You’ve recently realized that you’re a Canadian citizen by descent, thanks to Bill C-3, which came into effect last year.
The next question naturally involves the rest of your family. Can your children claim citizenship through you? And what about your grandchildren?
The answer depends on one date: Bill C-3, which took effect on December 15, 2025, removed the first-generation limit and extended citizenship to people born abroad who can trace an unbroken line back to a Canadian parent, grandparent or earlier ancestor.
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Anyone in your direct line born before that date (December 15, 2025) inherits citizenship through the same ancestor as you. Direct line, in this context, means that you receive citizenship through the same relation, be it your grandparent, great-grandparent or an ancestor further down the line.
However, anyone born on or after that date faces an extra test, and the onus of meeting that requirement falls on their parent.
What does this mean for those born before December 15, 2025?
If your children or grandchildren were born before December 15, 2025, they inherit Canadian citizenship through the same line of descent that makes you Canadian.
That means a grandchild born in Ohio in 2019, for example, holds the same citizenship claim as you. Their parent never needs to have lived in Canada, and neither do they. Each person in the chain applies for their own proof of Canadian citizenship, and Canada’s citizenship department will expect documents linking every generation back to the Canadian ancestor.
Born on or after December 15, 2025: the 1,095-day test
For a child born outside Canada on or after December 15, 2025, Bill C-3 adds a substantial connection test. The Canadian parent, if they were also born abroad, must prove they spent at least 1,095 cumulative days in Canada before the child’s birth.
The days add up across a lifetime (they do not have to be consecutive). A parent can count a summer job in Montreal, a semester at a Canadian university and a dozen family trips, as long as the total reaches 1,095 before the baby arrives.
What this means for grandchildren born after December 15, 2025
Your adult child has a few options to make sure their children or future children, born after December 15, 2025, are Canadian citizens by descent.
The first is to build up the physical presence in Canada. Once your child holds their own citizenship certificate, they have the right to enter, live and work in Canada. A parent who moves north and stays roughly three years before starting a family clears the 1,095-day threshold.
The second involves where the baby arrives. Canada grants citizenship to almost anyone born on its soil, whatever their parents’ status, with a narrow exception for children of accredited foreign diplomats. If your child starts a family while living in Canada, a grandchild born in a Canadian hospital is Canadian by birth.
What if your child can’t meet the new physical presence requirement?
A grandchild who misses out on citizenship by descent still has a route in. Their Canadian parent can sponsor them for permanent residence (PR), move to Canada with them, and then apply for a grant of citizenship on the child’s behalf.
This route matters most for families with babies born in 2026 or 2027. Many of those parents only learned about their own citizenship after December 15, 2025, and never had the chance to build up the days before birth.
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How to sponsor a child as a Canadian citizen by descent
To sponsor a child for PR, one must be 18 or older, hold Canadian citizenship, and live in Canada. The child you are sponsoring should be recognized as your dependent.
Citizens living abroad, unlike permanent residents, can still apply, provided they show they will settle in Canada once the child receives PR. They must sign an undertaking to cover the child’s basic needs.
To qualify as a dependant, the child must be under 22, and without a spouse or partner. When you sponsor only the child, the child becomes the principal applicant, and you must show the other parent or guardian consents to the move.
Once the child holds PR, the timeline to citizenship depends on age. A child under 18 with a Canadian parent can apply for a minor 5(2) grant right away, with no physical presence requirement and no citizenship test. If the child is 14 years of age or older, they must take the Oath of Citizenship.
An adult child, sponsored as a dependent between 18 and 21, must meet the standard naturalization rule of 1,095 days in Canada within the five years before applying, pass the citizenship test, and take the oath of citizenship.
How IRCC checks the 1,095 days
IRCC revised its proof of citizenship package in August 2026, and most of the changes concern the physical presence test. A family applying for a grandchild born abroad after December 15, 2025, now completes form CIT 0555, which tallies the Canadian parent’s trips one by one. The form states that IRCC may verify every entry and ask for contact details of people or organizations who can back up the totals.
IRCC now groups acceptable evidence into seven categories:
- Employment and school records, such as T4 slips or transcripts
- Travel records, such as passport stamps or entry and exit data
- Residential records, such as leases, mortgages or insurance
- Canadian government records at any level
- Sworn affidavits from religious institutions, unions, volunteer groups or similar organizations
- Sworn affidavits from third parties who know about the parent’s time in Canada
- Other proof that demonstrates the applicant’s Canadian parent’s physical presence in Canada (must include the individual or organization’s name, mailing address, and email address and/or phone number).
Every document must be a clear colour copy of an authentic record. Affidavits must be sworn before a notary or commissioner and list the signer’s name, mailing address and phone number or email. Relatives, from parents and siblings to first cousins, cannot swear one.
If your adult child plans to rely on time already spent in Canada, they should start collecting those records now.
Check where your family stands
If you are sure that you’re a Canadian citizen by descent, the chances of your grandchild also being a Canadian citizen hinge on whether their date of birth was before or after December 15, 2025, and whether their parents have spent sufficient time in Canada.
For more specific questions, an immigration lawyer may be able to provide personalized advice.
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