Bill C-3 citizenship question

[SyedZainulabideen]

I was born outside Canada in 2002. At the time, neither parent was Canadian. My father became a Canadian citizen in 2014. I am currently a PR, not a citizen.

Under Bill C-3 (effective 15 Dec 2025), does citizenship by descent still require that the parent was Canadian at the time of birth, or can a parent’s later naturalization retroactively make the child Canadian?

Based on this, would I be considered an automatic citizen under Bill C-3, or would I still need to apply through the normal PR-to-citizenship process?

 

[Naturgrl]

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...dian-citizen/eligibility/already-citizen.html

How did father become a citizen? And why didn't he sponsor your years ago?

 

[hawk39]

I was born outside Canada in 2002. At the time, neither parent was Canadian. My father became a Canadian citizen in 2014. I am currently a PR, not a citizen.

Under Bill C-3 (effective 15 Dec 2025), does citizenship by descent still require that the parent was Canadian at the time of birth, or can a parent’s later naturalization retroactively make the child Canadian?

Based on this, would I be considered an automatic citizen under Bill C-3, or would I still need to apply through the normal PR-to-citizenship process?

The parent must have been Canadian before the birth of the child in order for the child to be granted citizenship by descent; that requirement has not changed. You will still need to follow the naturalization pathway for citizenship.

 

[JesseNewmarch]

Does the new C-3 rules work for those who's parents did not gain Canadian citizenship, but an older generation was? Our situation is my wife's aunt is a US citizen, her great-grandfather was a Canadian citizen, but nobody in between was naturalized.

 

[hawk39]

Does the new C-3 rules work for those who's parents did not gain Canadian citizenship, but an older generation was? Our situation is my wife's aunt is a US citizen, her great-grandfather was a Canadian citizen, but nobody in between was naturalized.

I'm still waiting for them to publish the amended Citizenship Act, but from what I've been able to piece together is that any second and subsequent generation born between January 1, 1947, and December 15, 2025, are now considered citizens by descent and can apply for proof. So as long as your wife's aunt's parent was born between those dates, then your wife's aunt and her children born before December 15, 2025 would also be considered citizens by descent.