Now, there are new citizenship rules for Canadians who were born or adopted overseas. Bill C-3, an Act to amend the Citizenship Act 2025, is in effect from December 15, 2025, and makes it possible for Canadians born or adopted abroad to obtain citizenship.
As the new law has come into force, Canadian citizenship will be provided to people born before the bill came into force, who would have been citizens if not for the first-generation limit or other outdated rules of past legislation.
Going forward, people born before December 15, 2025, who would have been citizens if not for the first-generation limit or other outdated rules, will be Canadian and can now apply for proof of citizenship.
Eligibility
Starting December 15, 2025, a Canadian parent born or adopted abroad can now pass on citizenship to their child born or adopted outside Canada today or in the future. The eligibility condition is that they need to demonstrate at the time of application that they spent three years in Canada before their child’s birth or adoption.
A Canadian parent born or adopted abroad will now be able to pass citizenship on to their child born or adopted outside Canada on or after the date the bill came into force, provided they have a substantial connection to Canada.
The first Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 included several provisions that caused many people to either lose their Canadian citizenship or never get it at all. Changes made in 2009 and 2015 restored or provided citizenship to most of these “Lost Canadians.” About 20,000 people came forward to seek their proof of Canadian citizenship as a result.
First-Generation Limit
The first-generation limit to Canadian citizenship by descent was introduced in 2009. It means that a child born or adopted outside Canada is not automatically a Canadian citizen by descent if their Canadian parent was also born or adopted outside Canada.
On December 19, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared that key parts of the Citizenship Act relating to the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent were unconstitutional. The Government of Canada did not appeal the ruling, as it agreed the law had unacceptable outcomes for the children of Canadians who were born outside the country.
In response to the court’s 2023 ruling, IRCC announced an interim measure to support those affected by the first-generation limit. Now that the Citizenship Act has been amended, IRCC will process applications using the new rules. People don’t need to submit a new citizenship certificate application.