New Bill C-3: Generational Citizenship

[reijee]

Hi

So as the new Bill C-3 was passed recently which removes “first-generation limit" for citizenship by descent. So if I am understanding this correctly this law is more so for individuals who did not receive citizenship by descent? Or is it also future proofing too?

So hypothetically if I am a Canadian citizen and if I have child outside Canada, and down the road the child has their own child (my grandchild) Will the grandchild be eligible for Canadian citizenship? Or is that still not possible?

 

[scylla]

Post to the Citizenship section.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

Hi

So as the new Bill C-3 was passed recently which removes “first-generation limit" for citizenship by descent. So if I am understanding this correctly this law is more so for individuals who did not receive citizenship by descent? Or is it also future proofing too?

So hypothetically if I am a Canadian citizen and if I have child outside Canada, and down the road the child has their own child (my grandchild) Will the grandchild be eligible for Canadian citizenship? Or is that still not possible?

Yes.

 

[canuck78]

Yes.

The answer is maybe.

 

[hawk39]

Hi

So as the new Bill C-3 was passed recently which removes “first-generation limit" for citizenship by descent. So if I am understanding this correctly this law is more so for individuals who did not receive citizenship by descent? Or is it also future proofing too?

So hypothetically if I am a Canadian citizen and if I have child outside Canada, and down the road the child has their own child (my grandchild) Will the grandchild be eligible for Canadian citizenship? Or is that still not possible?

Based on what I've pieced together from the bill and the changes it will make to the act, citizenship by descent will be retroactively given to second and subsequent generations born from after the commencement of the 1947 Act up to whatever day the bill is actually enacted. For any child born after this date, the parent will need to have had a verifiable cumulative 1095-day presence in Canada before the child's birth in order for said child to be given citizenship by descent.

So hypothetically, if you retroactively become a citizen by descent, any foreign-born children you had before the bill is enacted will also be citizens by descent. These children will then need to have been in Canada for a cumulative 1095 days before their own foreign-born children (your grandchildren) will become citizens by descent because they were born after the bill is enacted.

If you have children after the bill is enacted, but you have not been in Canada for the cumulative 1095 days before these children are born, then they will not be citizens by descent.