Canada Moves to Modernize Citizenship-by-Descent Law as Bill C-3 Receives Royal Assent

Ontario (Rajeev Sharma): Canada has taken a major step toward updating its citizenship-by-descent rules after Bill C-3, an amendment to the Citizenship Act, received royal assent. The federal government said the move will make the law more inclusive while preserving the integrity and value of Canadian citizenship. The change is expected to impact thousands of families of Indian origin who have long struggled with the existing restrictions.

According to the government’s announcement, once the law officially comes into effect, citizenship will be granted to individuals who were born before that date but would have been Canadian if not for the first-generation limit or other outdated provisions in previous legislation. This update directly addresses long-standing complaints about the fairness of the 2009 rule, which prevents children born or adopted abroad from obtaining citizenship if their Canadian parent was also born or adopted outside Canada.

This restriction has created significant challenges for many Indian-origin Canadians whose children were born overseas. The amended law will allow Canadian parents who were themselves born or adopted abroad to pass on citizenship to their children born or adopted outside Canada after the bill comes into force, provided they can demonstrate a meaningful connection to the country.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab said the changes will correct historical gaps and ensure families are treated more fairly under the law. She noted that the revised framework will not only restore citizenship to those previously excluded but also set clearer and more equitable rules for future generations.

The push for reform gained momentum after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in December 2023 that key portions of the Citizenship Act were unconstitutional. The federal government chose not to appeal, acknowledging that the old rules produced unfair outcomes for families living abroad.

Don Chapman, founder of the Lost Canadians advocacy group, welcomed the update, saying it reflects the realities of an increasingly mobile population and brings long-overdue fairness to the citizenship process.

The federal government has not yet announced when the new law will take effect. Until a date is set by order in council, temporary measures for those affected by the first-generation limit will remain in place.