Canada set to overhaul citizenship-by-descent rules; big relief for Indian-origin families

Canada is gearing up for a major revamp of its citizenship laws, a move that could benefit thousands of Indian-origin families. Bill C-3, which amends Canada’s Citizenship Act, has recently received royal assent, marking a key step towards its implementation. The law is not yet in force — the federal government must still fix the effective date, but the assent signals that Ottawa intends to move quickly.

Ends second-generation cut-off:

The bill addresses a long-standing problem known as the “second-generation cut-off”. Under current rules, a Canadian citizen born outside the country cannot automatically pass on citizenship to their child if that child is also born abroad. This has created a class of “lost Canadians” — people who believed they were entitled to citizenship but were excluded due to archaic laws.




Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the country’s immigration agency, explains that 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 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 this limit were unconstitutional. The Government of Canada did not appeal the ruling, agreeing that the law had unacceptable outcomes for children of Canadians who were born outside the country.

The Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA) strongly endorsed Bill C-3 in its submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. “The second-generation cut-off created an unfair, second-class citizenship for Canadians born abroad. It discriminated based on national origin and forced many women to relocate to Canada just to give birth. Bill C-3 finally removes this unconstitutional barrier,” stated CILA.

Bill C-3 restores citizenship to individuals who lost it under the old rules. Going forward, it also establishes a “substantial connection test”, which allows a Canadian parent born abroad, who has a meaningful connection to Canada, to pass on citizenship to their children born outside Canada. Substantial connection is defined in the legislation as 1,095 days of cumulative presence before the birth or adoption. CILA notes that this test is comparable to rules in the US, UK and Australia.

Now, the law awaits a cabinet order for the implementation date. A court has already extended the deadline for bringing the law into force to January 2026, giving IRCC more time to finalise the process. Immigration lawyers expect a surge in applications once the law becomes operational.

IRCC has said the reform is aimed at making citizenship rules more inclusive while maintaining the value of Canadian citizenship. Lena Metlege Diab, Canada’s immigration minister, said: “Bill C-3 will fix long-standing issues in our citizenship laws and bring fairness to families with children born or adopted abroad. It will provide citizenship to people who were excluded by previous laws, and it will set clear rules for the future that reflect how modern families live. These changes will strengthen and protect Canadian citizenship.”