{"id":2977,"date":"2025-12-20T20:48:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T20:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2026-04-02T20:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:54:19","slug":"bill-c-3-canadian-citizenship-now-granted-across-multiple-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/bill-c-3-canadian-citizenship-now-granted-across-multiple-generations\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill C-3: Canadian Citizenship Now Granted Across Multiple Generations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"680\" height=\"519\" src=\"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/bill-c3-canadian-citizenship-multiple-generations.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Family Spending time together at home\" class=\"wp-image-2983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/bill-c3-canadian-citizenship-multiple-generations.jpg.jpg 680w, https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/bill-c3-canadian-citizenship-multiple-generations.jpg-480x366.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 680px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Canada has officially passed\u00a0<strong>Bill C-3<\/strong>, an important update to the Citizenship Act that restores or grants Canadian citizenship to people known as \u201c<strong>Lost Canadians,<\/strong>\u201d who were excluded under an old rule called the<strong>\u00a0First-Generation Limit (FGL)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Bill C-3 received\u00a0<strong>Royal Assent<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>on November 20, 2025,<\/strong>\u00a0and came into effect on\u00a0<strong>December 15, 2025.\u00a0<\/strong>Eligible individuals can now apply for proof of Canadian citizenship if they became citizens automatically under the new law.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most important changes under Bill C-3 is that\u00a0<strong>Canadian citizenship can now be granted across multiple generations<\/strong>, not just one<strong>.\u00a0<\/strong>This means citizenship may be traced through a\u00a0<strong>parent, grant parent or even great-grandparent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you qualify, you are not asking Canada to give you citizenship, instead you are applying for\u00a0<strong>proof of citizenship<\/strong>\u00a0to confirm a status the law now recognizes.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Who Are \u201cLost Canadians\u201d and What Is The FGL?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cLost Canadians\u201d are individuals who were denied or never obtained Canadian citizenship because of rules in earlier versions of the Citizenship Act, even though they had a Canadian parent or Canadian ancestry.<\/p>\n<p>A major reason for this exclusion was the\u00a0<strong>first-generation limit (FGL)<\/strong>, introduced in\u00a0<strong>2009<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Under the FGL:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you were born outside Canada, you could only be a Canadian citizen if your parent was born in Canada or later became Canadian.<\/li>\n<li>If your parent was also born outside Canada, they could not pass citizenship to you, even if yourgrandparents were Canadian.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a result, Canadian citizenship stopped after one generation born abroad, cutting off children and grandchildren from obtaining Canadian citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>In\u00a0<strong>2023<\/strong>, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled this unfair and unconstitutional, which led to the creation of Bill C-3.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Bill C-3 Changes Citizenship Rules<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Bill C-3 removes the strict generational cut-off that affected many families and allows citizenship to be granted through the family line.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Citizenship Is Restored for People Born in the Past<\/h3>\n<p>If you were born\u00a0<strong>before<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>December 15, 2025<\/strong>, and were affected by the old rules, Canada may already recognize you as a citizen under the law.<\/p>\n<p>This applies even where multiple generations in your family were born outside Canada<\/p>\n<p>You will need\u00a0<strong>official documentation<\/strong>\u00a0to apply for confirmation of Canadian status.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Clear Rules for Future Children Born Outside Canada<\/h3>\n<p>Bill C-3 sets clear rules for children born or adoptedoutside Canada<strong>\u00a0after December 15, 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the Canadian parent was born in Canada or later became Canadian, their child will automatically be Canadian.<\/li>\n<li>If the Canadian parent was also born outside Canada, they must have lived in Canada for a required period before the child\u2019s birth or adoption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What This Means for Families<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For many families, Bill C-3 is a significant shift.<\/p>\n<p>People who were told that citizenship ended with their parents or grandparents can now apply for proof of citizenship, as Canadian citizenship may extend further through their family history.<\/p>\n<p>This change reconnects families across generations.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Can Pilkington Immigration Help?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Working with an immigration lawyer can help ensure your application is prepared correctly from the start, especially when tracing citizenship across multiple generations.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Citizenship claims involve parents, grandparents or great-grandparents\u00a0can be complicated. Family records may be old, missing, or spread across different countries, and even small gaps or errors can lead to delays or refusals.<\/h4>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pilkington Immigration can help by:<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reviewing your family history<\/li>\n<li>Identifying whether citizenship is applicable across generations<\/li>\n<li>Helping gather and organize the required documents<\/li>\n<li>Preparing a clear and complete application for submission<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Our approach is practical, thorough and focused. If you believe Bill C-3 may apply to you or your family, the first step is understanding where you stand.<\/p>\n<p>Contact\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:office@pilkingtonimmigration.com\">Pilkington Immigration<\/a>\u00a0for a consultation and receive clear guidance on your Canadian citizen options.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong>Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).<em>Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025) comes into effect.<\/em>\u00a0Government of Canada.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/immigration-refugees-citizenship\/news\/2025\/12\/bill-c-3-an-act-to-amend-the-citizenship-act-2025-comes-into-effect.html?euidtkncn=7uDyrRgtmZbIYsL\">https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/immigration-refugees-citizenship\/news\/2025\/12\/bill-c-3-an-act-to-amend-the-citizenship-act-2025-comes-into-effect.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/contact-us\/\"><strong>Contact us<\/strong><\/a> today to book a consultation and find out more!<\/h2>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/contact-us\/\">CONTACT US<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canada has officially passed\u00a0Bill C-3, an important update to the Citizenship Act that restores or grants Canadian citizenship to people known as \u201cLost Canadians,\u201d who were excluded under an old rule called the\u00a0First-Generation Limit (FGL). Bill C-3 received\u00a0Royal Assent\u00a0on November 20, 2025,\u00a0and came into effect on\u00a0December 15, 2025.\u00a0Eligible individuals can now apply for proof of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-events"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/author\/brian\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2977"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2985,"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977\/revisions\/2985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilkingtonimmigration.com\/barrie-on\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}