Canada to Expand: Canada’s new legislation aimed at facilitating easier acquisition of Canadian citizenship. Under Bill C-71, titled An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2024), significant changes are set to broaden eligibility criteria for citizenship by descent.
One of the key provisions of the bill includes automatic Canadian citizenship for individuals born abroad to a Canadian parent who was also born abroad.
Canada to Expand…
This change reverses previous restrictions that limited citizenship transmission to children born outside Canada only if their Canadian parent was born in Canada or naturalized before their birth.
Moreover, the legislation extends the opportunity to apply for direct citizenship to children born or adopted outside Canada by a Canadian parent beyond the first generation.
To qualify under the new rules, parents seeking to pass on citizenship must demonstrate a minimum of 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption.
Minister Miller underscored the significance of these amendments, emphasizing their role in enhancing integration and fostering a sense of belonging for Canadians and their descendants abroad.
The reforms are intended to rectify limitations imposed by the 2009 legislative changes and to ensure a more inclusive approach to citizenship for future generations.
Once enacted, Bill C-71 will also enable descendants of individuals born abroad to a Canadian parent in the second or subsequent generations to acquire Canadian citizenship.
These updates mark a proactive step by Canada to streamline citizenship processes and to accommodate the evolving needs of its global diaspora.