the child, proof-of-citizenship application and first passport before the birth period.
A child born abroad to a Canadian parent may be Canadian by descent, including in many assisted-reproduction cases where the Canadian parent is a non-biological legal parent at birth. Since 15 December 2025, a Canadian parent who was also born or adopted abroad may need to prove at least 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before the child’s birth. A child born outside Canada normally needs a Canadian citizenship certificate as proof of citizenship before a Canadian child passport can be issued.
Identify how the Canadian parent acquired citizenship
Start with the Canadian parent’s own citizenship history. A parent born in Canada or naturalised in Canada is in a different position from a Canadian who was also born or adopted outside Canada. The child’s birth date matters because the citizenship-by-descent framework changed on 15 December 2025.
The pre-treatment file should record each intended parent’s citizenship, place of birth, naturalisation history if any, residence history in Canada, marital or partnership status and the planned genetic contributors. That prevents the family from discovering after birth that proof of a parent’s physical presence or a different citizenship route is required.
Apply the post-December 2025 citizenship-by-descent rules
For children born outside Canada on or after 15 December 2025, a Canadian parent who was also born or adopted abroad can transmit citizenship in the second or later generation if that parent had at least 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before the child’s birth. Evidence can include immigration movement records, school records, employment or residence documents and other reliable proof of time physically spent in Canada.
The physical-presence requirement does not apply in every family. A Canadian parent born in Canada or naturalised in Canada generally does not face this second-generation test. Because a surrogacy programme fixes the place of birth abroad by design, this citizenship check belongs before embryo transfer rather than in the final weeks of pregnancy.
Use Canada’s legal-parent-at-birth rules for assisted reproduction
Canadian citizenship guidance recognises both biological parents and qualifying non-biological legal parents at birth. Since 2020, a non-biological Canadian parent can transmit citizenship where that person is the child’s legal parent at birth and is identified on the original birth certificate or qualifying birth record. Birth records can include surrogacy agreements, pre-birth or court orders and hospital records, depending on the case.
This makes the Georgian documentation especially important. The agreement, clinic records, embryo history and Georgian birth registration should use consistent names and accurately explain the intended-parent relationship. If the citizenship officer is not satisfied about a claimed biological relationship, IRCC can request DNA testing through its controlled process; a private home test should not be treated as a substitute.
Obtain proof of citizenship before the first Canadian passport
For a child born outside Canada, the Georgian birth certificate is not itself proof of Canadian citizenship for a passport application. The family normally applies for a Canadian citizenship certificate to establish proof of citizenship. The proof application can require the foreign birth record, the Canadian parent’s citizenship evidence and, in an assisted-reproduction case, records showing the biological or legal-parent-at-birth relationship.
A Canadian child passport application made from abroad then requires proof of Canadian citizenship and proof of parentage or legal guardianship, together with the standard child-passport documents and photos. The Consulate of Canada in Tbilisi provides passport and consular services, while citizenship-certificate processing follows the federal IRCC procedure. Families should not book a fixed departure date until the actual travel document is issued.
Keep federal citizenship and provincial parentage questions separate
Canadian citizenship and passports are federal matters, while parentage and family-status consequences inside Canada can also engage provincial or territorial law. A Georgian record that works well for the citizenship file may still need to be reviewed for the province or territory where the family will live, particularly where the intended parent is not genetically related to the child.
Before treatment, Canadian counsel should confirm whether any declaration, recognition, registration or court step is advisable after the family returns. The purpose is not to duplicate the Georgian birth record, but to make sure the child’s family status, health-care administration and later civil records are coherent in the Canadian jurisdiction of residence.
Coordinate the Canadian document route with Georgia’s exit rule
Georgia has its own condition for departure after a surrogacy birth: both parents’ data must appear in the birth record issued by the Public Service Development Agency before the child leaves the country. Canadian citizenship or a citizenship certificate does not replace that local requirement.
The birth-period plan should therefore sequence the Georgian civil record, translations and apostille where needed, the Canadian proof-of-citizenship file and the child-passport application. SurrogateMother.ge can coordinate the Georgian and Tbilisi components and keep the clinic, hospital and civil documents aligned. Citizenship and passport decisions remain with Canadian authorities.
Questions people ask about Guide for Canadian citizens
Clear answers for real decisions: what to prepare, who is responsible and what can change the plan.
Yes. The new framework took effect on 15 December 2025. For a child born abroad in the second or later generation, a Canadian parent who was also born or adopted abroad may need to prove 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before the child’s birth.
Potentially yes. Canadian guidance recognises a qualifying non-biological legal parent at birth for citizenship-by-descent purposes. The person must fit the legal-parent-at-birth definition and the documentary record must support that status.
For a child born outside Canada, the citizenship certificate is the standard proof of Canadian citizenship used for the child-passport application. The Georgian birth certificate alone is not Canadian proof of citizenship.
Yes. If the authority is not satisfied with documentary evidence of a claimed biological relationship, it can request DNA testing through an approved process. Families should wait for official instructions rather than arranging an informal test.
The Tbilisi consulate provides Canadian consular and passport services, but citizenship-certificate applications follow the federal IRCC process and are not simply issued by the local consular desk. The family should prepare the proof application and passport sequence in advance.
Keep the signed surrogacy agreement, the surrogate’s identity and consent records, complete clinic and embryo documentation, donor information where applicable, hospital confirmation, the Georgian birth record, certified translations and the Canadian parent’s citizenship and physical-presence evidence. These records may answer different questions at the citizenship and passport stages.
Related guidance
International Intended Parents in Georgia
Plan Georgian eligibility, home-country law, embryo records, birth registration, citizenship, passport and travel as connected but separate tracks.
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Birth Registration After Surrogacy in Georgia
Understand the source laws, preparation, names, evidence and difference between Georgian registration and foreign citizenship.
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Newborn Documents After Surrogacy in Georgia
A document map from hospital evidence and Georgian birth registration to citizenship, passport and lawful travel home.
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