Amendments propose stricter criteria for citizenship by descent

The children of many Canadians will not gain citizenship, should the latest amendments to a federal bill become law.

In the most recent amendments to Bill C-3, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act, citizenship by descent beyond the first generation would be further restricted for children born or adopted on or after the new legislation comes into force, compared to the earlier version of the bill.

Children who were born or adopted before the new legislation comes into force are exempt from these restrictions, and will qualify for Canadian citizenship if the bill becomes law in its current form.

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Under the most recent amendments, children born abroad to, or adopted by, Canadian citizens by descent would gain citizenship at birth or adoption only if their Canadian parent had spent at least three years within Canada during any five-year period prior to the child’s birth or adoption.

Under the earlier version of the bill, the three years of physical presence in Canada spent by the Canadian parent, referred to as the “substantial connection to Canada test,” did not have to fall within a five-year period.

The amendments also introduce additional restrictions with no equivalent in the earlier version of the bill:

• Security assessment: Even if their parent meets the substantial connection to Canada test, a child aged 18 years or older when applying for proof of citizenship must undergo an assessment for concerns related to national security, human rights violations, criminality, and economic sanctions.
• Knowledge of language and culture: Children aged 18 – 55 when they apply for proof of citizenship must also demonstrate adequate knowledge of English or French, and adequate knowledge of Canada and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Under citizenship by descent, children born outside Canada can inherit Canadian citizenship from a Canadian parent on their birth or adoption.

The current version of the Citizenship Act, last updated in 2009, introduced a “first-generation limit” (FGL) to citizenship by descent, under which children of naturalized Canadians and Canadians born in Canada can gain citizenship by descent, but children of citizens by descent cannot.

The current version of the FGL was ruled unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in December 2023.

Bill C-3 is the federal government’s latest effort to amend the Citizenship Act with a narrower version of the FGL.

Amendments to the most recent version of the bill also include a requirement that the Immigration Minister present to Parliament an annual report on the persons who have become citizens as a result of the coming into force of the Act, and a report on the waiving of security assessments.

The latest deadline for amending the FGL in the Citizenship Act is November 20, 2025.

To become law, bill C-3 must pass votes in its third readings in both houses of Parliament, and receive royal assent.

Interim measures for Lost Canadians

Under current interim measures, individuals affected by the FGL can apply for discretionary grants of citizenship.

To apply for a discretionary grant of citizenship, they must submit an application for proof of citizenship online, along with necessary documents. IRCC will then review the application to determine eligibility.

The current processing time for citizenship applications is about eight months.

Individuals experiencing hardship can apply for expedited processing.

What amendments were not passed?

Upon a vote, the committee rejected an amendment proposed by Conservative MP Rempel Garner to abolish Canada’s birthright citizenship.

Under this proposed amendment, which was not introduced, children born in Canada would gain citizenship only if they had at least one parent who was a Canadian citizen or permanent resident at the time of their birth.

Under birthright citizenship, which is currently enshrined in the Act, all children born in Canada gain citizenship at birth, regardless of their parents’ citizenship status—with a few exceptions, such as children of foreign diplomats.

Birthright citizenship is common only in the Americas; many countries elsewhere in the world have limitations on citizenship similar to those in the amendment proposed by Garner.

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