Canada to amend citizenship law, likely to benefit people of Indian origin

News Topical, Digital Desk : Canada has moved to modernize its citizenship laws, providing a fair and straightforward path for those left out by outdated rules to pass Canadian citizenship to their children born or adopted abroad.

Bill C-3, an act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), was recently granted royal assent. It is expected to benefit thousands of Indian-origin families in Canada. Canada's Immigration Minister, Lena Metlej-Diab, said the bill aims to address long-standing issues in citizenship laws and bring fairness to families with foreign-born or adopted children.

No date has been set yet

No date has yet been set for its implementation. In fact, the government changed the law in 2009, imposing a first-generation limit on Canadian citizenship by descent.

It stated that foreign-born Canadians could pass their citizenship to their children only if the child was born in Canada. However, in December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that a key part of the Citizenship Act relating to the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent was unconstitutional.

Problems for Canadians of Indian origin

This first-generation limit for Canadian citizenship by descent has created problems for many Indian-born Canadians whose children were born outside the country. Bill C-3 proposes that citizenship be granted to foreign-born individuals beyond the first generation, if the parents spend a total of three years in Canada before the child's birth or adoption.

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