Parliament Passes Bill to Grant Citizenship to Lost Canadians

Canada is set to make a major change to its citizenship laws. Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), has passed its third reading in the Senate as of November 19, 2025. The bill is expected to become law once it receives royal assent.

This legislation will help thousands of people who lost or were unable to obtain Canadian citizenship because of the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent.

What the Bill Changes

Citizenship by descent allows children born outside Canada to inherit Canadian citizenship if at least one parent is a Canadian citizen, either by birth or adoption. However, under the current Citizenship Act, in place since 2009, this right only extends to the first generation born abroad.

This rule—known as the first-generation limit (FGL)—means that a child born abroad to a Canadian citizen who was also born abroad cannot automatically inherit citizenship. As a result, many individuals known as “lost Canadians” were denied citizenship.

Bill C-3 aims to correct this.

Restoration of Citizenship to Lost Canadians

Once in force, Bill C-3 will restore Canadian citizenship to all individuals currently affected by the first-generation limit. This includes people who were unable to inherit citizenship simply because their Canadian parent was also born outside Canada.

New Rules Moving Forward: The Substantial Connection Test

After the bill becomes law, children of Canadian citizens by descent will once again be allowed to inherit citizenship at birth or adoption, as long as their Canadian parent meets a new requirement.

The parent must demonstrate a “substantial connection to Canada,” which is defined as spending at least 1,095 days (three years) physically in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption.

This substantial connection test ensures that the Canadian parent has meaningful ties to the country, even if they themselves were born abroad.

When Will the Bill Come Into Force?

Although Bill C-3 has passed the Senate, it will only take effect on the date set by the Governor General after royal assent. The timing will be announced once the bill completes the final step.

How the Bill Reached This Stage

Efforts to fix the first-generation limit have been ongoing for years. In December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled the FGL unconstitutional. Since then, the court has extended several deadlines for the federal government to make the required amendments.

The most recent extension moved the deadline from November 20, 2025, to January 20, 2026.

During the bill’s third reading, the Senate also reviewed a proposed amendment that would have made the substantial connection test more strict. The amendment suggested that the required 1,095 days in Canada must be completed within a five-year period. The Senate ultimately rejected this proposal.

Bill C-3 marks a significant shift in Canadian citizenship law and is expected to help thousands of families once it officially comes into force. If implemented as planned, the law will finally close a long-standing gap and allow many individuals to reclaim or obtain the citizenship they have been denied for years.