Canada changed citizenship rules and Americans are making the most of it
Canada’s immigration services have received an unusually high number of applications for citizenship in recent months, driven by those from the United States, departmental data shows. This comes as the government has implemented and clarified new rules under Bill C-3 that broaden the ability of parents to pass Canadian citizenship on to their children.
Data shared with National Post by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show that in January, the government received 8,900 proof of citizenship applications. This compares with 5,940 applications the previous January, an increase of almost 50 per cent.
Of those applications, 2,470 (almost 28 per cent) were from the U.S. The next largest group was the U.K. with 290 applications, and then Mexico with 235. No other country had more than 140 applications. Most had 30 or fewer.
IRCC said that, between Dec. 15 of last year (when new rules first took effect ) and Jan. 31, 2026, it received a total of 12,430 proof of citizenship applications.
“It is important to note that proof of citizenship applications are not limited to applications from individuals who applied on the basis of citizenship by descent,” a spokesperson told National Post. “They also include other categories of proof of citizenship applications (e.g., individuals born in Canada but applying for a certificate, individuals applying for a replacement certificate).”
The department noted that of the 6,280 applications for proof of citizenship by decent that were processed in that time period, almost a quarter (1,480) were confirmed as citizens by descent under the new Act, while the rest were approved through other means.
Applications from U.S. citizens accounted for the largest national share of those applications. Close to 2,500 Americans were approved for Canadian citizenship in January.
The first-generation limit to Canadian citizenship by descent was introduced in 2009. It meant that a child born or adopted outside Canada was not automatically a Canadian citizen by descent if their Canadian parent was also born or adopted outside Canada.
However, on Dec. 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 federal government did not appeal the ruling, as it agreed the law had unacceptable outcomes for children of Canadians who were born outside the country.
Under the new rules, people born after Dec. 15, 2025, outside Canada in the second generation (or later) may be Canadian if their parent was also born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen (i.e., the applicant’s grandparent was Canadian) and that same parent spent at least 1,095 days (three years) in Canada before the birth.
Similarly, adopted people can apply for Canadian citizenship if they were born and adopted outside Canada in the second generation or later and their Canadian parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the adoption.
“Citizenship may have been restored or given to people who were born outside Canada in the second generation or later before December 15, 2025,” the government notes. “This means that in most cases you’re automatically a Canadian citizen if you were born before Dec, 15, 2025, outside Canada to a Canadian parent. This rule also applies to you if you were born to someone who became Canadian because of these rule changes.”
It adds that if this change made someone a Canadian automatically, but they don’t want to be one, they can apply to give up their citizenship.
Canada’s move is unusual at a time when many countries are tightening requirements for citizenship. A year ago, Italy passed a law restricting citizenship to the descendants of an Italian-born parent or grandparent, rather than the previous rule, which had no generational limit.
In 2024 Finland increased the required time living in the country before applying for citizenship to eight years from five. The change was said to promote integration by focusing on language skills and long-term residency. Sweden is considering a similar move to take effect this year.
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