Canada Moves to Expand Citizenship-by-Descent, Easing Path for Overseas Indian-Origin Families

Canada has moved closer toward modernising citizenship-by-descent law, after a bill to amend the act received royal assent, in a move that is likely to affect thousands of Indian-origin families.  Bill C-3, an Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), has received royal assent.

According to a news release sent by the Canadian government on Friday, this is a significant step towards making the Citizenship Act more inclusive while preserving the value of Canadian citizenship.

"Once the new law comes into force, Canadian citizenship will be provided to people born before the bill comes into force, who would have been citizens if not for the first-generation limit or other outdated rules of past legislation”, the news release said.  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.

This limit caused problems for many Indian-origin Canadians whose children were born out of the country, people who know the matter say.

According to the release, the new law will also permit a Canadian parent who was born or adopted overseas to grant citizenship to their child who was born or adopted outside of Canada on or after the date the bill goes into effect, as long as the child has a significant connection to Canada.

 “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,” Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab said.

Important provisions of the Citizenship Act about the first-generation cap on citizenship by descent were ruled unconstitutional by the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice on December 19, 2023.

The Canadian government acknowledged that the rule had unacceptable consequences for Canadian children of Canadian-born parents born abroad, and thus it decided not to appeal the decision.

“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,” said Don Chapman, Founder of the Lost Canadians.

The bill will come into force on a date set by order in council, which will be communicated publicly. Until then, the interim measure remains in place for people impacted by the first-generation limit, the release said.