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As of December 15, 2025, Bill C-3, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (2025), is officially in force. This significantly changes Canadian citizenship law, specifically for families with children born or adopted outside Canada, or families impacted by the first-generation citizenship limit.
First-generation citizens are characterized as the first person born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen parent or parents, as described in detail below.
With the passing of Bill C-3, outdated and restrictive provisions that limited Canadian citizenship by descent have been struck, allowing citizenship to individuals who were previously excluded under the first-generation limit and other historical rules.
The Previous Legal Framework
Originally, the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 contained provisions that caused many individuals to either lose their Canadian citizenship or not acquire it in the first place. Specifically, Canadian women who married foreign national men could not pass on their Canadian citizenship to their children born abroad. People born outside Canada to a Canadian parent lost their citizenship if their birth was not registered and they did not file to retain their citizenship before their 22nd birthday. For people born after 1953, citizenship could only be preserved if they were living in Canada by that age. If a Canadian-born citizen left Canada for more than 6 consecutive years, they would lose their citizenship. Dual citizenship, i.e., citizenship of Canada together with the citizenship of another country, was not permitted. These restrictive rules resulted in many "Lost Canadians", who had lost or did not acquire citizenship as a result of these provisions.
Following legislative amendments in 1977, 2009, and 2015, these outdated provisions were corrected, restoring or granting citizenship to the most affected individuals. As a result, between 2009 and 2015, approximately 20,000 people came forward seeking proof of Canadian citizenship.
Despite making historic strides, there were still significant restrictions in place. One example is the 2009 Citizenship Act amendments, which resulted in the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent. This meant that any Canadian citizen who was born or adopted outside of Canada could not automatically pass on their citizenship to a child who was also born or adopted outside of Canada.
On December 19, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that key provisions of the Citizenship Act, which related to the first-generation limit, were unconstitutional. The Court found that the law produced unfair and unacceptable outcomes for children of Canadians born outside the country. Following the ruling, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ("IRCC") introduced interim measures to support those affected by the first-generation limit.
The New Legal Framework under Bill C-3
With Bill C-3 now in force, the Citizenship Act has been formally and permanently amended. IRCC will process citizenship applications under the new rules. Effective immediately:
- Individuals born or adopted on or after December 15, 2025, in the second generation (or later) may be Canadian if their parent was also born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen (meaning their grandparent was Canadian) and the same parent spent at least 3 years in Canada before the birth or adoption. This means the first-generation limit is no longer in effect.
- Individuals born or adopted before December 15, 202,5 outside of Canada to a Canadian citizen, who would have obtained citizenship but for the first-generation limit or other outdated rules, are now Canadian citizens and may apply for proof of citizenship.
- An individual born to someone who becomes a Canadian Citizen because of these legislative changes can also apply for citizenship.
Individuals who applied under the interim measures do not need to submit a new citizenship certificate application. IRCC will process applications using the new legislative framework.
Conclusion
This amendment closes one of the most criticized gaps in Canadian citizenship law. It restores fairness for families previously excluded due to restrictive generational cut-offs and aligns citizenship by descent with real, demonstrated ties to Canada.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
