Canadian Citizenship HubCitizenship by descent

Canadian citizenship
by descent

Could Bill C-3 make you a Canadian citizen?

Ask about your familySee if this applies to you

Bill C-3

On 15 December 2025 the rules for citizenship by descent changed.

You may already be a citizen.

If you were born before that date, and that rule was the only thing stopping you.

You need 1,095 days in Canada.

If you are Canadian through a parent and your child is born or adopted abroad on or after that date.

How descent worksCheck your own line

How citizenship passes down a family

If you were born before 15 December 2025, it does not matter how many generations back your Canadian ancestor is.

Your claim traces back to one Canadian ancestor: someone born in Canada, or who moved there and became a citizen. However many generations sit between you and them, the old limit no longer cuts the claim off. What you have to prove is the connection itself, one link at a time.

  1. Great-great-grandparentBorn in Canada
  2. Great-grandparentBorn abroad
  3. GrandparentBorn abroad
  4. ParentBorn abroad
  5. YouBorn abroad

No generational cap.

From 2009, a Canadian parent born outside Canada could not pass citizenship to a child also born outside Canada. That child was simply not a citizen. For anyone born before 15 December 2025, the rule no longer applies.

Born on or after that date?

Then the rule changes. A child born or adopted abroad on or after that date inherits citizenship only if their Canadian parent has already spent 1,095 days in Canada, roughly three years. It does not apply if that parent was born in Canada.

Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, Banff National Park, Alberta
MORAINE LAKE, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA
Hands holding a faded family photograph

If your parent or grandparent was Canadian, the limit that blocked you is gone.

Until December 15, 2025, a Canadian parent who was themselves born abroad could not pass citizenship to you. That rule no longer blocks you. If it was the only thing in your way, you are already a citizen and what you apply for is proof.
What changed
The first-generation limit
What you apply for
A citizenship certificate
Citizenship through grandparents
An open family photo album in warm window light
Aged handwritten letters tied with twine

If you lost your citizenship at 28, you did not do anything wrong.

Under the 1977 Act, a person born abroad to a parent also born abroad had to apply before their 28th birthday to keep their citizenship. Most were never told the rule existed. Bill C-3 gives the status back, whether you missed the deadline or applied and were refused.
Who this is
Born abroad after February 14, 1977
What happens now
Citizenship returns by law
Lost Canadians
A fountain pen beside a red wax seal on blank paper
Vast Canadian boreal forest and a winding river seen from the air

If your child will be born outside Canada, your days in Canada decide it.

If your child is born or adopted outside Canada on or after December 15, 2025, you need 1,095 days in Canada before that day. That is three years, and they do not have to run together. It applies only if you are Canadian through a parent, not if you were born in Canada yourself.
The number
1,095 days
When they count
Any time before the birth
The 1,095-day rule
A Canadian passport resting on ivory linen beside a red maple leaf

About us

Mohammad Reza Asadi at his desk
Mohammad Reza AsadiFounder. Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC).RCIC R710235

Canadian Citizenship Hub is the citizenship-by-descent practice of Yarsa Immigration Services in Vancouver. Our professional team handles each case carefully and diligently, because in a descent claim a single date or a missing certificate can change the answer.

Mohammad Reza Asadi is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant with more than 6 years in Canadian immigration, licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Before you decide whether to go ahead, we will explain what your claim needs and where it may be weak.

Regulated
Licensed and accountable to the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
Specialized
A single area of practice: Canadian citizenship by descent.
Diligent
Every date, name and record checked before anything is filed.

Our process

We work out which rule applies to you before we ask you to find a single document. Most delays happen because a file is submitted with a gap in it that nobody looked for first.

  1. Initial assessment

    We collect the key dates, family relationships, and Canadian citizenship details.

  2. Legal framework review

    We identify which framework may apply to you: the rules for births before December 15, 2025, or after it.

  3. Evidence plan

    We create a tailored list of records needed to prove identity, descent, and presence.

  4. Application preparation

    Forms and supporting documents are organized for completeness and consistency.

  5. Submission and follow-up

    We file with IRCC and stay with it: next steps, expected communications, and any document requests are explained clearly.

Family documents laid out in rows on a desk
Three generations of a family laughing together at home

The exact checklist depends on your family. Every file is built from three kinds of proof.

The line

Birth certificates linking each generation, plus marriage or name-change records where names differ.

EVERY CASE

The status

A citizenship certificate, naturalization record or Canadian birth certificate.

EVERY CASE

The days

Travel history, tax records, pay statements and school records.

ONLY AFTER DEC 15, 2025

Contact us

Tell us the names, the rough dates, and where people were born. That is enough for us to say which rule applies to you. The first review costs nothing.

This decides which rule applies to you.

Confidential. No obligation.