For more than fifteen years, Canadian citizenship by descent stopped at one generation born outside Canada — if your parent was a Canadian citizen but had also been born abroad, you generally couldn't inherit citizenship. Bill C-3 removed that first-generation limit. It received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025, and came into force on December 15, 2025.
Anyone born or adopted outside Canada before December 15, 2025 who would have been a citizen but for the first-generation limit is now considered a citizen by operation of law — automatically, with no application required to “become” Canadian. For children born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025, the Canadian parent (if also born abroad) must show a substantial connection to Canada — at least 1,095 days of cumulative physical presence — for citizenship to pass down.
Citizenship may be automatic, but proving it isn't. A Certificate of Citizenship is the formal mechanism for confirming status with IRCC, and processing depends on the strength and completeness of your documented lineage.
Given the volume of interest following Bill C-3, we offer a reduced-fee consultation specifically for citizenship by descent inquiries — a focused 30-minute session with an attorney to review your ancestry, discuss potential eligibility, and map your next steps.