New change to Canadian citizenship rules just took effect

It's now easier for more people to get a Canadian citizenship after crucial legislation came into effect this week.

After receiving royal assent on Nov. 20, Bill C-3, an Act to amend the Citizenship Act, officially kicked in on Monday, Dec. 15. Also known as the "Lost Canadians" legislation, the new law will extend Canadian citizenship by descent beyond the first generation.

"These changes to our citizenship law reflect how Canadian families live today," stated Lena Metlege Diab, minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship. "Many Canadians choose to study abroad, travel to experience another culture, or relocate for family or personal reasons and still have a meaningful connection to our country."

Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), has come into force, updating the first-generation limit to citizenship for people born or adopted abroad: https://t.co/6L4LTetfIc

This bill
• restores or provides access to citizenship to people born abroad to or adopted…

— IRCC (@CitImmCanada) December 15, 2025

Essentially, the new law will automatically give citizenship to anyone who would be a citizen today if not for the first-generation limit.

The first-generation limit prevents people who were born outside of Canada to a parent who was also born or adopted outside of Canada to a Canadian parent from automatically becoming a Canadian citizen.

Under Bill C-3, a Canadian parent born or adopted abroad will be able to pass citizenship onto their child born or adopted outside Canada on or after Dec. 15, 2025, provided they have a significant connection to Canada. That is demonstrated by at least 1,095 cumulative days (three years) of physical presence in Canada before their child's birth or adoption.

In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared the first-generation limit as "unconstitutional," but suspended that declaration until Nov. 20, 2025.

With Bill C-3 coming into full force, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) now recognizes new eligible citizens and is applying the new rules for passing citizenship on going forward.

The federal government says the first Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 contained "now-outdated" laws that caused many people to either lose their citizenship or not receive one in the first place. This group was dubbed the "Lost Canadians."

In 2009 and 2015, legislative changes restored or gave citizenship to a majority of "Lost Canadians." Around 20,000 people became citizens and were issued certificates as a result of these changes.

However, the first-generation limit was introduced in 2009, causing some individuals who were born abroad beyond the first generation between Feb. 15, 1977, and April 16, 1981, to lose or fail to obtain citizenship at the age of 28.

"By updating the Citizenship Act to reflect the global mobility of modern Canadian families, the federal government has made access to citizenship more fair and reasonable," stated Don Chapman, founder of the Lost Canadians.

Who's eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship and what to do next

According to the IRCC, if you're someone who automatically became a Canadian citizen under the new law, you can apply to get proof of Canadian citizenship.

People who were adopted abroad before Dec. 15, 2025, by a Canadian parent born or adopted abroad can apply for Canadian citizenship for an adopted child.

If you were born or adopted abroad on or after Dec. 15, 2025, to a Canadian parent also born or adopted abroad, you must demonstrate that your Canadian parent has spent three years in Canada when applying for proof of citizenship, or applying for citizenship for an adopted child.

Lastly, those who automatically became Canadian citizens under the new law and were not previously granted citizenship, and who now want to renounce citizenship, can apply through the simplified renunciation process.