Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), came into force on December 15, 2025. It removes the long-standing "first-generation limit" that barred Canadians born outside Canada from automatically passing citizenship to a child also born abroad.
The change is retroactive and automatic — IRCC estimates more than 110,000 people became citizens the moment it took effect. It followed a 2023 Ontario Superior Court ruling that found the first-generation limit unconstitutional.
One catch for the future: for anyone born abroad on or after December 15, 2025 to a Canadian parent who was also born abroad, that parent must show a "substantial connection" to Canada — defined as at least 1,095 days (three years) of physical presence in Canada before the child's birth.
If you think you may now be a citizen by descent, check the official eligibility rules — the details depend on when and where you and your parent were born.