Canada Overhauls Citizenship Rules: Major Relief for Indian-Origin Families
In a landmark move that brings cheer to thousands of families with Indian connections, Canada has completely reformed its citizenship-by-descent regulations for the first time in over fifteen years. The passage of Bill C-3, officially known as An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), marks a significant shift in how Canadian citizenship can be passed to children born outside the country.
What Prompted This Historic Change?
The new legislation, which received royal assent on November 20, 2025, primarily addresses the inequalities created by the 2009 "first-generation limit" (FGL). This controversial rule had prevented Canadian citizens born abroad from automatically transferring citizenship to their own children if those children were also born outside Canada.
According to Maninder Singh Gill, president of Friends of Canada and India Foundation in Surrey, the FGL created an unfair system where some Canadians could pass citizenship to their overseas-born children while others could not. The court system had already struck down this limit in 2023, giving Parliament until January 20, 2026, to establish new legislation.
Legal experts from firms including MLT Aikins and Doherty Fulton estimate that approximately 115,000 people worldwide will benefit from these changes, with thousands being of Indian origin.
Who Exactly Benefits from Bill C-3?
The amendments affect two main categories of people: those seeking retroactive citizenship for past births or adoptions, and those planning future families abroad. Lovleen Gill, a Barrister and Solicitor from Surrey, explains that anyone born or adopted abroad before the Act comes into force to a Canadian parent now automatically qualifies for citizenship if they would have qualified under previous rules without the FGL restrictions.
"This legislation essentially eliminates the two classes of citizens," says Gill. "One that could pass on citizenship to their children and the other that could not."
The bill does exclude individuals who fraudulently renounced citizenship or were convicted of serious criminal offenses.
Specific Impact on Indian Communities
While the number of Indian immigrants directly affected might not be enormous since most are naturalized citizens who can already pass citizenship to children born abroad, there's a significant subset that stands to gain substantially.
Barrister Lovleen Gill highlights that Indian-origin families affected by overseas maternity during short-term work assignments could see more than 10,000 households benefit. For families with grandchildren born abroad before 2025, citizenship will now be automatic, closing what had become a frustrating gap for many "lost Indian-Canadians."
The new rules also provide clarity for future family planning. If a parent has already lived three or more years in Canada at any point, all their future children born abroad after the Act takes effect will be Canadian at birth. Those with less than three years of residency will need to return and accumulate the remaining days before having more children overseas.
Practical Benefits and Implementation Timeline
The reformed citizenship law is expected to significantly ease family planning for expatriate workers and ensure simpler access to passports, healthcare, and education for their children. Multinational corporations with staff undertaking international postings will also find the new system more straightforward.
Although Bill C-3 received royal assent in November 2025, it will take effect on a date proclaimed by the federal cabinet. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has indicated a quick rollout, likely in early 2026.
This reform represents the culmination of years of campaigning by organizations including the Lost Canadians Foundation and the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA), who had long argued that the previous system created systemic inequality among Canadian citizens.
