Canada To Tweak Citizenship Rules: How India-Origin Families Will Benefit

In a major step toward modernising its citizenship-by-descent law, the Canadian government is planning to bring a law to end the restrictive "second-generation cut-off" rule, which prevented many Canadian citizens born abroad from passing on citizenship to their children who were also born overseas. Bill C-3 – an Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025) – received royal assent last week, bringing relief to thousands of Indian-origin families.

The move represents an important milestone in making the Citizenship Act more inclusive while maintaining the value of Canadian citizenship. Now, "Canadians excluded under outdated rules will have a fair, clear way to pass citizenship on to their children born or adopted outside Canada," the government said in a statement. 

Who Will Be Eligible For Canadian Citizenship?

Once the new law comes into force, people born before the bill came into force, who would have been citizens if not for the first-generation limit or other outdated rules of past legislation, will be granted Canadian citizenship. 

The new law will also allow a Canadian parent born or adopted abroad to pass citizenship on to their child born or adopted outside Canada on or after the date the bill comes into force, provided they have a substantial connection to Canada. 

"This approach supports fairness for families while reinforcing the principle that real, demonstrated ties to Canada guide citizenship by descent," the government said.

When Will The Law Come Into Force?

The government said the bill will come into force on a date set by order in council, which will be communicated publicly. Until then, the interim measure remains in place for people impacted by the first-generation limit.

"Bill C-3 will fix long-standing issues in our citizenship laws and bring fairness to families with children born or adopted abroad. It will provide citizenship to people who were excluded by previous laws, and it will set clear rules for the future that reflect how modern families live. These changes will strengthen and protect Canadian citizenship," Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab, said.

What Was The Old Law?

The first-generation limit to Canadian citizenship by descent was introduced in 2009. Under it, a child born or adopted outside Canada is not a Canadian citizen by descent if their Canadian parent was also born or adopted outside Canada.

This limit caused problems for many Indian-origin Canadians whose children were born out of the country. 

On December 19, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared that key parts of the Citizenship Act relating to the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent were unconstitutional.

The Government of Canada did not appeal the ruling, as it agreed the law had unacceptable outcomes for children of Canadians who were born outside the country.

"By updating the Citizenship Act to reflect the global mobility of modern Canadian families, the federal government has made access to citizenship more fair and reasonable," Don Chapman, founder of the Lost Canadians, told news agency PTI.