Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), would amend the federal Citizenship Act; it would not create a separate citizenship law. Its stated goal is to change who can gain or regain Canadian citizenship through a Canadian parent or adoptive parent. These are proposed changes: the bill would start on a day set by the Governor in Council, and the supplied material does not say when that would be.
It would extend citizenship by descent to people born outside Canada before the bill starts who meet the amended rules, including some people affected by the existing first-generation limit.
For people born outside Canada after it starts, the bill would keep a limit on passing citizenship beyond the first generation unless a citizen parent had been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the birth.
It would allow people adopted abroad before the bill starts by a Canadian citizen to be granted citizenship under section 5.1. For adoptions after it starts, a similar 1,095-day physical-presence test would apply in specified cases.
It would restore citizenship to people who lost it because they did not apply to retain it under former section 8, or whose application was not approved.
It would let regulations provide a simplified renunciation process for certain people who become citizens because of the bill. The bill does not set out that process.
People born abroad to a Canadian parent: Some who were excluded by the first-generation limit could become citizens under the amended rules. For births after the bill starts, the 1,095-day test would limit citizenship by descent in specified cases. The bill also addresses some historical categories of citizenship.
People adopted abroad by a Canadian citizen: The bill would make some people adopted before it starts eligible for a citizenship grant under section 5.1. For specified adoptions after it starts, the Canadian adoptive parent must have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the adoption. Eligibility for a grant is not the same as citizenship being automatic.
People who lost citizenship under former retention rules: The bill would restore citizenship for people covered by the amendments. It also provides for some people to renounce through a simplified process, but regulations would have to set out that process.
Other residents and businesses: The supplied text does not directly change taxes, fees, or other citizenship eligibility routes.
The bill appears intended to address cases where people born abroad were excluded from citizenship because of limits on passing citizenship to later generations.
Restoring citizenship for people affected by former retention rules could remedy losses tied to not applying, or to an application not being approved.
Requiring 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada before certain later-generation births or adoptions could be seen as linking citizenship by descent to a parent’s connection with Canada.
Allowing a simplified renunciation process for some newly recognized citizens acknowledges that some may not want to keep citizenship.
The bill could extend citizenship to people born abroad who have little direct connection to Canada; the physical-presence test applies only in specified cases.
The bill does not explain how the 1,095-day requirement would be proved or how claims would be decided.
A citizenship grant for an adopted person is not automatic, and the supplied material does not set out the process or timelines.
The bill leaves the simplified renunciation process to regulations, so its conditions and practical effect are not clear from the bill.