If you’re thinking about building a long‑term life in Canada, you’re probably wondering what that means for your U.S. citizenship. You don’t want surprises at the border, with your passport, or at tax time. The good news is that simply moving north doesn’t automatically cost you your status-but certain choices you make after you arrive can. Understanding where the real risks are, and where they aren’t, is where things get interesting.
Does Living in Canada Affect Your U.S. Citizenship?
So what actually happens to your U.S. citizenship if you move to Canada? Your status as a U.S. citizen generally stays the same. The U.S. allows dual citizenship, so residency abroad in Canada doesn’t automatically change or cancel your nationality, even if you later qualify for Canadian citizenship.
What does change are your obligations. You’re still subject to U.S. taxation on worldwide income and must keep up with IRS filing rules. Cross-border reporting may apply too, including FBAR and FATCA forms if you hold Canadian financial accounts. Extended time outside the U.S. can affect certain residency-based benefits or programs, but not your underlying citizenship. You’ll also need a valid U.S. passport for travel and should monitor both countries’ rules.
Can You Lose U.S. Citizenship by Living in Canada?
Wondering if simply living in Canada could cost you your U.S. citizenship? It won’t. U.S. law doesn’t strip U.S. citizenship just because you move, work, or retire in Canada, even long term. You’re allowed dual citizenship, so Canada residency alone isn’t a problem.
You only risk losing U.S. citizenship through clear, voluntary steps. That usually means formal renunciation at a U.S. consulate or an expatriation process that shows you intended to give up your status. Even becoming a Canadian citizen typically doesn’t end U.S. citizenship unless you deliberately combine it with actions aimed at relinquishing it.
In practice, you remain a U.S. citizen in Canada unless you actively choose to give it up through the official renunciation or expatriation procedures.
Canadian Permanent Residence and Your U.S. Citizenship
Now that it’s clear you don’t lose U.S. citizenship just by living in Canada, it helps to understand how Canadian permanent residence fits in. Canadian permanent residence is a separate residency status under Canadian law; it doesn’t cancel or weaken your US citizenship, and you’re not required to surrender your American passport to become a PR.
Because the U.S. and Canada both allow dual citizenship, you can live in Canada as a permanent resident while keeping your US citizenship indefinitely, unless you formally renounce it or trigger loss through other rare actions. What does change is your tax obligations and reporting.
Long‑term PR life usually means filing in Canada and, in many cases, continuing to file U.S. returns on your worldwide income.
Does Becoming a Canadian Citizen Change Your U.S. Citizenship?
Curiously, becoming a Canadian citizen doesn’t, by itself, change or cancel your U.S. citizenship.
The United States and Canada both allow dual citizenship, so you don’t have to give up your U.S. passport when you obtain Canadian citizenship through naturalization.
Acquiring Canadian citizenship doesn’t automatically revoke or reduce any existing U.S. rights or obligations.
Canada’s residency requirements and processing timelines for naturalization are completely separate from your status as a U.S. citizen.
Meeting Canada’s rules to qualify for citizenship doesn’t affect how the U.S. treats you legally as an American.
Instead, you’ll be a dual citizen who must follow the laws of both countries, including any tax rules, travel-document rules, and consular registration expectations that apply to you.
Real Risks of Losing or Giving Up U.S. Citizenship
So what would it actually take to lose or give up your U.S. citizenship after moving to Canada? Simply living in Canada, even permanently, doesn’t trigger loss of citizenship. The real risk comes from your own deliberate choices or serious legal problems.
The most common path is formal renunciation: you appear before a U.S. official, complete paperwork, swear an oath, and pay a substantial fee. That’s a type of expatriation and it’s usually permanent.
Holding dual citizenship with Canada isn’t, by itself, a problem. However, if you obtained U.S. citizenship through fraud misrepresentation-say, lying in an earlier immigration or naturalization process-the government can later seek revocation.
Outside of voluntary renunciation or proven fraud, loss of citizenship is very rare.
