Are you a Canadian by descent? New citizenship rules are in effect for ‘Lost Canadians’

Good plain language explanation:

…How do officials count generations in applying the new rule?

According to the Immigration Department, the first generation is defined as the first person born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen.

Whether a Canadian parent was born in Canada or is a naturalized citizen, their children born abroad are counted as first generation and considered Canadian by descent. The children born outside Canada to a first-generation person are now Canadian provided their first-generation parents meet the three-year physical residency requirement before their births.

This is also how officials count generations for people who are adopted and apply for a direct grant of citizenship.

What if you were born or adopted on or after Dec. 15, 2025?

People born outside Canada in the second generation or later may be Canadian if their parent was also born or adopted outside Canada to a citizen and that same parent spent at least three years in Canada before the birth. 

Adopted people are likely eligible to apply directly for Canadian citizenship if they were born and adopted outside Canada in the second generation or later, and if that same parent meets the residency requirement before the adoption. 

How about those who were born or adopted before the new law?

In most cases they are automatically a Canadian citizen if they were born before Dec. 15, 2025, outside Canada to a Canadian parent. The new rule also applies to those who were born to someone who became Canadian by descent because of the rule changes.

Adopted people should be eligible to apply directly for citizenship if they were born and adopted outside Canada in the second generation or later before that date.

What if you have a pending citizenship application under an interim measure?

In December 2023, after the court ruled the two-generation citizenship cut-off rule unconstitutional, Ottawa put in a temporary initiative to offer discretionary grant of citizenship by descent to certain affected groups while it worked on new legislation to make the citizenship law Charter-compliant. It resulted in more than 4,200 applications.

Any pending application under this measure will be processed under the new rules, and no new citizenship certificate application is required.

How do you prove your Canadian citizenship?

Those who believe they are eligible for citizenship by descent under the new rules should apply for a citizenship certificate as proof of citizenship if they became a citizen automatically. They will be assessed accordingly.

Source: Are you a Canadian by descent? New citizenship rules are in effect for ‘Lost Canadians’