Canadian citizenship by descent after Bill C-3

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What Bill C-3 changed

Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), received royal assent on November 20, 2025 and came into effect on December 15, 2025. Source: Government of Canada news release

Before Bill C-3, citizenship by descent was limited to the first generation born outside Canada, known as the first-generation limit. Bill C-3 removed this limit in some situations. Source: canada.ca, Change to citizenship rules in 2025

The change doesn't affect anyone who was already a Canadian citizen before Bill C-3. If you were already a citizen, you're still a citizen. Source: canada.ca

Who qualifies

How generations are counted

The first generation is the first person born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen. A Canadian citizen here means someone born in Canada or granted citizenship (naturalized). The second generation or later is born outside Canada to a first-generation person. Source: canada.ca

Born before December 15, 2025

In most cases you're automatically a Canadian citizen if you were born before December 15, 2025, outside Canada, to a Canadian parent. This also applies if you were born to someone who became Canadian because of these changes. Source: canada.ca

Born on or after December 15, 2025

A person born outside Canada in the second generation or later may be Canadian if their parent was also born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen, and that parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the birth. Source: canada.ca The 1,095 days are cumulative physical presence (three years). Source: news release Source: Citizenship Act, section 3(3)

Adopted people

Adopted people born and adopted outside Canada in the second generation or later are likely eligible to apply for a direct grant of citizenship for adopted people. Source: canada.ca

If you don't want to be Canadian

If the change made you Canadian automatically and you don't want to be, you can apply to give up (renounce) your citizenship through a simplified process. Source: news release

Records you'll need

Your application must be supported by authentic, reliable and verifiable documents for every generation in your application. Documents must be issued by the original authority that created or keeps the record, such as a civil registry or vital statistics office, and must clearly show who issued them. Third-party records alone aren't enough. Source: canada.ca, How to apply

For your Canadian parent, grandparent and earlier ancestor, you need proof of parentage and Canadian citizenship, such as a provincial or territorial birth certificate. Source: canada.ca

If a birth certificate is missing, IRCC lists other documents from the original authority, including:

• hospital record of birth, or a record from a physician or midwife who witnessed the birth
• baptismal certificate or record (baptism within a reasonable time after birth)
• census records
• boat manifest
• a birth certificate from another country that shows the parent-child relationship in each generation
• Canadian citizenship or naturalization certificate, Certificate of Registration of Birth Abroad, or Certificate of Retention of Canadian Citizenship
• British naturalization certificate issued in Canada or Newfoundland and Labrador
• proof of British subject status or landed immigrant status in Canada before January 1, 1947 (April 1, 1949 for Newfoundland and Labrador)

Source: canada.ca, How to apply

If you can't get official documents, you must explain in writing why and show proof that you tried, such as letters or emails from the record office. Source: canada.ca

Documents not in English or French need a translation and a sworn statement (affidavit) from the translator. Translations by family members aren't accepted. Source: canada.ca

Records from outside Canada

Family members born outside Canada, including you, usually need birth certificates from that country that show the parent-child link in each generation. Source: canada.ca If those births happened in the United States, RecordsDirectory lists the vital records offices for every U.S. state and county.

How to get records from each province and territory

Birth records are kept by the province or territory where the birth took place, so contact the vital statistics office there. Source: canada.ca, Get a birth certificate Statistics Canada lists every office's contact details. Source: Statistics Canada

Alberta also publishes contact details for the other provinces' offices. Source: alberta.ca

Applying for proof of citizenship (CIT 0001)

Proof of citizenship is a citizenship certificate, and the form is the Application for a Citizenship Certificate (CIT 0001). Source: canada.ca, CIT 0001 The certificate is not a travel document; you still need a passport to travel. Source: canada.ca, About the process

The fee is $75 (Canadian) per person, non-refundable once processing begins. Source: canada.ca, Paper application guide

Some people can apply online, for example if you were born on or after February 15, 1977, outside Canada, to a parent born in Canada on or after February 15, 1977. Others must apply on paper, including if you don't know details about your parents or grandparents. Source: canada.ca, How to apply

Processing times

As of IRCC's October 9, 2026 update, the estimated processing time for a citizenship certificate is about 34 months, with about 130,700 people waiting. Source: canada.ca, Check processing times

If you live outside Canada and the U.S. and apply through an embassy, high commission or consulate, add 3 to 4 months for mailing. Source: canada.ca

Canada articles

• Canadian Citizenship for Great-Grandchildren After Bill C-3 Canada
• What Was Canada's First-Generation Limit, and Is It Gone? Canada
• Canada's 1,095-Day Rule for Children Born Abroad After December 15, 2025 Canada
• CIT 0001: Canadian Citizenship Certificate Fee, Online vs. Paper Canada
• How Long Does Canadian Proof of Citizenship Take? Canada
• Missing an Ancestor's Birth Certificate? What IRCC Accepts Instead Canada
• Bill C-3 Made Me Canadian and I Don't Want It: Can I Renounce? Canada
• Adopted Abroad by a Canadian? Citizenship After Bill C-3 Canada
• Is a Canadian Citizenship Certificate a Travel Document? Canada
• How to Search Canadian Citizenship Records for Yourself or an Ancestor (CIT 0058) Canada
• Can You Get a Canadian Citizenship Certificate Faster? IRCC Urgent Processing Canada
• Got Your Canadian Citizenship Certificate? Applying for a First Passport From the U.S. Canada

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