Canada Plans Major Citizenship Law Change Likely to Benefit Indian-Origin Families
The move is likely to benefit many Indian-origin families that include a large number from the Punjabi diaspora.
Canada Plans Major Citizenship Law Change Likely to Benefit Indian-Origin Families
Canada has taken a major step toward modernising its citizenship-by-descent rules. Bill C-3, which is an act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), received royal assent. According to a government news release issued on Friday, this marked an important milestone in making Canada’s citizenship laws more inclusive, while still protecting the value of Canadian citizenship. The move is likely to benefit manyIndian-origin families that include a large number from the Punjabi diaspora.
Once the new law officially comes into force. many Indian-originCanada will grant citizenship to people who were born before the bill’s implementation date but would have been citizens if not for the first-generation limit or other outdated rules.
This first-generation limit was introduced in 2009. It prevented Canadian citizens born abroad from passing citizenship to children who were also born outside Canada. For many globally mobile families—including numerous Indian-origin Canadians whose children were born during overseas work assignments—this rule created many emotional and legal hardships.
In a verbal statement, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said that the bill aims to fix long-standing inequities and bring fairness to families with children born or adopted abroad. She added that the reforms will offer citizenship to those previously excluded and will set clearer, modern rules aligned with how families live today.
The legislation also allows Canadian parents born outside Canada to pass citizenship to children born or adopted abroad after the law takes effect, provided the parent can demonstrate a substantial connection to Canada. Officials have explained that this connection will generally require 1,095 days—three cumulative years—of physical presence in the country that mirrors the naturalisation requirement.
The push for this major reform accelerated after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in December 2023 that key parts of the Citizenship Act were unconstitutional. The Canadian government chose not to appeal, acknowledging that the old system produced unfair outcomes, particularly for children born abroad.
Advocates like Don Chapman, founder of the “Lost Canadians” movement, have welcomed this update as a fair reflection of the global mobility of modern families.
The law will come into force on a date set by Canada’s cabinet. The government has already been granted additional time—until January 2026—to complete the implementation process. Until then, interim measures remain in place for those affected by the first-generation limit.