Amendment to Citizenship Act passes major legal milestone, comes one step closer to expanding eligibility

On November 5, Bill C-3 passed its third reading in Canada’s House of Commons, coming one step closer to expanding eligibility for Canadian citizenship by descent.

The Bill, which seeks to remove the First-Generation Limit (FGL) rule for Canadian citizenship, would amend Canada’s Citizenship Act, allowing Canadians born overseas to pass citizenship to their children born outside of Canada.

This article will cover where the Bill stands now, what important steps it must complete to receive Royal Assent and become a formal part of Canadian law, and which individuals may benefit from the expanded citizenship eligibility.

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Where Bill C-3 stands on the path to Royal Assent

Bill C-3 has completed the House of Commons process and passed third reading, meaning that it must enter the Senate now and go through approval processes there.

The Bill must still pass through three more readings in the Senate, without amendments, before receiving Royal Assent, and formally coming into effect as law.

If the Senate does choose to amend Bill C-3, it must return to the House of Commons to be re-examined. The Bill can only receive Royal Assent once an identical version of it has passed through both branches of Canada’s Parliament.

What if I want to apply for citizenship under the new laws before Bill C-3 formally passes?

Individuals who believe they may be impacted by the FGL rule that Bill C-3 proposes to fix can apply for proof of Canadian citizenship under new interim measures introduced by the government of Canada earlier this year.

These measures facilitate discretionary grants of citizenship for impacted individuals, allowing them to gain Canadian citizenship before Bill C-3 is enacted into law. Depending on their situation, certain individuals may also be eligible for urgent processing for a discretionary grant.

Who would be impacted if Bill C-3 passes (and how)

Bill C-3 is intended to restore citizenship by descent to individuals who are the second generation of Canadians in their family to be born or adopted abroad. The Bill also seeks to rectify different instances of lost citizenship under current and past iterations of the Citizenship Act. These are outlined below:

• Children born or adopted abroad to a Canadian parent before December 19, 2023
• Children born or adopted on or after December 19, 2023, who are affected by the FGL, and whose Canadian parent has met the “substantial connection to Canada” test at the time of their birth or adoption;
• Individuals born abroad before April 1, 1949, with a Canadian parent who are affected by the FGL;
• Individuals who lost their citizenship on account of unmet retention requirements (former section 8 of the Citizenship Act).

These examples are detailed in more detail in our dedicated article on applying for Canadian citizenship under the new regulations.

Why Bill C-3 was introduced (the legal and political timeline)

In December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared the second-generation cut-off provisions of the Citizenship Act unconstitutional and instructed the federal government to amend the legislation.

The court initially granted a six-month grace period to the federal government, which failed to meet the extended deadline three times, and applied for a further extension to amend the Citizenship Act, most recently to March 19, 2025.

In May 2024, the government submitted Bill C-71 for consideration to Parliament. The Bill allowed citizenship by descent to the second generation if the Canadian parent had at least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption.

The Bill, however, did not receive Royal Assent.

On January 6, 2025, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Liberal leader and requested that the Governor General prorogue Parliament until March 24, 2025.

As a result of Trudeau's resignation, Bill C-71 did not become law; prorogation kills all current bills, and C-71 was not reintroduced. Against this background, Bill C-3 was brought forward to respond to the court’s ruling and replace temporary, discretionary fixes with durable statutory rules.

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